SOCCER
FIFA seeks damages
FIFA on Wednesday demanded tens of millions of dollars in damages from the “sordid” officials facing charges in the US over mass bribery scandals that have rocked world soccer. In a wide-ranging admission on the scope of soccer corruption, just two weeks after Gianni Infantino replaced Sepp Blatter as its president, soccer’s governing body called on US authorities to investigate the assets of former FIFA vice president Jeffrey Webb. It said the Cayman Islands official was leading an “extravagant lifestyle” in a US home that might have been bought with bribes. FIFA also made its most explicit accusation yet that South Africa paid a US$10 million bribe to get votes to back its bid for the 2010 World Cup.
SOCCER
PSV fans humiliated beggars
Fans of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven came under fire in Spain on Wednesday for throwing money at beggars and mocking them as they desperately scrambled to scoop up the coins. Spanish Minister of the Interior Jorge Fernandez Diaz described the scenes as “an absolute disgrace,” while the president of the Madrid regional government Cristina Cifuentes was outraged by the “lamentable” behavior”. “I feel ashamed that in Madrid — even if the hooligans are from a foreign team — we see such scenes. It’s not only racism, but an absolute lack of humanity.” Images broadcast by Spanish media showed Dutch fans seated on the terrace of a bar in the Plaza Mayor a few hours before Tuesday’s game against Atletico Madrid, throwing coins on the ground to force beggars to collect them. “This behavior is outrageous. We want to clearly dissociate ourselves from the conduct of some fans,” PSV president Toon Gerbrands said. “PSV will take appropriate action, which could include stadium bans or tougher sanctions.”
RUGBY UNION
Marler escapes sanction
Joe Marler will be available for England’s Six Nations finale against France tomorrow after escaping punishment for striking one Welsh opponent and verbally abusing another last weekend. Marler faced a disciplinary hearing in London on Wednesday for an incident involving Rob Evans in England’s 25-21 Six Nations win at Twickenham. Marler accepted he had committed foul play. While the citing was upheld, the panel found that it was not a red-card offense and so no punishment was issued. Marler was also investigated for using a slur toward another Wales player, Samson Lee, during the first half — and faced a potential four-week ban. However, Six Nations Rugby said no disciplinary action would be taken as Marler had apologized to Lee unprompted at halftime, had “deeply regretted what he had said” and had been reprimanded by England coach Eddie Jones.
OLYMPICS
Kyrgios, Tomic warned
Australia’s Olympic chef de mission Kitty Chiller has warned Tennis Australia that bad behavior will not be tolerated in Rio in a clear broadside to troubled stars Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic. “When push comes to shove, I won’t be afraid to discipline someone if they are not adhering to the standard we expect,” she said on Wednesday. “I will be sending people home if they don’t respect what they are part of.” The warning followed angry exchanges between the two young stars both off and on court earlier this month. During a Davis Cup game against the US, Tomic accused Kyrgios of faking illness to avoid playing, before the latter quickly hit back on social media.
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum on Sunday combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Team Shaq” cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game in San Francisco. Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded lineup coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s “Team Chuck.” Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting lineup that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden. Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when