CRICKET
Pietersen fined for comment
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has been charged with a code of conduct breach in Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash League and fined, Cricket Australia said yesterday. He was reported for breaching the body’s code of conduct in making a comment detrimental to the interests of cricket while playing for the Melbourne Stars against the Perth Scorchers in a Big Bash League semi-final in Perth, Australia, on Jan. 24. The offense occurred during the Scorchers’ innings, when batsman Sam Whiteman was given not out following an appeal for caught behind by the Stars and Pietersen commented on the umpire’s decision while wearing a microphone. Match referee David Talalla considered the umpires’ report and the proposed sanction was a A$5,000 (US$3,824) fine. Pietersen accepted the charge, but elected to dispute the sanction. The match referee set a hearing for Thursday and announced the decision was upheld yesterday.
GOLF
Woods pulls out of Dubai
Former world No. 1 Tiger Woods pulled out of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic ahead of his second round because of a back problem, the European Tour said yesterday. The 14-time major champion, now ranked 666th after his long injury layoff due to back problems, recorded a miserable five-over 77 on the opening day on Thursday. Woods, 41, looked out of sorts as he continued his comeback at the European Tour event. However, his chances of avoiding another early exit looked slim on Thursday, as he appeared to be in some discomfort as he struggled to find a rhythm. After his round, Woods said he was not in any pain on the course, but decided to withdraw yesterday morning, trailing overnight leader Sergio Garcia by 12 shots.
SOCCER
Celta Vigo, Alaves draw 0-0
RC Celta de Vigo on Thursday rattled the crossbar, but could not find a breakthrough as they were held to a goalless draw at home in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Deportivo Alaves. Celta’s Iago Aspas was denied by the woodwork in the 67th minute on a bullet strike from the heart of the area on a rain-soaked pitch at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos. Three-time finalists Celta dominated possession for most of the first half, only for Alaves to create the first chance in the 40th minute. The visitors launched a counterattack that ended with Manu Garcia getting on the end of Victor Camarasa’s cross and striking a left-footed effort toward the near post that drew a flying save from Celta goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez.
TENNIS
Halep exits St Petersburg
Simona Halep yesterday withdrew from the St Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy because of a knee injury, the same issue that she blamed for her opening-round loss at the Australian Open. The fourth-ranked Romanian had said she was pain-free after her win over Ana Konjuh earlier this week. Halep was the top-seeded player in St Petersburg. Her withdrawal sends Russian wild-card entry Natalia Vikhlyantseva into the semi-finals, matching her best showing at a WTA tournament. Vikhlyantseva is to play either defending champion Roberta Vinci or Kristina Mladenovic.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS