■CHINA
CFA head held in probe
The head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has been taken in for questioning by police investigating matchfixing, state media reported yesterday. Nan Yong, who took over as head of the CFA a year ago, was taken away by a police investigative group who were probing a series of matchfixing scandals, Xinhua news agency reported on its Web site, citing Ministry of Public Security officials. CFA vice president Yang Yimin and Zhang Jianqiang, who was formerly in charge of referee arrangements, were also taken in by police, Xinhua said. The three were questioned by police to “clarify some facts in several important cases of soccer gambling and illegal manipulating domestic soccer league games by using business bribery”, the report said. Jia Xiuquan, former head coach of Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, was also questioned by police, the Beijing Times said yesterday.
■COLOMBIA
Fan killer back in action
A player who acknowledged he killed a heckling fan last year is back playing for Colombian club Atletico Junior. Midfielder Javier Florez played 75 minutes on Tuesday in an exhibition match between the reserves of Atletico Junior and Real Cartagena. Florez said heckling fans challenged him to a fight after Atletico Junior lost a Colombian league match on July 5. He said he was drunk and pulled a gun on the fans. He said one of them tried to take it away, and it went off several times. He said he did not intend to kill anyone. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years probation.
■ENGLAND
Pompey woes worsen
Cash-strapped Portsmouth found themselves under attack from a former player on Wednesday when they confirmed they were being sued by Sol Campbell. The former England defender, now at Arsenal, has alleged he is owed £1.7 million (US$2.8 million) in unpaid image rights and bonuses by the club he captained to FA Cup glory in 2008. Confirmation of Campbell’s move came just a day after Premier League basement club Portsmouth’s bid to have a winding up petition from British tax authorities struck out was rejected by a judge. Meanwhile Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie appeared in court on Wednesday over a fraud allegation. Storrie, 57, has been accused of “cheating the public revenue” between July 1, 2003 and November 28, 2007 over the signing-on fee for midfielder Amdy Faye from French club Auxerre to Portsmouth. Storrie spoke to confirm his name during the preliminary hearing in London but the charge was not put to him, and he was not asked to enter a plea. The case was adjourned until April 15 but the trial proper is more than a year away after Judge Peter Testar set a date of May 16, 2011.
■ITALY
Mutu stars in Viola victory
Adrian Mutu scored twice and created a third on Wednesday to help Fiorentina knock holders Lazio out of the Italian Cup with a 3-2 win. The Romanian scored both his goals in the first half and then set up Per Kroldrup for the winner in the 58th. Lazio pulled within a goal twice, as Mauro Zarate made it 2-1 in the 50th and his strike partner Tommaso Rocchi netted in the 68th. However, despite continued pressure, Lazio was unable to find an equalizer. Fiorentina will now play the winner between Inter and Juventus, who meet next week.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),