FIFA
Two under house arrest
Two Argentine businessmen arrested last week in a sweeping probe of alleged corruption at FIFA were placed under house arrest on Wednesday pending a decision on extraditing them to the US. Father and son sports marketing executives Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, the owners of the company Full Play, are among the 14 people indicted by the US in its investigation into graft at the heart of world soccer’s governing body. Judge Claudio Bonadio rejected their request to be released and granted them house arrest with bail payments of 4 million pesos (US$440,000) for Hugo Jinkis and 8 million pesos for Mariano. The duo handed themselves in to authorities in Buenos Aires on Thursday last week. An Argentine-Italian businessman indicted in the case, Alejandro Burzaco, turned himself in two days earlier in Italy and is also under house arrest outside Milan. All three executives are accused of bribing top soccer officials to win the rights to lucrative broadcast deals.
TURKEY
Eto’o to sign for Antalyspor
Former Cameroon international striker Samuel Eto’o is set to join newly promoted Turkish side Antalyaspor from UC Sampdoria of Italy, the Turkish club said on Wednesday. Antalyaspor finished fifth in the Turkish first division, but won promotion to the Super Lig after winning the playoffs. Clearly intent on making an impact in the Super Lig, Antalyaspor sent a private jet to Italy with executives to negotiate with Eto’o and then fly him back to Turkey. “An agreement has been reached in principle with the footballer Samuel Eto’o,” Antalyaspor said in a statement, adding that the plane flying him to Turkey would land in Istanbul on Wednesday evening. Financial details have not yet been disclosed. Turkey is the latest stop in Eto’o’s eclectic career, which has seen him perform for the likes of Barcelona, Inter and Chelsea. He also played between 2011 and 2013 for Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, before the owner pulled the plug on its ambitions. He had signed for Sampdoria earlier this year. Antalyaspor coach Yusuf Simsek described the transfer of Eto’o as “very good and very useful.”
RUSSIA
Coach stays ‘for the moment’
Under fire national team coach Fabio Capello will remain in his job “for the moment,” his bosses said on Wednesday, although his fate could be sealed within the next two weeks. The former England, Real Madrid and AC Milan coach took over the national team in July 2012, but he has come under pressure after a series of poor results left their qualification for Euro 2016 in trouble. “Fabio Capello has not been sacked. For the moment, he remains in charge,” Russia Football Union (RFU) president Nikita Simonian said. “We are going to talk to Mr Capello to see whether he leaves or stays in charge of the team.” Those talks are expected to take place within the next two weeks. RFU executive committee member Sergey Anokhin said it was vital that a less expensive compensation package be negotiated with Capello, who is believed to be entitled to 21.4 million euros (US$23.96 million) if his contract is canceled. “Very soon, this farce is going to end. We will find an agreement with Mr Capello for a reduction in the amount,” Anokhin said. “I am convinced that even he no longer wants to work with the team.” On Monday, billionaire Alisher Usmanov announced that he had lent the RFU 300 million rubles (US$5.49 million) to pay Capello’s salary. With just eight points, Russia trail second-placed Sweden by four points with only the top two going to Euro 2016 automatically.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
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