SOCCER
Gabriel reprieve blasted
The Football Association’s (FA) decision to rescind Arsenal defender Gabriel’s red card has set a precedent allowing retaliation on the pitch, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said. Gabriel was sent off for kicking out at Diego Costa during the Gunners’ 2-0 defeat by Chelsea at the weekend. Arsenal ended the match at Stamford Bridge with nine men, but the turning point came when Costa clashed with first Laurent Koscielny and then Gabriel with the score still 0-0, eventually provoking the latter into kicking out, resulting in him being show a straight red. The FA overturned referee Mike Dean’s decision to dismiss Gabriel and handed Costa a three-match ban for violent conduct for striking Koscielny in the face before the sending off. “Now we know that retaliation is allowed. No problem, you can do it,” Mourinho told the British media. His Arsenal counterpart and bitter rival, Arsene Wenger, said the FA’s decision to rescind Gabriel’s red card repaired just 5 per cent of the damage his team suffered during the defeat. “That just shows that they [the FA] decided after the game what should have been decided during the game and they repair 5 percent of the damage that has been done to us. Instead of us playing 11 against 10, we played 10 against 11,” the Frenchman said.
ICE HOCKEY
Rape kit tampering alleged
A rape investigation involving Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane took a bizarre turn in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday when the attorney for the accuser said an empty paper bag that once held the woman’s rape kit had been secretly placed in the doorway of her mother’s home. Kane’s attorney said both sides have been told none of Kane’s DNA was found “from the waist down” on the woman. Police said no packaging is missing from the rape kit. “Something seriously has gone amiss,” attorney Thomas Eoannou told reporters during a news conference, where he held up the wrinkled brown bag that he said pointed to the possibility of evidence tampering. He said the woman’s mother discovered the bag on Tuesday afternoon when she came home from work for lunch. She found the bag folded up between a storm door and her front door, he said. It was the first time Eoannou has spoken publicly about the case that has been the source of intense speculation and rumor since early last month, when Kane was accused of assaulting a young woman in his waterfront mansion after they met at a nightclub. Kane last week said he did nothing wrong and expected to be absolved.
BOXING
Champ mistaken for thief
Boxer Carlos Zambrano, the WBA world featherweight champion, claims he was stopped by armed police in Lima, Peru, investigating the theft of his own laptop while he was pursuing the thieves. “They saw this little black guy at the wheel and then they said the little black guy is the thief,” the 31-year-old told Canal N television in Lima. The incident took place on Wednesday morning when his computer was stolen outside a fast food restaurant in the San Borja area of the Peruvian capital. “Three policemen stopped me, thinking I was the thief. They drew their weapons and ordered me to get out of my car, despite me telling them that I was pursuing the thieves,” the fighter added. Zambrano described the incident as a “racial issue” because “how is it possible that they could take me for the thief when they saw my car behind. When they saw my driving licence and my name, they changed their minds. They said: ‘It’s the world champion.’ They then let me go.”
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
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
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two