SOCCER
No away trips for fans
AS Saint-Etienne fans will be banned from their side’s away games until the end of the year after some Les Verts supporters caused chaos before a Ligue 1 match last weekend, the French League (LFP) said on Wednesday. On Sunday, nine people were injured when Saint-Etienne fans threw seats at home supporters at OGC Nice’s Allianz Riviera stadium, prompting police to clear the away stands. The sanction means Saint-Etienne fans will not be allowed to attend the trips to Stade Rennais and Montpellier Herault in Ligue 1 and Paris Saint-Germain in the League Cup.
SOCCER
Player may leave Qatar
Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host, has finally allowed a French player to leave the country after being stuck there for 17 months because of a pay dispute with his club, France’s ambassador said on Wednesday. Al-Jaish player Zahir Belounis has obtained an exit visa, which is usually controlled by employers in the Gulf state under its controversial kafala, or sponsorship system, ambassador Jean-Christophe Peaucelle said. The French-Algerian player, 33, had been stuck in Qatar since June last year after he filed a complaint against Al-Jaish over a payment dispute. The club insisted he would not be granted the exit permit unless he dropped the case. The global players’ union FIFPro said it would start a four-day visit to Qatar yesterday for talks with Qatari soccer authorities and organizers of the 2022 World Cup. The association said it would “not sit idly by as the rights of the players are being abused.”
CRICKET
Nepal reach Twenty20 finals
Nepal qualified for their maiden ICC World Twenty20 finals with a five-wicket win over Hong Kong at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Nepal survived a last-over scare to score the required 13 runs, with 10 coming from the first two deliveries and a last-ball misfield producing the winning runs. Joining Nepal at next year’s tournament in Bangladesh are the United Arab Emirates, who return to the global stage for the first time in 17 years. The UAE qualified courtesy of successfully defending a modest score of 118 to beat the Netherlands by 10 runs.
CRICKET
Veteran Chanderpaul shines
Veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul top-scored for a makeshift West Indies side in a tour match against a New Zealand XI in Lincoln, New Zealand, yesterday, just missing out on a century. Chanderpaul, who notched up 150 Tests in India this month, hit 89 from 106 balls as the tourists took a narrow first-innings lead over the New Zealanders. The West Indies declared on 230-6 after Anurag Verma bowled Chanderpaul, putting them just three runs ahead of the New Zealand XI. Blacks Caps openers Hamish Rutherford (61) and Peter Fulton (32) made a good start in New Zealand’s second innings, cruising to 103 without loss at stumps.
RUGBY UNION
Trio nominated for award
New Zealand’s Ben Smith and Kieran Read and Wales’ Leigh Halfpenny have been nominated for the players’ player of the year award, the International Rugby Players’ Association said on Wednesday. The trio, along with South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth and Italy’s Sergio Parisse, have also been shortlisted for the International Rugby Board’s world player of the year award.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB