■ SPAIN
Matuzalem loaned to Lazio
Real Zaragoza have agreed to loan their Brazilian midfielder Francelino Matuzalem to Italian side Lazio for one season, the Spanish club said on Friday. “Real Zaragoza have reached an agreement for the season-long loan to Lazio of Francelino Matuzalem. The player will be in Rome to sign an agreement with the Italian club,” Zaragoza said in a statement on their Web site. The 28-year-old joined Zaragoza from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk last year, but had been certain to leave after the Spanish side were relegated. Matuzalem played for Italian sides Brescia, Napoli, Parma and Piacenza before joining Shakhtar in 2004.
■ ENGLAND
Evra charged for brawl
Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell have been charged with improper conduct following a post-match brawl at Stamford Bridge last season. Evra briefly traded blows with Bethell following Chelsea’s 2-1 win over United on April 26 when members of the London club’s ground staff demanded that several United players, including the French defender, stop their warm-down on the pitch. The United players refused to leave and an angry row broke out between the stars and Chelsea stewards and ground staff. Now Evra will have to answer the FA charge, while Bethell has also been charged with using abusive language aggravated by reference to nationality-race. The FA, who took witness statements during their investigation, could hit Evra with a range of punishments, including a fine or ban.
■ GERMANY
Schweinsteiger keen to stay
Bayern Munich’s international midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger on Friday said he was determined to sign a new deal with the German first division champions. The 23-year-old, who has been in negotiations with the club’s management since the end of last season, was speaking as he returned for his first training session under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “My first choice will be Bayern. Bayern is my home,” said Schweinsteiger, who came through the club’s youth ranks and has scored 15 goals since making his first team debut in 2002.
■ ENGLAND
Kitson signs for the Potters
Stoke City signed Reading striker Dave Kitson for a club record fee of £5.5 million (US$11 million) on Friday. Kitson agreed a three-year contract after passing a medical at the Britannia Stadium and becomes Stoke’s first signing since they won promotion to the Premier League last season. The 28-year-old scored 54 goals in 111 appearances for Reading, helping the Royals into the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2006. But relegation last season persuaded Kitson that it was time to move on. “I’m delighted to be here and I am very excited about the challenge,” he said.
■ ITALY
Clubs may be docked points
Serie A team Atalanta and Serie B club Livorno could begin next season with six-point penalties if found guilty in a match-fixing probe, Italy’s soccer federation said on Friday. The federation’s prosecutor requested the penalties in a hearing of the disciplinary commission, which is expected to rule next week. The prosecutor also requested suspensions for two players charged with attempting to fix the two league games between their teams last season. Livorno captain David Balleri and Atalanta captain Gian Paolo Bellini could be disqualified for three years and one month.
■ BASKETBALL
Nowitzki shines for Germany
Dirk Nowitzki overcame an early shooting slump to score a game-high 20 points and lead Germany past Brazil 78-65 and into the semi-finals of the Olympic basketball qualifier in Athens on Friday. Greece, Puerto Rico and Croatia also advanced to yesterday’s semis. Germany were to face Croatia and Greece were to play Puerto Rico. The semi-finals winners will qualify for the 12-team Olympic tournament, while the losers will play today for the final berth. While Nowitzki started out shooting 1-for-8, Germany kept itself in the game thanks to its outside shooting. Overall, it made 13-of-26 3-pointers to Brazil’s 3-for-19. Nowitzki is now the tournament’s top scorer, averaging 23.7 after three games.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Toews to captain Hawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are counting on youthful energy to make up for any lack of experience on the part of new captain Jonathan Toews. The National Hockey League (NHL) club on Friday made the 20-year-old Toews the third-youngest player in the history of the league to hold the title of captain. He has played 64 NHL games. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby was appointed captain of the Penguins in May last year at 19 years, 297 days, while Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier took the helm of the Lightning in March 2000 at 19 years, 330 days.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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