SCOTLAND
Legia ousted, Celtic advance
Legia Warsaw were thrown out of the Champions League by UEFA yesterday after fielding an ineligible player during the second leg of their qualifying tie against Celtic on Wednesday. Unregistered defender Bartosz Bereszynski came on as a substitute with three minutes remaining in Legia’s 2-0 win which sealed a 6-1 aggregate victory. UEFA investigated the matter and awarded Celtic the match with a 3-0 victory, making the aggregate score 4-4 and sending the Scottish champions through on the away-goals rule. Dominik Ebebenge, sport department coordinator and head of development for the Polish club, said Legia would appeal the decision. “This is unjust and completely disproportionate,” he said. “There have been similar cases in the past which have not been punished in this way.” Bereszynski was sent off during last season’s Europa League and was banned for three matches. The fullback missed both Legia’s second qualification round matches against Ireland’s St Patrick’s Athletic and the first leg against Celtic. However, it was found that the club had not registered him for the games against St Patrick’s, meaning the suspension had technically not been served.
ENGLAND
United veterans humbled
Former Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and Gary and Phil Neville, playing in a “Class of 92 and Friends” team, suffered a 5-1 loss on Thursday against a club they own. Non-league Salford City, purchased by the former English Premier League stars last year, put their famous visitors in their place. The star-studded team also featured former United players from different eras, such as Robbie Savage, John O’Kane, Mikael Silvestre and Quinton Fortune. Former England cricketers Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison, and other former United players Tomasz Kuszczak, David May, Ben Thornley and Danny Webber all played in the second half. Salford were 2-0 ahead inside 30 minutes through Paul Linwood and Nicky Platt. Giggs pulled a goal back just before the interval from the penalty spot, but Salford added further goals from Phil Marsh, Gareth Seddon and Mike Oates.
UNITED STATES
Landon Donovan to retire
Landon Donovan, the US’ all-time top scorer who was left out of the national squad for the World Cup finals in Brazil, announced on Thursday that he is retiring at the end of the Major League Soccer season. “After careful deliberation and many conversations with those closest to me, I have decided that this will be my last year as a professional soccer player,” Donovan said. Donovan is the US national team’s all-time leading scorer with 57 goals and he has won 156 caps.
GREECE
Platanias in wasps warning
Super League club AO Platanias warned fans to stay away from yesterday’s friendly match against amateur side PASA Irodotos as their stadium is suffering from a wasp infestation. Platanias said that although spectators would be allowed in free to see the match at the Municipal Perovolion Stadium, they warned that it could prove to be a decision they regret. “We are concerned about their safety given that spot checks at the stadium revealed a number of wasps nests which make it dangerous to follow the match,” a statement said. “We have no responsibility for the situation, but have already taken the initiative for the immediate and effective response to this problem so that supporters will be safely able to see the next friendly with Ergotelis on Aug. 10.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later