SOCCER
Croatian fans sentenced
Five Croatians who were arrested in Serbia last month after a massive fan brawl at a match are to serve four to six months in prison as part of a plea bargain deal. Lawyer Maja Trkulja on Tuesday said they are expected to serve their prison sentences in Serbia and be banned from entering the country for another five years. The group pleaded guilty to “violent behavior at a sports event” while at the match between Belgrade rivals Red Star and Partizan. At least 20 people were injured.
RUGBY UNION
French headquarters raided
Police on Tuesday conducted raids at the French Rugby Federation headquarters amid an investigation into an alleged conflict of interest involving federation president Bernard Laporte. A person with direct knowledge of the investigation said that the national financial prosecutor’s office ordered the searches at the national rugby center in Marcoussis, where the squad is preparing for the Six Nations. Laporte’s place of residence was also raided, the person said. French Minister of Sports Laura Flessel last month gave justice officials the conclusions of an investigation into Laporte, who has denied accusations that he pressured the federation’s appeals board to reduce sanctions against Montpellier, which is owned by his close friend. The ministry said Laporte on June 30 last year contacted the appeal commission’s president and said that the call resulted in a change of decision.
BASEBALL
A-Rod to join ESPN crew
Alex Rodriguez is again taking over for Aaron Boone, this time moving into the ESPN booth for Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN on Tuesday announced that A-Rod is to join its crew as an analyst. “I’m looking forward to this new chapter in my broadcasting career,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “It’s an exciting time in baseball and now I get that front-row seat to tell that story every Sunday night on ESPN, as well as calling my fourth post-season on Fox, where I started this journey.” Rodriguez and the new crew are to make their debut on March 29, when the San Francisco Giants visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on opening day.
SOCCER
Neville now women’s coach
Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville was on Tuesday appointed permanent head coach of the England women’s team, replacing Mark Sampson, the Football Association announced on its Web site. “This squad is on the verge of something special and I believe I can lead them to the next level,” he said. England are ranked third in the world and are expected to mount a strong challenge at next year’s World Cup in France.
FOOTBALL
Veteran group denied ad
The NFL has denied advertising space in the Super Bowl for a veterans group that declined to alter language about standing for the national anthem. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy on Tuesday confirmed that American Veterans submitted an advertisement last week with the message “Please Stand.” McCarthy said the league asked the group to consider other options, such as “Please Honor our Veterans” or “Please Stand for our Veterans.” The two organizations were unable to agree on language in time to meet production deadlines.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but