SOCCER
Man U hit by hackers
Cybercriminals allegedly targeted Manchester United’s IT systems in a “sophisticated” hacking operation, the club said on Friday. “The club has taken swift action to contain the attack and is currently working with expert advisers to investigate the incident and minimize the ongoing IT disruption,” it said in a statement. All “critical systems” required for games to take place at Old Trafford were secure, the statement said, adding that yesterday’s game against West Bromwich Albion was to go ahead as planned. “We are not currently aware of any breach of personal data associated with our fans and customers,” it said. “These type of attacks are becoming more and more common and are something you have to rehearse for,” a spokesman for the club told the PA news agency.
SOCCER
Lyon women lose
Paris Saint Germain handed Olympique Lyonnais their first women’s first-division defeat in almost four years when Marie-Antoinette Katoto earned them a 1-0 home win on Friday. Katoto found the back of the net after 10 minutes to put PSG on top of the standings on 25 points from nine games, one ahead of Lyon, who had their 80-match unbeaten streak ended. It Lyon’s first loss in the first division since Dec. 12, 2016.
SOCCER
FIFA bans Yves Jean-Bart
FIFA has banned Haitian Football Federation president Yves Jean-Bart for life after finding him guilty of sexually harassing and abusing multiple female players, including minors, global soccer’s governing body said on Friday. FIFA provisionally suspended Jean-Bart in May while it investigated multiple allegations against him by victims, their friends and family members detailing how he coerced girls into sex by threatening that they would lose their places in national team programs. Jean-Bart has denied the allegations. “The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has found Yves Jean-Bart ... guilty of having abused his position and sexually harassed and abused various female players, including minors, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics,” FIFA said in a statement on its Web site. “In its decision, the adjudicatory chamber ... sanctioned him with a life ban from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.” Jean-Bart, who on Thursday was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Haitian justice system, was also fined 1 million Swiss francs (US$1.1 million) by FIFA. A spokesman for Jean-Bart said that he would appeal FIFA’s decision.
FOOTBALL
Brees on injured list
The New Orleans Saints on Friday placed Drew Brees on injured reserve, ensuring that the star quarterback would miss at least three NFL games recovering from injuries that reportedly include broken ribs and a punctured lung. Brees exited last week’s win against the San Francisco 49ers at halftime with what the Saints called a rib injury, sustained on a second-quarter sack that was ruled roughing the passer by Kentavius Street. Brees finished out the first half, but reports trickled out this week that he was found to have multiple rib fractures and a collapsed lung. Brees, 40, is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes. The Saints went 5-0 without their star signal-caller last season as he recovered from a torn ligament in his throwing hand. The Saints are to host the Atlanta Falcons today. ESPN reported that Taysom Hill would get the starting nod at quarterback ahead of Jameis Winston.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later