SOCCER
Judge pleads not guilty
A suspended Guatemalan judge who was arrested while aboard a Disney cruise ship has pleaded not guilty to charges that he took bribes in exchange for media and marketing rights to World Cup qualifier matches. Hector Trujillo, who was secretary general of the Guatemalan soccer federation and a judge on the country’s Constitutional Court until his Dec. 4 arrest, entered his plea on Wednesday in US federal court in Brooklyn, New York, a spokeswoman for Brooklyn prosecutors said on Thursday. He is one of dozens of soccer officials charged by US authorities investigating corruption in the sport’s world governing body, FIFA. A bail hearing has been set for Jan. 7, according to the spokeswoman. Soccer bosses from South and Central America, including Trujillo, were among 16 people charged on Dec. 3 for engaging in schemes involving more than US$200 million in bribes and kickbacks sought for marketing and broadcast rights to tournaments and matches.
SOCCER
Goalie donates to deaf team
Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland has donated ￡5,000 (US$7,370) to Great Britain’s women’s deaf team to ensure they can compete in this year’s World Cup. An online appeal aiming to raise ￡10,000, half the amount the British team need to attend the Deaf World Cup in Italy in June, has now reached its target thanks to Butland’s donation. Claire Stancliffe, who won bronze with Britain’s deaf team at the 2008 World Cup, praised Butland, 22, for helping the squad’s hopes of attending the tournament. “Physically shaking. Thank you so much Jack Butland for the ￡5,000 donation. We are in shock,” she tweeted. Explaining why he wanted to make the donation, Butland tweeted: “I’ve learnt a lot from major tournaments, experiences I’ll never forget, I’d love for you to experience the same!” Butland, who has three England caps, also works as an ambassador for the Kick It Out anti-discrimination campaign.
BASEBALL
Maeda linked with Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to sign Japanese pitcher Kenta Maeda, multiple US media outlets reported on Thursday. The 27-year-old right-hander was posted by his Japanese club the Hiroshima Carp, who would be due a posting fee of up to US$20 million by any Major League Club that signs him. Maeda has pitched for Hiroshima since 2008, going 97-67 with a 2.39 ERA. He went 15-8 last season with a 2.09 ERA and 175 strikeouts in 206-1/3 innings, earning his second Sawamura Award as top pitcher. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Dodgers were all said to be interested him. The reported deal comes one day after the Dodgers signed free-agent starting pitcher Scott Kazmir.
SOCCER
Panathinaikos sign Mesto
Italy defender Giandomenico Mesto, who was a free agent, has signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Panathinaikos, the Greek Super League club announced on Thursday. Mesto, 33, spent the past three seasons with SSC Napoli and has also played for Genoa and Udinese during a long career in his home country. The right-back, who has won three caps for Italy, will try to help Panathinaikos improve on their current position of fourth in the Greek top flight. They are a remarkable 20 points behind the leaders Olympiakos halfway through the season.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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