CRICKET
ICC revises setup
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is revising its financial model to bring an end to a potential domination by its “Big Three” members — India, England and Australia. The ICC yesterday issued a statement outlining a new formula for the distribution of funds through 2023, saying it was passed with a majority of 13-1 during an executive board meeting in Dubai this week. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, the major income generator in the sport, had its proposed share of forecast revenue cut to US$293 million across the eight-year cycle, with the England and Wales Cricket Board getting US$143 million and Zimbabwe Cricket US$94 million. The remaining full members, Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh are expected to get US$132 million each over the period. In addition, the ICC’s Associate member countries are to share US$280 million. Associated member countries who perform well in international cricket, such as Afghanistan and Ireland, are to get a bigger share.
SOCCER
Infantino confirms video use
FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Wednesday confirmed that video assistant referees will be used at next year’s World Cup in Russia for the first time. “We will use video refereeing at the 2018 World Cup because we’ve had nothing but positive results so far,” he said at a congress of the South American Football Confederation in Santiago. “In 2017, when everyone in the stadium or at home can see within seconds if the referee made a mistake, we can’t have a situation where the only one who can’t see it is the referee.”
SOCCER
Graft losses revealed
The head of South American confederation CONMEBOL on Wednesday said the body lost more than US$140 million to graft under former managers indicted in a US corruption investigation. From 2010 to 2014 “CONMEBOL was defrauded of more than [US]$140 million,” president Alejandro Dominguez told reporters after unveiling the findings of an external audit at the confederation’s congress. South American officials have been heavily implicated in the US-led investigation into corruption in world soccer, which led to the downfall of FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2015.
SOCCER
Brisbane ’keeper injured
Brisbane Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young needed stitches in a nasty arm gash from a rusty net hook during their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League loss in Thailand, a report said yesterday, with the club set to complain. Young was diving to save Muangthong United’s 37th-minute goal on Wednesday in Thailand when he slammed into the goalpost, ripping open his arm on the hook. The injury required 26 stitches, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reported, saying the club would lodge a formal complaint with the AFC. “The goalposts cannot be of danger to any player and clearly they were,” Roar director Craig Moore said. “We hope that he’s going to be OK [for their next game against the Melbourne Victory], but I won’t have any more information until he gets stitched up and we get a medical report.” The Roar’s 3-0 defeat to Muangthong quashed their hopes of playing in the AFC Champions League knockout stages.
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