■ PORTUGAL
Veloso joins Genoa
Sporting on Tuesday confirmed an agreement to sell highly rated defensive midfielder Miguel Veloso to Serie A side Genoa for 9 million euros (US$11.9 million). The Portuguese giants, however, have made sure they are paid well for releasing the Portuguese international by including several stipulations in the contract, according to a club statement published on the Portuguese stock exchange. Sporting will receive a further 500,000 euros from Genoa if the Italians qualify for a group phase of a UEFA-affiliated competition, such as the Champions League or the Europa League. And if the 24-year-old Veloso is sold on for a fee of 10 million euros or more, Sporting “have the right to receive 20 percent of the profits.” Sporting had agreed to selling Veloso on Friday, when the club also announced the arrival of Spaniard Alberto Zapater, a midfielder who played for Genoa last season.
■ SUDAN
FIFA set deadline
FIFA has given Sudan an Aug. 15 deadline to rerun their Football Association presidential election or face suspension from international soccer. FIFA said it did not recognize the Sudanese Football Association (SFA) vote on July 26 which elected Mutasim Jaafar as the new president because the government barred the former SFA chief from standing. World soccer’s governing body, which requires governments to refrain from meddling in national soccer federations, said earlier that other candidates had also been barred. “FIFA’s Emergency Committee decided not to recognize the results of the elections and to set a deadline of 15 August 2010 to hold new elections in compliance with the SFA Statutes and without any influence of third parties,” FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday.
■ BRAZIL
Santos stars say sorry
Santos’ players have apologized after a confrontation with the club’s fans in a live online chat video. The players argued with fans throughout last Wednesday’s session, and the incident was widely reported by several Web sites and TV sports shows in Brazil. After a fan wrote that goalkeeper Felipe has “lettuce hands,” the player replied by saying: “What I spend on food for my dog is what you make in a month.” Felipe said on Tuesday that “it was a joke that got misinterpreted. I apologize if anybody was offended by it.”
■WORLD CUP
FIFA fines finalists
Spain have been fined 10,000 Swiss francs (US$9,363) and the Netherlands SF15,000 for the behavior of their players in last month’s World Cup final, FIFA said on Tuesday. Winners Spain had five players booked and the Dutch received eight yellow cards while defender John Heitinga was sent off. A spokesman said the teams were fined under article 52 of the FIFA disciplinary code, under which “disciplinary measures may be imposed on associations and clubs where a team fails to conduct itself properly.”
■ RUSSIA
Zenit snap up Bruno Alves
Zenit Saint-Petersburg signed experienced Portuguese international defender Bruno Alves for 22 million euros (US$29 million) from Portuguese champions FC Porto on Tuesday. The 28-year-old — capped 35 times and an ever present at the World Cup finals where Portugal exited in the second round — is yet to sign his contract as he has to undergo a medical. Alves won four successive league titles with Porto and was named Portuguese player of the year in the 2008-2009 season.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
Taiwanese pitcher Teng Kai-wei took the mound in New York on Saturday as the starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in his MLB season debut against the New York Mets, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing five runs. The Taiwanese right-hander struggled early, giving up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, including a three-run homer to Mets slugger Pete Alonso — his 250th career home run. However, Teng was not fazed and soon found his footing, holding the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the second and third innings. Meanwhile, Mets starter Kodai Senga of Japan made a few errors
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