■SOCCER
Gerrard charged with assault
Steven Gerrard, the captain of English Premier League leaders Liverpool, was charged yesterday with assault and affray over an alleged bar brawl, police said. The soccer star, 28, was charged with two others who were also arrested at 2:30am on Monday after an incident at a bar in Southport, England. The venue’s disc jockey, a 34-year-old local man, required hospital treatment after suffering facial injuries. Gerrard was released on bail from Southport police station early yesterday. The disturbance occurred hours after Liverpool won 5-1 at Newcastle United on Sunday. “The three men will be appearing at North Sefton Magistrates’ Court on Jan. 23,” police said in a statement. Gerrard was arrested at the Lounge Inn, which was closed on Monday, but shards of broken glass were visible on the floor.
■SOCCER
Four die in celebrations
At least four people were killed during a raucous night of partying in the streets of Vietnam after the national soccer team won its first international title, a newspaper reported yesterday. Three men died in traffic accidents in Ho Chi Minh City and another was hit and killed by drag racers in the neighboring province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau after Vietnam beat Thailand on aggregate to win the Southeast Asian championship on Sunday, Thanh Nien Daily reported. In Hanoi, hundreds of thousands of people jammed the city to celebrate the win. Hanoi hospitals treated 63 cases of people injured in traffic accidents, including three skull fractures.
■SOCCER
Three-second red card
Amateur soccer player David Pratt is being credited with earning the fastest-ever red card after being sent off just three seconds into a game. The Chippenham, England, striker made headlines on Monday after getting the red card for lunging at Bashley’s Chris Knowles in the seventh-tier Southern Premier Division over the weekend. “I play with passion and commitment and I saw the ball and just went for the tackle,” Pratt said. Media called Pratt’s accomplishment a world record, although not all amateur leagues keep records of such feats. The record for quickest dismissal in a professional match is believed to be held by Italian club Bologna’s Giuseppe Lorenzo, who was sent off after 10 seconds in 1990 for hitting a Parma player.
■BASKETBALL
Clippers’ Davis suspended
Ricky Davis, a swingman for the Los Angeles Clippers, was suspended for five games by the NBA on Monday for violating the league’s anti-drug program. The 29-year-old veteran was originally announced as missing his first game yesterday when the Clippers were to visit Sacramento. Because Davis has not played since Nov. 22 with a left knee injury, his suspension will not begin until he is healthy and returned to the active lineup for the Clippers.
■HOCKEY
Dead Russian took drugs
Alexei Cherepanov, the New York Rangers draft pick who died during a Russian league hockey match in October, was taking banned drugs, the public prosecutor’s office said. It said that analysis of his blood and urine showed no presence of alcohol or narcotics, but indicated that the 19-year-old had been taking banned medications for several months. It added that he was suffering from a chronic heart disease. The Avangard Omsk player collapsed while returning to the bench toward the end of a match against Vitiaz Chekhov on Oct. 14.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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