SOCCER
Maradona in hot water
Former Argentina coach Diego Maradona is in hot water after he accused sacked successor Sergio Batista of accepting bribes to include certain players in the team, local media reports alleged on Thursday. Batista was sacked after July’s Copa America flop on home soil having only replaced Maradona following last year’s World Cup, which ended in a quarter-final thrashing by Germany. Batista had already been in the Argentina coaching set-up before taking over from Maradona as coach of the senior side, having led the Olympic squad to glory at the 2008 Games. He said he is taking legal action after Maradona, now coach of United Arab Emirates club Al Wasl, told TyC Sports that “after we [Maradona and his entourage] took over the team there was an end to bribes.” Maradona suggested that certain arrangements had been in place to give certain players guarantees, before he stamped out the practice. Batista strongly rejected Maradona’s allegations and said he would take legal action to counter Maradona’s “falsehoods, [which are] a product of resentment” at being ousted as national coach.
SOCCER
Balotelli visits prosecutor
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been interviewed by the public prosecutor in Naples over links to the local mafia, known as the Camorra, Italian media have reported. Balotelli traveled back to Italy with the Napoli team in the early hours of Thursday morning following Wednesday night’s Champions League clash at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. On Thursday, he went to the public prosecutor’s office to discuss a trip he took around a notorious Camorra stronghold in Naples called Scampia. Balotelli is said to have been accompanied on his visit, in June last year, by suspected Camorra leader Marco Iorio, who has been arrested for money laundering, amongst other things. The 21-year-old forward previously claimed he did not know who Iorio was. “I didn’t know who those people were, that day in Naples there were always many people around me,” Balotelli said in June this year.
CRICKET
Lancashire claim title
Lancashire won their first English championship title since 1934 when they defeated Somerset by eight wickets on the final day of the county season on Thursday. Steven Croft (40 not out) struck the winning runs to ensure a 10th win of the season and the title for Lancashire with five overs to spare after Warwickshire failed to beat Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Lancashire have finished second eight times since 1934, five of them in the last 13 years. They shared the title with Surrey in 1950. “The boys have been amazing this year, competitive to the end,” captain Glen Chapple said. “We have played good cricket all the way through, we have won games that maybe some other teams wouldn’t have won.” Lancashire have been based in Liverpool this season while Old Trafford in Manchester is being redeveloped.
TENNIS
Hlavackova ousts Safarova
Andrea Hlavackova ousted second-seeded Czech compatriot Lucie Safarova 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 on Thursday to reach her first career WTA quarter-final at the Quebec City Challenge. Hlavackova, ranked No. 103, booked a last-eight date with sixth seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, who ousted Mirjana Lucic of Croatia 2-6, 6-1, 6-3. New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic upset US seventh seed Irina Falconi 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, while top seed Daniela Hantuchova rallied for a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Hungary’s Melinda Czink.
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener. A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on. “In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said. “It was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time, despite the weather
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