RUGBY UNION
Lomu family funeral held
Friends and family of rugby great Jonah Lomu bade him farewell at a private funeral service yesterday, the last formal act of mourning for the former All Blacks winger who died Nov. 18 aged 40. Lomu’s wife Nadene, sons Brayley and Dhyreille, his mother and brother and former All Blacks teammates were among mourners who filled the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the South Auckland suburb of Mangere. After eulogies, prayers and hymns, Lomu’s coffin was taken from the church to the Manukau Memorial Gardens Cemetery for a private burial. Yesterday’s service followed a public memorial at Eden Park stadium on Monday, attended by thousands of friends and fans. Lomu’s sudden death last month followed an almost 20-year battle with the kidney ailment nephrotic syndrome.
SOCCER
Nuno departure confirmed
Valencia confirmed on Monday that Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo has left the La Liga club. Nuno had already said on Sunday night following a 1-0 defeat to Sevilla that he was resigning. “Nuno Espirito Santo, who until now was the coach, is no longer tied to Valencia, after coming to an amicable agreement with the institution,” a statement on Valencia’s Web site said. Former player Salvador Gonzalez will take charge of the team, assisted by Nuno’s assistant, the former Manchester United player Phil Neville, until a permanent appointment is made. Having qualified the team for this season’s Champions League, the Portuguese coach leaves with Valencia down in ninth in the table, having lost eight of 20 matches this season in all competitions. They also need to beat Lyon in their final Champions League group game to have any chance of reaching the knock-out stages. They host leaders and champions Barcelona this coming weekend in La Liga.
SOCCER
Bolton cannot pay players
Cash-strapped Bolton on Monday said they have been unable to pay their players’ wages this month, and just hours later, the Championship’s bottom club were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford. Neil Lennon’s squad have not received their wages for last month as the club are ￡172.9 million (US$260 million) in debt and desperately seeking fresh investment with owner Eddie Davies no longer willing to bankroll them. “Bolton Wanderers Football Club can today, Monday 30 November, confirm that the first-team playing squad are yet to receive their wages for the month of November,” a statement read. “This is due to the ongoing situation surrounding the club’s ownership off the field.” A consortium led by former Bolton striker Dean Holdsworth is understood to be interested in buying the club, but, adding to Bolton’s current woes, they were unable to improve their chances of avoiding relegation as the draw against Brentford at the Macron Stadium extended their winless run to a dozen games.
OLYMPICS
Bach laments Hamburg vote
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach says the demise of Hamburg’s bid for the 2024 Olympics marks a “missed opportunity” for the city and Germany. Hamburg withdrew its bid on Sunday after it was rejected in a referendum by voters in the northern port city. Bach said in a statement on Monday that the vote came as Germany copes with an influx of migrants and refugees. He said the situation “requires a great effort by German government and society and is causing widespread feelings of uncertainty.” He also said the vote may have been influenced by current doping and corruption scandals in sports.
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
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
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