FOOTBALL
Dolphins release Walton
The Miami Dolphins on Tuesday said that they have released running back Mark Walton after he allegedly assaulted his pregnant girlfriend. Walton had been waived after the team was made aware of the allegations earlier that day, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said. “We were made aware of a police matter earlier this morning regarding Mark Walton,” Grier said. “We hold our players to a high standard and take these matters very seriously. We will have no further comment at this time.” The Miami Herald said that Walton was detained after attacking his girlfriend in Davie, outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida, early that day. Davie police said that Walton had been charged with aggravated battery of a pregnant person. The newspaper quoted a police report as saying that Walton shoved the woman “against a wall and punched her several times in the head and face.”
SOCCER
Fans detained after match
More than 40 fans were detained following a FIFA World Cup qualifier between Malaysia and Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur after they hurled flares and bottles at each other, police said yesterday. It was the latest instance of trouble at a match between the archrivals after Malaysian fans were threatened and pelted with projectiles at a World Cup qualifier in Jakarta in September. In Tuesday evening’s match, rival fans started throwing projectiles during the match, which ended in a 2-0 win for the hosts. However, the most serious trouble occurred after the game, with supporters lighting flares and hurling bottles in front of an entrance to the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. Security officials arrested 27 Malaysians and 14 Indonesians, senior police official Mohammed Mokhsein Mohammed Zon told local media. They were released soon afterward, but police are still investigating the incident. Some Indonesian fans stayed in the stadium until the scuffles had ended and waited to be escorted out by police.
SOCCER
Mourinho to lead Tottenham
Jose Mourinho was yesterday appointed Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager to replace Mauricio Pochettino, with the club languishing 14th in the Premier League. The Portuguese former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager signed a contract until the end of the 2022-2023 season, the north London club said in a statement. Pochettino, 47, transformed Spurs’ fortunes after arriving from Southampton in 2014 and, although he failed to win a trophy, he took the club to the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in their history just six months ago. However, the Argentine was fired on Tuesday, with Tottenham struggling in the league after picking up just three wins from their opening 12 games. This season they were knocked out of the EFL Cup by fourth-tier Colchester United and suffered an embarrassing 7-2 defeat at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. “I am excited to be joining a club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters,” said Mourinho, who has won domestic titles in a record four different countries. “The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me. Working with these players is what has attracted me.” His first match in charge will be against West Ham United on Saturday.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
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