SOCCER
Ligue referee admits error
Clement Turpin, the referee for Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 win over Olympique de Marseille at the Parc des Princes, admitted on Monday that he was wrong to send off Marseille midfielder Gianelli Imbula with 12 minutes left. “After seeing the images, he realized he had misinterpreted the tackle made by Marseille player Imbula and he shouldn’t have been sent off,” a Ligue 1 disciplinary commission statement given to reporters said. Imbula will face no further punishment. Following the red card, Edinson Cavani scored the second PSG goal in the 2-0 victory on Sunday that brought the defending champions to within one point of archrivals l’OM at the top of Ligue 1.
SOCCER
Zurich sue over brutal tackle
Zurich have initiated criminal proceedings after midfielder Gilles Yapi-Yapo suffered serious injury in an horrific tackle in a Swiss Super League game on Sunday. The 32-year-old former Ivory Coast international faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines as a result of damage caused when Aarau’s Sandro Wieser appeared to slam his foot down on Yapi-Yapo’s knee. Yapi-Yapo was carried off the pitch on a stretcher after the 19th-minute tackle by Liechtenstein midfielder Wieser. Zurich cataloged the list of injuries suffered by their key player, which included torn anterior and interior cruciate ligaments, serious cartilage damage, a meniscus tear, a torn kneecap and deep bruising in his thigh. Doctors treating Yapi-Yapo forecast he would be out of action for a long period. Zurich president Ancillo Canepa lodged legal proceedings for intentional injury against Wieser, who apologized for his actions. “I totally regret what happened,” the 21-year-old said on Facebook. “There was absolutely no intent on my part.” He said Yapi-Yapo was a former teammate of his at Basel and described him as “a great guy.”
FOOTBALL
Reinstate Peterson: NFLPA
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has filed a grievance with the NFL to reinstate Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. The association on Monday cited “explicit language in a signed agreement” from Sept. 18, when Peterson was placed on a special commissioner’s exempt list following his indictment on felony child abuse in Texas. He pleaded no contest yesterday to a lesser charge of misdemeanor reckless assault. The league began a review on Thursday last week of his case under the personal conduct policy, but said Peterson would remain on paid leave until the process is completed. However, the union demanded Peterson be allowed to rejoin the Vikings immediately until any determination of any discipline.
SOCCER
Brazil welcomes FIFA fund
Outgoing Brazilian Football Confederation president Jose Maria Marin on Monday welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding enshrining the implementation of FIFA’s US$100 million World Cup Legacy Fund. Marin signed the document at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich along with FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke and confederation president-elect Marco Polo del Nero. The fund will be used to develop Brazilian soccer at a grassroots level and to provide welfare provision in poor communities, with the bulk of the cash earmarked for the 15 Brazilian federal states which did not host World Cup action in June and July. A FIFA statement said that the fund’s first project, three artificial pitches and a grass one next to Belem’s Estadio Olimpico do Para, was already nearing completion.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite