■TENNIS
ATP supports Andy Murray
Tennis chiefs insisted on Monday that Andy Murray was within his rights to withdraw from this week’s Marseille Open. The British star was due to be the top seed at the tournament, but he won’t be playing in France after deciding to continue his recovery from the Australian Open, where his bid to win a maiden grand slam title ended with a defeat by Roger Federer in the Melbourne final. Tournament director Jean-Francois Caujolle was quoted on Monday in a British national newspaper calling for Murray to be suspended after missing the tournament for the second straight year, but said later he was merely “really disappointed” with the Scot. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said that, in any event, there were no grounds for suspending Murray. “There are clear rules and regulations in place with regard to player withdrawals and Andy Murray followed them,” it said in a statement. “We understand a situation like this can be frustrating for a tournament, but we are looking forward to a great week of tennis in Marseille with a strong field led by six of the world’s Top 20 players.” Earlier on Monday, Caujolle told Sky Sports News: “I never said that he should be suspended, but it’s true I was really disappointed because he was my top player. “There is a responsibility for the credibility of all the game when it’s a top player. Sometimes you have to force yourself and be responsible ... I understand he’s quite young and it’s not a huge tournament but it’s quite disappointing and we had the same last year. Last year he played in Rotterdam and was a bit injured and I understand that. He sent me an e-mail saying next year I will play,” Caujolle said.
■SOCCER
Celtic’s profit plummets
Celtic’s profits have dropped dramatically and its debts have increased following the team’s failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League. The Scottish Premier League club says its pretax profit for the six months ending Dec. 31 was down 85 percent to £1.27 million (US$1.99 million) and its bank debt increased more than threefold to £3.13 million. Celtic finished runner-up to fierce city rival Rangers last season and was beaten in Champions League qualifying in August by Arsenal. Club chairman John Reid said soccer and commercial success went hand in hand. Celtic trails Rangers by 10 points with about a third of this season remaining.
■SOCCER
Uruguayan great dies
Juan Carlos Gonzalez a member of the Uruguayan squad that won the 1950 World Cup, died on Monday aged 85, local media reported. Gonzalez, who also won the Uruguayan title with Penarol, played in two of the Uruguayan side’s matches, but did not play in the final where they beat Brazil 2-1. His remains will be transferred to the Olympic Pantheon in Montevideo and will be buried alongside other Uruguayan sporting heroes.
■BASKETBALL
Gasol wins European award
Spaniard Pau Gasol has been voted European player of the year for last year, winning the award for the second year in a row, the governing body FIBA Europe said on Monday. The 2.15m center won an NBA championship title with the Los Angeles Lakers and followed that up by helping Spain to win their first European championship gold medal in Poland in September. Gasol came in ahead of Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki and Serbia’s Milos Teodosic in the voting by fans and a panel of experts.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Japan’s narrow defeat by Australia showed they can compete with the best teams in the world, coach Eddie Jones said after his side fell to a 19-15 loss yesterday. Australia coach Joe Schmidt led the Wallabies for the first time against Eddie Jones, his predecessor and now Japan coach. During Jones’ second tenure as Australia coach, the Wallabies lost seven of nine tests and were eliminated in group play at the 2023 World Cup. “What I’m super pleased about is that now we [Japan] are a team that stays in the fight,” Jones told reporters. “We kept going, we could have won
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