■ SOCCER
Beckham praises Capello
David Beckham is eager to play under new England manager Fabio Capello -- despite the stormy relationship the two shared at Real Madrid. The 32-year-old midfielder has played 99 games for England and hopes to reach his century of appearances in England's friendly against Switzerland at Wembley Stadium on Feb. 6. "Fabio is one of the managers players look up to and want to manage them. I hope I'll be part of his plans. I think he is a great appointment for England," Beckham told BBC Radio in an interview to be broadcast yesterday. Capello was noncommittal about Beckham's future during his first news conference on Dec. 17.
■ SOCCER
Referee shows red card, gun
A Malaysian referee took out his gun and fired warning shots in the air after a local soccer match turned unruly following the suspension of a player, a newspaper said yesterday. The referee, also a policeman, ran to his patrol car to get his gun after players mobbed him for showing the red-card to one of them, the New Straits Times said. "We are investigating as to whether the policeman was justified in taking out his firearm and discharging it, and also why he had it with him during the match," it quoted Hussin Ismail, police chief in the southern Johor state, as saying. The policeman was taken into custody for suspected misuse of firearms. Five players, aged between 23 and 40, were also being held for questioning, the paper said.
■ RUGBY UNION
Williams may coach Ulster
Former Scotland coach Matt Williams is expected to be named as the new coach of Ulster, the Belfast Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday. The 46-year-old Australian, who has also had a spell in charge of Leinster, has been lined up to replace Mark McCall, who resigned after a string of poor results last month. Caretaker coach Steve Williams will remain in charge of team affairs for the visit of Munster on Jan. 4. Williams endured a torrid time in the Scotland hotseat. In two years, he won three out of 17 games and was sacked along with his backroom staff in April 2005.
■ SOCCER
Amor cleared to go home
Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Guillermo Amor has been cleared to return home after being badly injured in a car crash, medical staff at the Verge de la Cinta Hospital in Tortosa, Tarragona, have said. The 40-year-old had been taken there suffering from serious injuries to his chest, stomach and pelvis. His car left a road and crashed down an embankment while he was returning home in the early hours of Dec. 16, after commentating on a league match between Valencia and Barcelona.
■ BOXING
Winner loses consciousness
A South Korean boxer fell unconscious and was rushed into surgery with a brain injury following his WBO intercontinental flyweight win against an Indonesian challenger. Cho Yoi-sam, 33, unanimously outpointed Heri Amol, 24, in his title defense match in Seoul, although he was knocked down in the final 12th round. Shortly after the fight, however, Choi, a former WBC champion, lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital. Choi underwent brain surgery for several hours and his condition was not immediately known, a nurse at the emergency room at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Seoul said.
■ SOCCER
Lowe busted for possession
Former forward Onandi Lowe has been arrested for marijuana possession, police said on Monday. Lowe, who was cleared of drug charges in England in 2005, was arrested on Sunday evening while driving on a highway south of Kingston, the Jamaican capital. Authorities found 42 marijuana cigarettes in Lowe's car, police said. Lowe was released from custody after posting US$300 bail and was scheduled to appear before a judge on Jan. 8. A former player with English League Championship team Coventry City, Lowe scored 19 goals in over 60 appearances for the Reggae Boyz. He played for Jamaica at the 1998 World Cup in France. The striker was arrested by British police in April 2004 for allegedly attempting to smuggle crack-cocaine out of the country.
■ SOCCER
Iraq own goal loses game
A bizarre own goal seven minutes from time by Iraq's Ahmad Abid gave Thailand a 2-1 victory on Monday and a place in the final of the King's Cup tournament. With the score locked at 1-1, Abid tried to clear a powerful low cross from Narongchai Vachiraban with a spectacular diving header but found his own net instead, handing the Thais a place in the final with one round-robin game remaining. The hosts took the lead on 43 minutes when in-form striker Surayuth Chaikamdee broke free on the right and floated an inch-perfect cross on to the head of the onrushing Nattaporn Phanrit, who buried the ball in the roof of the net. Iraq came back fighting in the second half and took just five minutes to find the equalizer when forward Mubarak Almas brought down a looping cross and beat the Thai keeper from close range.
■ SOCCER
Chelsea may be short
Chelsea could be without its first and second-choice goalkeepers heading into the busy Christmas and New Year period -- and at least for Wednesday's match against Aston Villa. Petr Cech had a scan on Monday after straining a side muscle in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Blackburn in the Premier League on Sunday. Cech went off midway through the second half and was replaced by goalkeeper Hilario because second-choice Carlo Cudicini was sidelined after hurting his rib in training. Chelsea declined to put a time limit on the two recovering. "Scans today have shown bruising around Petr's hip and side," Chelsea said in a statement on Monday. "We will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days and hope to have him back playing as soon as possible."
■ SOCCER
Maradona praises Iran
Former Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona says he wants to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a leading US foe, local media reported on Monday. Maradona, an outspoken critic of the administration of US President George W. Bush, gave a signed soccer shirt to an Iranian diplomat on Saturday after a game in the televised Showbol tournament of mini-matches. Maradona, 47, is an admirer of Cuban President Fidel Castro and he said this month he wanted a tattoo of Hugo Chavez, the fiery left-wing president of Venezuela and an ally of Iran. "I've already met Fidel and Chavez ... I'd like to meet Ahmadinejad," he told Iran's top diplomat in Argentina Mohsen Baharvand in a video broadcast by local media on Monday. "I'm there with the people of Iran, really with all my heart," he said after the game in Buenos Aires.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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