FIFA
Valcke banned for 12 years
Banned FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s long-time right-hand man, Jerome Valcke, was banned from all soccer-related activity for 12 years on Friday for misconduct during his term as FIFA secretary-general. Valcke was found guilty by FIFA’s ethics committee of wide-ranging offenses, including taking private jets for personal use, destroying evidence and trying to force through an undervalued sale of 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup television rights for the Caribbean.
LA LIGA
Gijon held by Rayo
Real Sporting de Gijon and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid drew 2-2 in La Liga on Friday, a result that left both teams near the relegation zone. Miguel Angel Guerrero put Gijon ahead after a blunder by Joaquin Marin in the fifth minute before Venezuelan striker Nicolas Fedor Miku equalized for Rayo in the 39th minute. Croatian midfielder Alen Halilovic put the hosts ahead again just before halftime before Jozabed Sanchez Ruiz completed the scoring in the 58th minute at the El Molinon in Gijon, Spain. The draw kept Rayo in 15th place, with 24 points from 24 matches, one point ahead of 16th-place Gijon, who have a game in hand.
SERIE A
Roma defeat Carpi
Edin Dzeko broke his goalscoring drought to help AS Roma win 3-1 at relegation-threatened Carpi and move provisionally third in Serie A on Friday. It was a fourth successive win for Roma and sent the capital side a point above ACF Fiorentina, who host fifth-placed Inter today. Roma appeared to be heading for a draw before Dzeko slotted in Mohamed Salah’s cross six minutes from time for his first goal since November last year. Salah sealed the win moments later, tapping in a rebound after Carpi goalkeeper Vid Belec had denied Radja Nainggolan. The Egypt international also hit the crossbar shortly before halftime. Substitute Kevin Lasagna scored for Carpi on the hour, minutes after Lucas Digne fired a well-placed effort into the far side of the net for the opener.
BUNDESLIGA
Mainz beat Schalke
FSV Mainz 05 captain Julian Baumgartlinger’s first Bundesliga goal gave his side a 2-1 win over Schalke 04 that lifted his side provisionally into fifth place on Friday. Baumgartlinger scored the winning goal in the 79th minute, converting Yunus Malli’s cross with a powerful header after Schalke’s Leroy Sane lost the ball in midfield. French defender Gaetan Bussmann, who won the ball from Sane, put Mainz ahead in the 33rd minute, firing inside the right post with a volley after Roman Neustaedter could only half-clear a corner. Winter signing Younes Belhanda equalized right after the break, blasting the ball home from close range after Stefan Bell cleared Max Meyer’s initial effort off the line.
LIGUE 1
Rennes deny Angers late on
A stoppage-time own-goal from defender Arnold Bouka Moutou helped Stade Rennais to a 1-0 win over Angers SCO as the Brittany club leapfrogged the promoted side in the French league standings. Following 90 minutes of goalless action, the game looked set for a stalemate, but substitute Bouka Moutou deflected a corner from Paul-Georges Ntep with a header that left goalkeeper Denis Petric stranded. Petric had made what appeared to be a decisive save in the 87th minute when he denied Kamil Grosicki’s close-range effort as well as parrying captain Romain Danze’s header.
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