BELGIUM
Mechelen thrashed by Gent
Taiwan international Javier Chen’s KV Mechelen were on the wrong end of a hammering on Friday night in the Belgian Jupiler League as they fell to a 6-2 defeat away to KAA Gent. The hosts were 1-0 ahead at the break after Mechelen’s Maxim Biset put into his own net after 19 minutes and they doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Elimane Coulibaly scored the second. However, Mechelen drew level just three minutes later after Boubacar Dialiba Diabang (58) and Julien Gorius (59) scored for the visitors to make it 2-2. Gent went back in front in the 74th minute when Tim Smolders converted and it got worse for the visitors as Gent ran away with the game.
GERMANY
Mainz beat Stuttgart 3-1
Nigerian forward Anthony Ujah scored his first two Bundesliga goals as struggling FSV Mainz 05 came from behind to beat VfB Stuttgart 3-1 in a match featuring two red cards on Friday. Mainz, without a victory in nine outings, turned the form book inside out to defeat sixth-placed Stuttgart. The home team had Eugen Polanski sent off in the 83rd minute and Stuttgart defender Maza was also dismissed in stoppage time. Cacau put visiting Stuttgart in front six minutes after the break, but two minutes later 21-year-old Ujah headed the equalizer. Mainz went ahead on the hour following a harshly awarded penalty for handball by Maza that was converted by midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz. Four minutes later the Austrian set up Ujah for his second goal.
ITALY
Inter game postponed
Inter’s Seria A game in Genoa today has been postponed after deadly storms hit the Italian port city. Flash flooding on Friday after heavy rainfall left six people dead. Five of the victims, including two children, died when the lobby of an apartment block in which they had sought shelter flooded and a woman was apparently crushed by cars being swept away by the water.
ENGLAND
FA to appeal Rooney ban
The Football Association (FA) is to appeal Wayne Rooney’s ban that has ruled the Manchester United striker out of the Euro 2012 group stages. Rooney put his Euro participation in danger when he blatantly kicked Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzudovic, yet he has been assured by England manager Fabio Capello that he will figure in his Euro squad. Rooney claims the punishment, which would scupper his chances of featuring in the tournament at all should England fail to reach the knockout phase, was “a bit harsh.” And that view has been endorsed, in writing, by Dzudovic, and it is thought that will provide the central component of the FA’s appeal to UEFA.
FRANCE
PSG woo David Beckham
Paris Saint-Germain went on the charm offensive on Friday in their bid to lure David Beckham to the French league leaders. Qatari investors have plowed millions of euros into PSG since buying the club in May and the 36-year-old former England captain, whose Los Angeles Galaxy contract ends in the coming weeks, is seen as a key target. “David Beckham goes beyond the sport. He is an ambassador, he is a brand, he is an example to others,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi told www.lequipe.fr. “But he is also still a very good football player whose age is not a problem.” The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan winger has said he is yet to decide on his future and will wait for the Major League Soccer season to end.
BASEBALL
Cardinals veteran dies
Bob Forsch, who took the mound and cheerfully threw out the first pitch of Game 7 of the World Series on Friday last week, died at his home in Tampa, Florida. He was 61. Forsch collapsed at home on Thursday and died from an aneurysm in his upper chest, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Friday. Forsch is the pitcher with the third-most wins in Cardinals history and had two career no-hitters. The death is sobering news for St Louis, who are still celebrating their World Series title. Forsch won 163 games for the Cardinals from 1974 to 1988. He played his last season in Houston, retiring in 1989.
RUGBY UNION
Samoan back in hot water
Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu faces an English Rugby Football Union (RFU) disciplinary hearing for recent comments on his Twitter account, which could also activate a suspended six-month ban from the International Rugby Board (IRB). The Gloucester center was cited by the RFU for alleged derogatory comments about Saracens opposite Owen Farrell following their Premiership club match last weekend, for being critical of the judicial process, the World Cup and IRB. While representing Samoa at the World Cup, Fuimaono-Sapolu was handed a suspended six-month ban by the IRB last month for accusing Welsh referee Nigel Owens of being racist and biased. The RFU charged Fuimaono-Sapolu with “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.” It specified insulting or provocative comments about Farrell, critical or sarcastic comments about the disciplinary process and critical comments about the World Cup and IRB that he tweeted or retweeted from Tuesday last week to Monday.
FOOTBALL
New helmets not safer: study
Modern helmets are no more effective in protecting high-school and college players from injury than the leather helmets used nearly 100 years ago, according to a new study by the Cleveland Clinic. Researchers conducted impact tests on the latest, high-tech helmets and low-tech old ones that mimicked the hits young players routinely suffer on the field and that lead to thousands of concussions each year. “What we tested were common, everyday hits,” lead researcher Adam Bartsch said. “We didn’t test the really severe NFL kill shots.” The researchers discovered that for most impacts and angles, today’s polycarbonate helmets are no better at reducing injury than the “leatherheads” of old. And in some cases, the old helmets offered slightly better protection. Bartsch called the results “really surprising.” He said they raised serious questions about the effectiveness of a helmet with a hard outer shell and a fairly stiff interior padding in protecting players from hits that over time could lead to head, neck and brain injuries. The researchers, whose finding are published online in the Journal of Neurosurgery, said they hope the study would prompt helmet manufacturers to re-examine design.
BOXING
AIBA mulls skirts for women
Amateur boxing’s governing body will sound out competitors and the public before deciding whether women should wear skirts instead of shorts in the ring at the London Olympics. AIBA spokesman Sebastien Gillot said on Friday the world body had never suggested skirts should be compulsory and the association was surprised at the way a clothing controversy had snowballed in the past week. Several women boxers have criticized attempts to encourage them to wear skirts for what seemed to be purely aesthetic reasons.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
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
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
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