CHINA
Big crowds at events banned
The nation’s sports bodies have been banned until further notice from organizing events that would draw large crowds amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Administration of Sport said on Tuesday. “From now until further notice, major sporting events that gather crowds, such as marathons, will not resume,” it said. The directive, which singled out the nation’s soccer and basketball associations — both suspended — did not give a time frame when the situation might change.
RUGBY
Pair axed over schoolgirls
Australia’s National Rugby League has expelled two players on the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for a “serious” breach of its code of conduct after the pair took what the club described as “young females of a consensual age” to the team’s hotel during a pre-season tour. Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera were investigated by the league’s integrity unit following the promotional tour in New South Wales. “This decision should send a very clear message to all players of our stance on such behavior,” league CEO Todd Greenberg said yesterday.
BASEBALL
Empty parks viable: Heaney
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney on Tuesday said that he would be willing to open the Major League Baseball season playing in empty ballparks — something the MLB players’ union has discussed. Playing with no fans in attendance is an option being considered, even though “no player wants to play in an empty stadium,” said Heaney, the Angels’ union representative. “Baseball shows why it’s the national pastime,” he said. “It can be helpful for people in tough times ... to flip on a game and see their team play.”
SOCCER
Clubs fined for fan banners
Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt have been fined for fans displaying offensive banners at matches in February, UEFA said on Tuesday. Bayern was ordered to pay 20,000 euros (US$22,000) for “transmitting a provocative message of an offensive nature” during a UEFA Champions League match at Chelsea. Fans unfurled banners in English protesting the “pricing insanity” of clubs charging away fans for tickets. Eintracht fans displayed profane slogans aimed at UEFA and opponent Salzburg at a UEFA Europa League game. UEFA fined Eintracht 15,000 euros for “transmitting a provocative message” and 10,000 euros for “bringing UEFA into disrepute.”
OLYMPIC GAMES
Doubt cast on new date
The lawmaker leading polls to be Japan’s next prime minister cast doubt on plans to hold the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games next year, citing uncertainty over the pandemic that he said would also affect his own future. Former Japanese defense minister Shigeru Ishiba, the public’s favorite to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said that whether he runs for leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party next year depends on the coronavirus and whether the Olympics can be held. “It depends on the virus being under control, and not just in Japan,” Ishiba said on Tuesday. “If no one comes from Europe or America, it’s not the Olympics. It’s an Asian athletics event.”
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS