VENEZUELA
Player, friend shot dead
International player Jhonny Perozo has been shot dead along with a friend after an argument, public prosecutors said in a statement on Monday. Perozo, 29, who was a free agent after leaving first-tier club Zulia in December last year, was killed at a sports center on Sunday morning along with Jaime Alberto Tey. “According to the preliminary information, the two were involved in an argument with a man who opened fire,” the statement said. Venezuelan media said that the incident happened outside a bar at the sports center in the town of Lagunillas. Zulia, the Venezuelan Football Federation and the players’ union all issued statements offering their condolences. “The professional footballers of Venezuela express their heartfelt condolences, and repudiate the violence which affects the country and claims the lives of Venezuelans every day,” the union said. “We demand that the authorities clear up this crime which ended the life of a professional who will always be remembered in this country’s football.”
URUGUAY
Suarez doing ‘very well’
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez is progressing “very well” after undergoing keyhole surgery on his left knee, although his chances of playing at the World Cup are still in the balance, the team doctor said on Monday. “It’s only been a few days [since the operation], but we can say that progress is very good,” Alberto Pan told a press conference at the team’s training camp. “It would be adventurous to set a time line. We have nearly three weeks ahead of us. We can’t rule out that he will be ready for intense activity in this period, but we can’t be certain, either.” Pan praised Suarez’s attitude. “I’ve never heard a negative expression from him, he’s always been positive,” he said. Suarez, who helped Uruguay to fourth place at the World Cup in South Africa four years ago, underwent surgery on Thursday last week.
ENGLAND
Rodgers inks long-term deal
Brendan Rodgers has been rewarded for leading Liverpool to the brink of their first English league title for 24 years with a new long-term contract, the club said on Monday. Liverpool ended two points behind champions Manchester City after faltering at the end of the season, but are looking forward to a return to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2009-2010 season. In a joint statement, owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner said Rodgers was the right manager to bring silverware back to Anfield. “We are very fortunate to have a hugely talented individual leading our football performance and in whom we place our trust to deliver the vision we share for Liverpool Football Club,” they said.
BRAZIL
Romario launches attack
Former World Cup winner Romario launched another attack on the nation’s organization of the finals on Monday and accused former teammate Ronaldo of inconsistency. The once deadly striker said comments by Ronaldo, who works on the tournament’s organizing committee, but professed himself embarrassed at Brazil’s shortcomings in an interview with Reuters last week, were opportunism. “Everyone knows what I stand for,” the federal deputy was quoted as saying by UOL, a Brazilian news Web site. “I don’t change sides depending on how the game is going.” However, Romario said the organizational problems did not mean he would not be cheering on the hosts. “We’ve already lost off the pitch,” he said. “Now we have to hope and pray that we do well on it.”
American rugby sevens star Ilona Maher is to join 15-a-side club Bristol next month in a bid to play in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, the English club announced on Monday. Maher, 28, helped the US to a bronze medal at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and is the seven-a-side sport’s most popular player on social media. “This is a huge coup to be able to bring Ilona Maher to Bristol Bears on a short-term deal,” Bristol head coach Dave Ward said. “She is one of the biggest names in women’s sport, let alone rugby, and we believe she will
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
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