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 stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
Taiwanese-American right fielder Corbin Carroll on Tuesday hit his third home run in two days to tie for the MLB lead with 14 homers. Carroll on Monday hit two homers for the Arizona Diamondbacks in their 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants to put him with in one of the hit leaders. Although the Giants got their revenge on Tuesday night, beating Arizona 10-6, Carroll hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to tie him with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the most homers so far this year. In the previous night’s
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