BASEBALL
Ex-players cited in drug ring
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel and cited ex-infielder Luis Castillo for their alleged links to a drug-trafficking and money-laundering ring, officials said on Tuesday. Dominican Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez said that police are also pursuing the alleged leader of the ring, Cesar Emilio Peralta, also known as “Cesar the Abuser.” Castillo has not yet been arrested. Peralta created a complicated system of companies to hide the origins of his assets, using members of his family and social circles, “including two sports figures in the Dominican Republic,” Rodriguez said. Castillo on Instagram denied any ties to drugs. “The truth is my country no longer works, my God, do you think that after making millions of dollars in Baseball I am going to dirty my hands with drugs?” he wrote.
SOCCER
St Louis chosen for team
The MLS on Tuesday confirmed that St Louis has been awarded an expansion franchise that would boost North America’s top soccer league to 28 teams. Commissioner Don Garber made the announcement alongside the club’s ownership group, including Carolyn Kindle Betz, the Taylor family and Jim Kavanaugh. With Betz and six other female members of the Taylor family part of the group, St Louis is to be the first female majority-owned club in MLS history and one of few in professional sports. The club would begin MLS play in 2022 in a new stadium.
RUGBY UNION
‘Women’s’ dropped from Cup
World Rugby yesterday announced that it is adopting a policy of gender neutrality for their tournaments. In what it said is “a first for a major sporting federation” the 2021 edition of the World Cup in New Zealand would be known simply as Rugby World Cup 2021, with “Women’s” dropped from the title. This would also be applied to their Sevens World Cup competitions. The men’s tournaments have never specified gender. “World Rugby has announced that its flagship 15s and sevens Rugby World Cup properties will no longer include gender in their titles, furthering its commitment to equality and brand consistency across its portfolio,” it said in a statement.
SWIMMING
Sun appeal to be public
A case in which China’s multiple world and Olympic champion Sun Yang is accused of anti-doping violations is to be held in public in a break from usual procedure, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement on Tuesday. The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against a decision by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) to clear Sun of wrongdoing during a random drug test in September last year. The court said that it would be only the second case in its history to be held in public — the previous in 1999 also involved FINA.
ICE HOCKEY
Players begin boycott
Female players in Sweden are to go ahead with their boycott of an international tournament in Finland in protest against poor pay and working conditions. Sweden were to play their first game of the Five Nations Tournament yesterday against Japan, but the squad of 43 players were to be absent.
FIFA on Friday blamed the empty seats during the FIFA World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico, on fans who watched from the concourses. There were many visible empty spots at the 45,664-capacity Guadalajara Stadium, with sections in the middle of the stands showing many unoccupied spaces and with other empty seats scattered around the venue. The announced attendance was 44,985 — including FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment
Japan captain Wataru Endo on Thursday was ruled out of the FIFA World Cup with injury and announced his international retirement, three days before his team’s opener against the Netherlands. The Liverpool midfielder pulled out of the tournament after failing to recover from a foot injury and was replaced in Japan’s squad by Shuto Machino. The 33-year-old Endo said on social media that he was “frustrated” at not being able to play, but backed his team to impress in Group F, where they face the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden. “There will definitely come a time in the future when Japan win the World
A rotting body was found on Friday in the trunk of a car parked near the stadium where Iran’s FIFA World Cup team is training in Mexico. The gruesome discovery came with games under way in the tournament, which is being jointly hosted by Mexico, the US and Canada. Reporters watched as police in Tijuana opened the trunk of the gray Toyota SUV, which had California plates, in the parking lot of a supermarket directly across from the Caliente Stadium, where Team Melli are training as they prepare for three games in the US. Specialists in white protective suits worked
About 100 people gathered at a bar in Taipei to watch the FIFA World Cup start in Mexico, despite the early hour of 3am yesterday. All seats had been reserved before the game started, said a clerk at the Brass Monkey, a bar in Taipei where customers can watch live sports broadcasts. The Group A clash between Mexico and South Africa drew supporters from multiple continents to the venue. For Misael Alanis, a Mexican student who has lived in Taiwan for two-and-a-half years, the atmosphere was just as important as the game itself. “There are a lot of Mexicans here and you can tell
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