ITALY
Rossi’s Cup hopes alive
Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi has suffered ligament damage to his troublesome right knee, but not a rupture of the cruciate as feared, his Serie A club ACF Fiorentina announced on Monday. Rossi’s World Cup hopes had been thrown into turmoil on Sunday when he limped off the pitch in the 71st minute following a foul by Liandro Rinaudo in a 1-0 win over AS Livorno. The 26-year-old suffered a “second degree injury of the right anterior ligament,” his team confirmed after he underwent tests on Monday. However, Rossi’s agent, Federico Pastorello, posted a message on Twitter which suggested the striker could return to action within two months. “It looks like a sprain with damage to the collateral ligament,” Pastorello said. “In six or seven weeks he could be back on the pitch.” Rossi only returned to action this season following a lengthy layoff because of injuries to the same knee, but has hit 14 goals to become Serie A’s top scorer and is firmly in the World Cup plans of Italy coach Cesare Prandelli.
ITALY
Di Natale planning to retire
Udinese striker Antonio di Natale says he will retire at the end of the season. Di Natale announced the decision after Monday’s 3-1 home loss to Hellas Verona. “I’ve already made the decision, I’ve talked about it with my family and my agent. The club will know soon, but I’ll stop playing in June,” he said. Di Natale, who turned 36 in October, has been at Udinese for nearly nine years. He has scored 182 goals in 359 appearances in all competition for Udinese, twice finishing as Serie A’s top scorer. Di Natale also scored 11 goals in 42 matches for Italy, before retiring from internationals following Euro 2012. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know,” Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin said.
ENGLAND
Clattenburg cleared by FA
Referee Mark Clattenburg was on Monday cleared of misconduct by the Football Association (FA) following a complaint from Southampton about his alleged comments to England midfielder Adam Lallana. Saints had complained about critical comments allegedly made by Clattenburg to Lallana in Southampton’s defeat at Everton last month. The Premier League club had claimed in a letter to the referees’ governing body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), that Clattenburg, frustrated by Lallana’s constant appeals for decisions to go his side’s way, had told the player: “You are very different now, since you’ve played for England — you never used to be like this.” Saints complained to the FA after PGMOL ruled out action against Clattenburg and said they did not want him refereeing any of their matches until the issue was resolved, but the FA has considered the complaint and will take no action against Clattenburg. “The FA has given its full consideration to this matter and it is our view that the comments, as disclosed in Southampton’s letter of complaint, do not constitute misconduct under the FA’s rules,” the FA said in a statement.
ENGLAND
Millwall hire Holloway
Ian Holloway returned to management on Monday at Millwall. Holloway finds himself back at another south London club after leaving Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace in October. The 50-year-old replaced Steve Lomas, who was sacked last month after winning just five of 22 games. Millwall are currently only one point above the second-tier relegation zone and they bowed out of the FA Cup in a 4-1 defeat by fourth-tier Southend United on Saturday.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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