ARGENTINA
Player shoots, kills referee
An amateur soccer player, enraged by getting a red card, allegedly fetched a gun and fatally shot the referee on the field, police said on Tuesday. Cesar Flores, 48, was refereeing a match between local youth teams in the central city of Cordoba when he sent off the player for a foul. The youth took a revolver from among his belongings, went back on the field and shot Flores several times, a police source told reporters. The referee later died in a hospital, the source said. The suspect fled and was being hunted by police.
DENMARK
United fans to protest prices
Manchester United fans are to be the latest to protest against spiraling costs to watch live soccer when they travel to FC Midtjylland in the Europa League today. Those traveling to western Jutland are being asked to fork out ￡71 (US$101) to watch the match — that is ￡49 more than Southampton fans paid for their trip to the Danish champions in the Europa League playoff round in August last year. Some fans have prepared a banner with the phrase “Welcome to Scamdinavia” on it. About 800 United fans are expected to travel to watch their expensively assembled side play in the 11,800-spectator MCH Arena. “￡71 to watch a Europa League game is extortionate,” said Andy Mitten, author and editor of fanzine United We Stand. “The combined cost of all three tickets for Manchester United’s Champions League away games was only ￡75. Do they think United fans are three times wealthier than Southampton fans? Midtjylland are ripping fans off — their own and the 800 traveling fans.” FC Midtjylland failed to respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund fans have also recently staged protests against the sky-high cost of watching live soccer. The protest by Kop fans at their 2-2 draw at home to Sunderland successfully convinced Liverpool to scrap plans to increase the price of their most expensive ticket to ￡77, instead keeping it at ￡59.
AUSTRALIA
Victory fined for unruly fans
Melbourne Victory were yesterday slapped with a A$50,000 (US$35,507) fine and a suspended three-point penalty after fans let off flares during a game, as soccer authorities struggle to get on top of unruly behavior. It is the second A-League scandal in recent weeks, with Western Sydney Wanderers handed the same punishment by Football Federation Australia (FFA) this month for the same offense. “The behavior of a number of Melbourne Victory supporters on Saturday night last week was deplorable and cast a shadow over what was a fabulous game of A-League football,” FFA CEO David Gallop said. “It’s staggering that these dangerous incidents happened just days after FFA had applied sanctions to the Western Sydney Wanderers because of the actions of some fans. The focus on fan behavior could not have been more acute.” The suspended three-point penalty is to come into force if any other serious incidents occur in or around any matches the club plays over the next 12 months. The FFA did not specify what was regarded as a serious incident. “If there is any bright note in this situation, it is the refreshing attitude shown by both clubs through their CEOs, coaches and players,” Gallop added. Victory CEO Ian Robson said those involved were not fans of the club. “They are not welcome and we do not want them involved,” he said. In an open letter to the “football family” this week, Gallop said the FFA would do everything it could to rid the sport of hooliganism, with its good name tarnished “by a few idiots.”
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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