■ UNITED KINGDOM
Alex Ferguson attacked
A man has been charged with assault after an alleged attack on Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson at a train station. According to British Transport Police (BTP), who are responsible for dealing with crime on the train services, Ferguson received injuries to his leg after an incident at Euston Station in London on Monday afternoon after he had traveled from Manchester. BTP issued a statement confirming the alleged attack and said the Red Devils manager was not badly hurt and was able to continue to the function he was on the due to attend. The police said that a 40-year-old man had been charged with assault.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Ian Porterfield dies
Ian Porterfield, who scored a legendary FA Cup final winner and later managed Chelsea and a string of national teams, died on Tuesday, his family said. He was 61. Tributes were paid yesterday to the Armenia manager, who was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year. He died in a hospice in Surrey, southwest of London. Porterfield scored the only goal in the 1973 FA Cup final as second-tier Sunderland defeated English top-flight giants Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley, one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup final history.
■ JAPAN
Japan win tournament
Late second-half substitute Kisho Yano scored in injury time to give Japan a 4-3 victory over Switzerland on Tuesday, and send them home with the title in a four-nation friendly tournament. After Japan fell behind 2-0 by the 13th minute, Shunsuke Nakamura converted a pair of second-half penalties and Seiichiro Maki had another to put the Asians ahead 3-2 by the 78th. But Swiss substitute Johan Djourou equalized from a corner kick in the 79th setting the stage for Yano's dramatic winner. After the 0-0 draw with Austria on Friday, Japan finished with four points -- one better than Switzerland and Chile, who beat Austria 2-0 on Tuesday. Austria finished with two points.
■ ASIA
Player of the year finalists
Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud and South Korean World Cup veteran Lee Woon-jae are among 33 players in the running for the Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Year award. Contenders include five players from Asian Cup champion Iraq, four from Japan, three from Saudi Arabia, two each from Iran, South Korea, Thailand, Kuwait, Vietnam, Oman and Syria, and one each from the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Tajikistan and China, the AFC said in a statement yesterday. The AFC Annual Awards ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 28 in Sydney, Australia. Players who have earned 40 or more points in this year's AFC or FIFA competitions have been included in the shortlist.
■ UNITED STATES
Chivas snap up Hunter
Former National Hockey League and National Basketball Association executive Shawn Hunter has been hired as president and chief executive officer of Chivas USA. The 44-year-old Hunter will assume responsibility of the day-to-day operation for the Mexico-based ownership of the Major League Soccer team. Chivas USA shares the Home Depot Center in Carson with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Chivas has the fourth-best record this season, but the team's attendance for home games is down from last year.
Taiwan’s top male badminton player, Chou Tien-chen, on Saturday bowed out in the men’s singles semi-finals at the Thailand Open after losing in straight games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, lost to the world No. 2 Thai 21-7, 21-19 in 53 minutes. The victory improved Vitidsarn’s head-to-head record against Chou to 3-5. Chou, 36, trailed throughout the opening game after the score was tied 2-2. His relatively passive approach allowed the 25-year-old Thai to capitalize on Chou’s defensive clears with powerful smashes while committing few unforced errors. The Taiwanese
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
Jannik Sinner has his eyes on a first Roland Garros title after winning the Italian Open on Sunday to claim a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 tournament victory. World No. 1 Sinner beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to complete the “Golden Masters” by winning all of the ATP’s top-ranked events, in the process becoming the first Italian men’s champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago. Only Novak Djokovic had previously won all nine Masters 1000 events before Sunday, but there was little doubt about Sinner triumphing over the past 10 days. Sinner heads to Roland Garros, which starts at the weekend,
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