RUGBY UNION
Folau files legal complaint
Israel Folau has launched legal action against Rugby Australia and the New South Wales Waratahs for unfair dismissal, he said yesterday, demanding an apology, compensation and the right to play again after he was sacked for making homophobic comments. “A conciliation before the [Australian] Fair Work Commission did not resolve the matters between us,” he said in a video message. Folau’s claim, lodged on Wednesday with the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne, argues he was unlawfully dismissed under a section of Australia’s Fair Work Act that disallows sackings because of a person’s religion. The governing body had no immediate comment, but has said that Folau’s firing was purely contractual, as he had agreed not to disparage anyone over their sexual orientation following a similar controversy last year.
ATHLETICS
Court restricts Semenya
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has hailed a Swiss court decision that ruled Caster Semenya out of the World Championships as a victory for “parity and clarity.” Semenya is fighting an IAAF regulation that middle-distance female runners with a high natural level of testosterone must take medication to reduce it. The Swiss Federal Tribunal on Tuesday reversed a ruling that temporarily lifted the IAAF’s regulations imposed on her, effectively ruling her out of the Sept. 28 to Oct. 6 World Championships in Doha.
SOCCER
FA beefs up racism rules
The English Football Association (FA) has increased its mandatory minimum ban for first-time offenders found guilty of discriminatory behavior to six matches from five ahead of next season. The move follows an annual report from Kick It Out that showed a 43 percent rise in reports of racist abuse in English soccer last season. The six-game ban can be increased “depending on any additional aggravating factors” and the FA is also in talks with various stakeholders about how best to combat discrimination on and off the pitch. The FA said it had given match officials the authority to show managers and backroom staff yellow and red cards, respectively representing cautions and dismissals. Any member of a team’s technical staff who accumulates four yellow cards during a season would receive an automatic one-game touchline ban, while eight yellows would earn the offender a two-match suspension. Anyone who accrues 16 yellows in a season would be charged with misconduct and have to face an independent regulatory commission.
SOCCER
Reds lead FIFA awards
Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp and three players — Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk — headed nominations released on Wednesday for the FIFA Best awards that are to be presented in Milan on Sept. 23. Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi also make the shortlist for the men’s award, along with PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Belgian Eden Hazard and Dutch duo Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. American Alex Morgan and coach Jill Ellis are to be favorites for the female player and women’s coach awards after spearheading the US to the Women’s World Cup title last month.
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
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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