ENGLAND
Parachutist halts match
A non-league match was halted at the weekend when a parachutist landed in the middle of the pitch. To the amazement of the Salisbury City and Chester players, and the 1,000 fans inside the stadium, the airborne invader touched down in the second half. He then calmly packed up his parachute and walked off to applause from supporters. Former Stoke City defender Danny Higginbotham, now playing for fifth-tier Chester, said it was one of the strangest things he had seen in his long career. “The most bizarre thing I have ever seen on a football pitch happened today,” he said on Twitter. “Halfway through the second half out of nowhere a parachutist landed on the pitch. No idea where he was supposed to land but he hit the ground hard. #bizarre.”
ITALY
Injured Kaka refuses pay
Kaka has asked AC Milan to stop paying his salary until he recovers from an injury. In a video message on Monday, Kaka said: “I don’t want anything from Milan except for love and support until I am better... for this reason, I have decided to suspend my current pay for this period of time.” Kaka returned to Milan in the summer, four years after leaving for Real Madrid in what was a world-record transfer at the time. The Brazilian is expected to be out for about a month with an injured left adductor. Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said Kaka was “crying” on the telephone when he called to inform Galliani of the injury and his decision.
ENGLAND
Ex-referee warns of stress
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has said officials could commit suicide as a result of the pressures related to the job. In his autobiography, which has been serialized by the Sun newspaper, Halsey writes that his former colleagues should receive more help to cope with the stress of their job. Halsey, who retired at the end of last season, said: “It will not be long before a referee has a nervous breakdown... I also believe that if we do not do something to help referees with mental health and stress issues, then we could see a suicide.” Halsey was abused on Twitter by fans last season after officiating a 2-1 win for Manchester United against Liverpool. The tweets referred to his treatment for throat cancer in 2009.
ITALY
Roma rout Parma, go top
Goals from Alessandro Florenzi, Francesco Totti and Kevin Strootman — from the penalty spot — moved AS Roma joint top of Serie A thanks to a 3-1 win over Parma on Monday. With three wins in as many games and level on goal-difference with SSC Napoli, Roma sit just behind Rafael Benitez’s leaders, but two points ahead of Inter, ACF Fiorentina and champions Juventus following draws for all three at the weekend. Roma went north feeling confident, having lost just once to Parma in their past 14 Serie A encounters. However, it was Parma who secured a halftime lead on 39 minutes after Jonathan Biabiany headed past Roma goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis from Mattia Cassani’s delivery. Roma leveled barely two minutes after the restart when Miralem Pjanic sent a chip into the path of Florenzi, who beat Antonio Mirante with a well-struck shot. In the 70th minute, Roma captain Totti was played onside by a Parma defender on the other side of the field and collected Strootman’s chip, before sending Mirante the wrong way. The visitors’ joy was complete when Gervinho won a penalty five minutes from the final whistle and Dutch midfielder Strootman stepped up to beat Mirante.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Shahzad Khan was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
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