BRAZIL
Pele due to leave hospital
Pele has recovered well from his kidney ailment and was to leave hospital yesterday, the Sao Paulo clinic that has been treating him for two weeks said on Monday. “He is doing well clinically and does not have any signs of infection. Considering his good recovery, his medical team has scheduled his leaving hospital tomorrow [Tuesday],” a statement from the Albert Einstein clinic read. The announcement came three days after the 74-year-old Pele publicly thanked well-wishers for their support in a video posted on Facebook that also featured him strumming a few tunes on his guitar. Pele was hospitalized on Nov. 24 with a suspected urinary tract infection requiring antibiotics. Three days later, the hospital placed O Rei (“the king”) in intensive care after his condition became “clinically unstable,” briefly alarming fans. Some Brazilian media reported Pele had septicemia, a blood infection, after he initially failed to respond to treatment, but the clinic stopped renal assistance three days later and then moved Pele to semi-intensive care after extensive tests as his health began steadily to improve.
LIGUE 1
Brandao to serve prison term
Brazilian player Brandao is to spend a month in jail, having not appealed against his sentence for head-butting a rival player within the allowed delay, his lawyer said on Monday. The SC Bastia player was sentenced to a month in jail and fined 20,000 euros (US$24,600) for his attack on Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta in the tunnel after their match in the French capital on Aug. 16. He was also banned from playing for six months for the assault, which fractured Motta’s nose. Having been sentenced on Nov. 27, Brandao had 10 days to appeal, but did not do so. He pleaded guilty, but denied it was premeditated.
SUZUKI CUP
Explain attack on fans: AFF
Southeast Asia’s soccer federation yesterday said that it has told Malaysia’s soccer federation to explain its failure to prevent a violent attack on visiting Vietnamese fans during the Suzuki Cup semi-finals. The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) sent the written demand on Monday, asking why sufficient security measures were not put in place, AFF secretary-general Azzuddin Ahmad said. The deadline for a response is Monday next week. The step can eventually lead to sanctions. “Definitely, it is troubling. Other countries are also hosting the tournament, but there was no violence,” Azzuddin said. At least one Vietnamese fan was injured when Malaysian supporters reportedly attacked the visitors at the end of Sunday’s first leg in Kuala Lumpur, which Vietnam won 2-1. The second leg in Hanoi tomorrow will decide which team reaches the final of the Southeast Asian championship. Police have said five people were arrested and the incident prompted the Malaysian sports minister to apologize to Vietnam.
ITALY
AC Cesena appoint Di Carlo
Serie A strugglers AC Cesena have announced the appointment of Domenico di Carlo as their new coach following the firing of Pierpaolo Bisoli on Monday. “Cesena would like to announce that an agreement was reached this evening with Domenico di Carlo, who has signed a contract with the club until June 30, 2015,” a statement on the club’s Web site said. Di Carlo, whose most recent position was with Serie B side AS Livorno, has also previously coached AC Chievo Verona (twice), UC Sampdoria, Parma and Mantova. With just one win in 14 games, Cesena are second from bottom, two points ahead of Parma.
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
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
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
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
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