BRAZIL
Marcelinho accused of rape
Brazilian soccer player Marcelo dos Santos, better known as Marcelinho Paraiba or simply “Marcelinho,” was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday on suspicion of attempted rape, police said. Paraiba, 36, an attacking midfielder who won five caps for Brazil and still plays with Sport Recife, was arrested with three friends after a young woman accused them of trying to rape her at a party at the player’s Rio residence. The arrest was announced by police commissioner Fernando Zoccola, according to Globo media Web site G1. His lawyer, Afonso Vilar, told G1 that the soccer player denies assaulting anyone and told him he was drinking with around 30 people at his Rio apartment when he was surprised by the unexpected arrival of the police.
BARCELONA
Adriano out with injury
Barcelona’s Brazilian wing-back Adriano will be sidelined for no more than a week after pulling a hamstring in Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, the Catalan club announced on Wednesday. “Tests have confirmed that the player has pulled a muscle in his left hamstring,” a statement read on Barcelona’s Web site. “He will be out for approximately five to seven days, and will therefore miss Saturday’s league game against Levante and next Tuesday’s Champions League match against BATE Borisov.” Gerard Pique will also miss the home meeting with Levante, although the central defender’s absence is because of a suspension.
BAYERN MUNICH
Gomez to play despite shin
Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez is set to face Werder Bremen in this weekend’s crunch German league clash, despite pulling out of training on Wednesday, the Bavarian giants have confirmed. The 26-year-old has scored 13 league goals in 13 games this season and took a painful knock to his right shin in training ahead of Saturday’s home game against Bremen, but the club told reporters he was set to play. After receiving the knock at Bayern’s training ground, Gomez was treated for several minutes before he headed off to the changing rooms, but is expected to play at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
WEST BROM
Zoltan Gera out for season
West Brom midfielder Zoltan Gera was on Wednesday ruled out for the rest of the season after a scan revealed he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing against Tottenham on Saturday, the club announced. The 32-year-old Hungarian national captain — who returned to West Brom from Fulham in the summer — will undergo an operation on his left knee and is expected to be out for between six to nine months. Gera initially joined West Brom from Ferencvaros in 2004, making more than 150 appearances before signing for Fulham — where present WBA manager Roy Hodgson was in charge — four years later.
SOUTH KOREA
Lee may go to Vancouver
South Korea’s star defender Lee Young-pyo is likely to join Major League Soccer club the Vancouver Whitecaps, news reports said yesterday. “We still disagree on one or two details and we need a bit more time, but the Whitecaps seem to be very interested in signing Lee,” South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo daily quoted the player’s agent as saying. The agent could not be reached for comment. The Korea Times also said his agency, Jissen, has been in talks with the Whitecaps.
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
Ollie Watkins’ second-half header on Thursday gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille OSC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendia headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Ozer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the ’keeper. Nottingham Forest were stunned 1-0 by Danish club Midtjylland, with substitute Cho
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