SOCCER
Ghana to dissolve agency
Ghana on Thursday said it would dissolve the nation’s soccer association after claims made in a documentary of bribe-taking by referees and kickbacks to top officials. The government had “decided to take immediate steps to have the GFA [Ghana Football Association] dissolved” because of the “widespread nature of the apparent rot,” Ghanaian Minister for Information Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said. The conduct of all GFA officials and suspended National Sports Authority director-general Robert Sarfo Mensah was referred to police for further investigation and any “appropriate action,” he said, adding that provisional measures would be put in place to run the sport until a new body is formed.
FOOTBALL
Trump to be called to testify
US President Donald Trump is being put on the spot to explain his anti-NFL rhetoric by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his complaint that team owners have blacklisted him for refusing to stand for the national anthem. Kaepernick and his former teammate Eric Reid are expected to ask Trump and US Vice President Mike Pence to voluntarily testify about their influence over the NFL in a case in private arbitration. Kaepernick claims that comments made by Trump and Pence have discouraged the NFL and team owners from hiring the players over the expression of their views on police brutality. Should the White House refuse a voluntary deposition, attorneys for the players plan to subpoena the two, a person close to the grievance said, adding that if they fail in private arbitration, the players would ask a federal judge to intervene.
RUGBY UNION
Toddler hurt in luggage area
The one-year-old son of All Black Vaea Fifita was rushed to a hospital after being injured by an airport conveyor belt, the player said yesterday on the eve of their first Test against France. The toddler was somehow carried into Auckland Airport’s baggage handling area on Thursday as the family checked in. “He had an operation on his arm and is doing okay,” Fifita said. Fifita, who can also double at lock, has been named on the bench for the first Test and an All Blacks spokesman confirmed that he remained in the match-day 23, despite the accident.
SOCCER
MP calls for injury checks
British Legislator Chris Bryant on Thursday called for independent medical checks on player who have sustained head injuries, after Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius played on in the Champions League final with a concussion. “The concussion suffered by the Liverpool goalkeeper in the recent Champions League match shows absolutely that football has not yet got this right,” Bryant said ahead of a debate in the House of Commons on the subject of brain injuries, due on Monday. “It shouldn’t be the club doctor that is making a decision about whether somebody continues to play — it should be an independent medical assessment.” According to two examining experts, Karius suffered a concussion, which could in part explain the two blunders he made in the game. Karius complained to referees in the 49th minute that he had been elbowed in the head by Madrid striker Sergio Ramos and that the foul went unpunished.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
Naomi Osaka is braced for a “battle” after yesterday setting up a clash with Coco Gauff in the round-of-16 of the China Open, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka also marched on. Osaka defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and next faces Gauff in a showdown of former US Open champions in Beijing. World No. 2 Sabalenka swatted aside Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th consecutive victory and plays another American in 24th-ranked Madison Keys. Looking ahead to the Gauff meeting, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka said: “She’s very athletic, obviously.” “For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve,
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