Sat, Sep 02, 2006 page19

• Sports Briefs

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ Egypt
  Defender dies while training

  Egyptian international defender Mohammed Abdel Wahab died of a heart attack while training with his club, champions Al-Ahly, on Thursday. The 22-year-old collapsed on the pitch and was immediately transferred to a nearby hospital but resuscitation efforts failed. The young defender won all national and continental awards with his Cairo club and was also part of the squad that won the African Cup of Nations in February. "He did not clash with another player, he just fell to the ground," a club spokesman told the BBC. Wahab's death comes three years after Cameroon international midfielder Marc Vivien Foe collapsed and died during a 2003 Confederations Cup semi-final in France.

  ■ Italy

  Juve withdraws appeal

  Juventus has decided to withdraw its appeal to an ordinary court in the Italian match-fixing scandal, bringing relief to soccer authorities. Juventus said on Thursday its board had decided to give up the appeal after receiving "signals of willingness" from sports officials to resolve the situation fairly. Juventus has had meetings with soccer and other sports officials in Rome throughout the week. A July 25 sports tribunal ruling stripped Juventus of its last two Serie A titles and relegated the club to the second division with a 17-point penalty.

  ■ Germany

  Shoe battle settled

  The national team's soccer players won the right to wear the shoes of their choice on Thursday after a bitter dispute with their federation. Adidas, which has outfitted the Germany team for decades, agreed to let the players chose their own shoes even as it extended its contract with the German Soccer Federation until 2014. The players threatened to boycott a 3-0 friendly win against Sweden two weeks ago, angry because they felt a promise was broken to meet their demands. The fight to break the Adidas monopoly was led by a group of top players with contracts with other sports manufacturers.

  ■ England

  Welsh team in plane scare

  An airplane carrying the Welsh national soccer team was forced to make an emergency landing on Thursday because of a cracked windscreen. The chartered plane took off from Cardiff, Wales, at 2:30pm and landed 30 minutes later in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. The flight, which was carrying the Wales squad, coaching staff and officials, was bound for Prague, Czech Republic, for the team's 2008 European Championship qualifier against the Czechs today. Wales FA spokesman Ceri Stennett said passengers felt a jolt and could feel the plane descending quickly. "But there was no panic, the players travel by plane a lot and they handled it well," Stennett said. "But I must admit it was a bit unnerving."

  Zhang in flying fish flop

  Hoping for a birdie, top Chinese golfer Zhang Lianwei (張連偉) found a fish instead. Zhang was in mid-swing at a Chinese Omega Tour event on Thursday when a hefty carp decided to perform some out-of-water acrobatics beside the 14th hole at the Grand Shanghai course. Startled, Zhang muffed the shot and took a bogey on the hole rather than the intended birdie. He shot a 69 for the round, ending the day in a five-way tie for first at the Shandong Leg event. "I thought someone had thrown a huge stone into the water," said the 41-year-old Zhang, a pioneer of Chinese professional golf and the first Chinese player to appear in the Masters at Augusta in 2004.

  ■ NFL

  Anderson stays with Bengals

  The Cincinnati Bengals signed Willie Anderson to a five-year contract extension that will keep the right tackle with the National Football League club through 2011. Financial terms of the deal were not released, but reports have the extension worth around US$32 million. Anderson's current deal was to expire at the end of the upcoming season. "This is a huge move and commitment on our part and I'm obviously excited about it," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said. "It's great to know that one of our fine players and real team leaders is committed to be a part of our team for the long term."

  ■ Auto racing

  Prize ceremony sparks row

  Turkish Grand Prix organizers will face a disciplinary hearing after a controversial prize-giving ceremony at last Sunday's race drew complaints from Cyprus. The race organizers will be joined by the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation for the hearing before the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Sept. 19 in Paris, FIA said on Thursday. The meeting will "hear charges that they have acted in breach of FIA Statutes, the International Sporting Code and the 2006 Formula One Sporting Regulations." The race's winner, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, received the prize from Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. The government of Cyprus was angered by organizers introducing Talat as president of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state -- which only Turkey recognizes -- in the north of the war-divided island.

  ■ Cycling

  Ullrich, T-Mobile reach deal

  Jan Ullrich reached an agreement with T-Mobile to end his contract after having been fired by the team amid doping allegations. The 1997 Tour de France winner was let go on July 21 as a result of being linked to a widespread doping scandal in Spain centered around Madrid doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. "Jan Ullrich and T-Mobile have ended their negotiations and agreed on an early end to his rider's contract," Ullrich's Web site said. The 32-year-old German had threatened T-Mobile with court action after the team fired him.

  ■ Cricket

  Truth will out, Inzamam says

  Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is confident his team will be cleared of ball tampering charges he described as concocted and unjustified. "Different stories are circulating after the Oval Test fiasco, but I have no doubt we will be cleared and the truth will come out soon," he wrote in his Urdu-language column in Daily Jang yesterday. "[Umpire Darrell] Hair laid out a web to involve the Pakistan team in controversy and ball tampering. ... In time everyone will know who is telling the truth and who did injustice with who," Inzamam said in the column.
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