■BRAZIL
Palmeiras win derby match
A hat-trick by Obina gave Palmeiras a 3-0 win in their Sao Paulo derby on Sunday against Corinthians, who lost Ronaldo with a suspected broken hand. Palmeiras joined Atletico Mineiro, shock 1-0 losers at home to Goias, at the top of the Brazilian championship standings with 28 points from 14 matches. Atletico lead by a difference of one goal. The two teams are four points ahead of Vitoria, who beat Coritiba 1-0 at home, and Internacional, who went down 3-2 away to Botafogo on Saturday. Palmeiras, unable to fly because of poor visibility on Saturday, had to make a 570km bus trip to the city of Presidente Prudente where the derby was played to avoid crowd trouble in Sao Paulo, but still turned in the better performance. Ronaldo, who fell badly on his left arm, had to leave the field after 20 minutes and Corinthians doctor Paulo de Faria said he had “a suspected fracture of the hand, he hurts a lot and cannot play.”
■BRAZIL
Romario facing jail term
Former Brazil striker Romario is appealing a tax evasion conviction that could keep him in prison for up to three-and-a-half years, Brazilian media reported on Sunday. Romario was convicted and sentenced on June 9 after accusations he evaded about US$500,000 in taxes when he played for Brazilian club Flamengo in 1996 and 1997, Globo’s G1 Web site reported. He allegedly did not declare his earnings in full at the time. The striker, who helped Brazil win the 1994 World Cup in the US, is likely to escape prison time, however, and the sentence could be transformed into community service after an appeal, G1 said, citing prosecutors. Less than two weeks ago, Romario was arrested in a child support case involving his first wife and spent a night in jail until reportedly paying what he owed.
■ENGLAND
Shearer still in the dark
Alan Shearer still has no idea whether he will be appointed permanent Newcastle United manager, only two weeks before the club begins life in the Championship (second division), the former England striker said on Sunday. Shearer took over as manager of the club for the last eight games of the Premier League season, but could not prevent their relegation. With owner Mike Ashley trying to sell the club, assistant manager Chris Hughton has taken charge of their pre-season friendlies, including a 6-1 defeat by League One (third division) Leyton Orient on Saturday. “I am the same as everyone else, I am in limbo — I don’t know what is going on,” Shearer told the BBC at a St James’ Park match to raise funds for former Newcastle and England manager Bobby Robson’s cancer charity. “I know as much as you. I would dearly love it to be sorted out one way or the other, then the club can move forward. Everyone is telling me there are people in to buy the club. If that is the case, then great. I’m a fan like everyone else and I don’t like to see the situation the club is in.”
■HONDURAS
Two fans shot dead
Two people were shot dead and more than 15 injured in Honduras on Sunday when fans of rival soccer teams clashed outside a stadium following a match, police said. Police arrested dozens when they moved in to quell the violence, which erupted after the two teams, Olimpia and Motagua, tied 0-0 in the Honduran capital, police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said. “There are two dead,” Cerrato told reporters, saying they had been shot. Honduras has been on edge since president Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup last month.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
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