ITALY
Ten-man Lazio grab a point
Depleted SS Lazio moved up to third place in Serie A to sit six points off leaders Juventus after earning a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw away to Hellas Verona on Thursday. Senad Lulic got the visitors off the mark three minutes before halftime, but Verona were handed a lifeline when defender Luis Cavanda saw red for a second bookable offense after fouling Juanito Gomez in the penalty area. Veteran Verona striker Luca Toni stepped up to beat Federico Marchetti from the penalty spot and level in the 69th minute, but Verona then failed to capitalize on their man advantage. It was Lazio’s first draw of the season, but, following a run of four consecutive wins for Stefano Pioli’s men, it was enough to move them up to third just ahead of AC Milan on goal-difference.
WALES
Fernandez’s red rescinded
Swansea City defender Federico Fernandez had his ban for a red card against Liverpool rescinded on Thursday after a successful appeal by the English Premier League club. Fernandez was sent off by referee Keith Stroud for a tackle on Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho during stoppage-time in the midweek 2-1 League Cup defeat at Anfield. The tackle was deemed as serious foul play and the Argentine centerback faced a three-match ban, starting with today’s Premier League trip to Everton. However, Swansea appealed against the decision with a written statement and video evidence, and a Football Association appeals panel has now overturned the red card. “It clearly wasn’t a sending off,” said Swansea manager Garry Monk, who was due to meet Mike Riley, the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, yesterday to discuss decisions which he says have consistently gone against his side this season.
SCOTLAND
Tonev gets seven-game ban
Celtic’s Bulgarian international winger Aleksandar Tonev was banned for seven matches by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) on Thursday for racially abusing Aberdeen defender Shay Logan in a match in September. There was no immediate reaction from Aberdeen, but a Celtic spokesperson was quoted on their Web site as saying Tonev would appeal the ban. The SFA said on their Web site that the punishment was imposed by the disciplinary tribunal, which established that the complaint against Tonev on Sept. 13 was proven. It ruled that Tonev had broken Disciplinary Rule 202 and was guilty of “excessive misconduct by the use of offensive, insulting and abusive language of a racist nature.” Tonev, 24, moved to Celtic on loan from Aston Villa in August and has played eight times in all competitions for the Scottish champions.
INDONESIA
PSS and PSIS disqualified
PSS Sleman and PSIS Semarang could be relegated from the Indonesia Super League’s premier division after scoring five own-goals in a match to decide their opponents in the playoffs, the nation’s soccer association said. Disciplinary committee chairman Hinca Pandjaitan said the teams had been disqualified from the competition and that they could expect even tougher sanctions if evidence of match-fixing was uncovered. The clubs met in their final Group 1 match on Sunday with the winners set to play Group 2 runners-up Pusamania Borneo in the semi-finals. The newspaper reported that PSS scored the first own-goal in the 78th minute, then another shortly after to give their opponents a 2-0 lead. However, PSSI then scored three own-goals of their own, to leave PSS with a 3-2 win.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
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
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