OLYMPICS
Maracana to host finals
The men’s and women’s Olympic soccer finals are to be played at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, FIFA announced on Tuesday. Seven stadiums are to host games — two in Rio, plus arenas in Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Salvador and Sao Paulo. “As at London 2012, the hosts have been drawn as A1 and E1 in their respective tournaments,” a FIFA statement said. “This means that, during the group stage, the home crowd will be able to cheer on its men in Brasilia and Salvador, and its women in Rio de Janeiro and Manaus.”
ENGLAND
Chelsea, West Ham fined
Chelsea and West Ham United have been fined £50,000 and £40,000 (US$75,818 and US$60,655) respectively after both clubs admitted Football Association (FA) misconduct charges following their bad-tempered English Premier League clash last month. “The charge was for failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion,” the FA said in a statement on Tuesday. Both clubs, who were also severely warned over their future conduct, were charged because of the reaction of their players following Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic’s red card during West Ham’s 2-1 league win on Oct. 24. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands during the ill-tempered affair for confronting referee Jon Moss at halftime and refusing to leave the official’s dressing room. Mourinho was handed a one-match stadium ban, which forced him to miss Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Stoke City.
ENGLAND
Injured Aguero targets return
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero believes he would be fit to return after the international break, targeting Liverpool as his comeback game from injury. Aguero has been out since early last month with a hamstring injury sustained while playing for Argentina. “I do not think I am too far away now,” Aguero told City’s Web site. “Physically, I feel good and I have kept as fit as I can … so my target is Liverpool.” Premier League leaders City take on Liverpool on Nov. 21 and are away to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League the week after. Aguero scored a club record five goals in a 6-1 win over Newcastle United in his last City appearance.
ARGENTINA
Referee stripped of status
Referee Diego Ceballos, provisionally suspended last week after his errors in the Copa Argentina final, has been stripped of his international status, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Tuesday. Ceballos, who officiated in Boca Juniors’ 2-0 win over Rosario Central in the final of the knockout competition, wrongly awarded Boca a penalty for a foul outside the area and gave a goal that was scored from an offside position. “By decision of [AFA] president, Mr Luis Segura, Mr Diego Ceballos has been withdrawn from the International Referees Register,” the AFA said. “This measure will immediately be communicated to FIFA,” it added in a statement on its Web site. The AFA did not give a time limit for Ceballos’ suspension on the domestic front. Rosario Central were furious with Ceballos and assistant referee Marcelo Aumente for their decisions, which included disallowing an early goal by Central for offside, and their coach Eduardo Coudet was sent to the stands for his heated protests.
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