Sun, Mar 21, 2021 page11

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  SURFING

  Lightning kills Salvadorean

  A member of El Salvador’s national surfing team died on Friday after she was struck by lighting while training, the Salvadorean National Institute of Sports (IDES) said. Katherine Diaz, 22, was emerging from the water on El Tunco beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean when she was killed, local press said. Diaz had been preparing to represent her country in upcoming international surfing tournaments and was also a member of the Salvadorean Surf Federation. IDES head Yamil Bukele paid tribute to Diaz on Twitter, saying he was “very sorry” for the loss and offering “solidarity” with her friends and family. “Her loss in the waves hurts and impacts us,” teammate Josselyn Alabi said.

  HORSE RACING

  Photo taker banned

  Simon McGonagle has been banned for nine months from April 19, seven of them suspended, for taking a photograph of Irish trainer Gordon Elliott astride a dead horse, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board said on Friday. The board said that head lad McGonagle, who was first employed by Elliott in 2007, accepted that he had damaged the integrity of the sport by clicking and sharing the image. “We will not repeat what has been said before about the awful image at the heart of this case,” the board said. “The taking of the image was ill-judged and in bad taste and we consider that Mr McGonagle should have known better. As Head Lad he should also show a good example to others in the yard. However, we reiterate the points made in the Elliott case that this incident is not concerned with cruelty or horse welfare,” it said. “We reach the sanction having considered all of the circumstances, aggravating and mitigating factors, bearing in mind the seriousness of the offense and the need for deterrence, and considering Mr McGonagle’s personal circumstances, in order to reach a proportionate result.” Elliott, whose horses include the Michael O’Leary-owned 2018 and 2019 Grand National winner Tiger Roll, has been banned for 12 months, six of them suspended. He also lost his yard sponsor, while bookmaker Betfair ended its association with the trainer.

  SOCCER

  Alianza’s drop overturned

  The Peruvian Football Federation on Friday quashed Alianza Lima’s relegation and returned their top-tier status, overturning a decision that had taken the capital club into the second division for the first time in 82 years. Alianza are one of Peru’s biggest clubs, but were relegated in November last year after they lost their last game of the season to finish a point behind Carlos Stein. However, they argued that Carlos Stein should be docked two points for not paying players on time, as per the league’s statutes. The league had merely fined the club. Alianza took their complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which said that the sanction imposed was “not consistent” with the Peruvian league’s own rules. “Consequently, the panel set aside the appealed decision and replaced it by a new one, by which the Asociacion Futbol Club Carlos Stein is sanctioned with a deduction of two (2) points in the table of the Peruvian Liga 1 for the season 2020,” CAS said in its ruling. The decision means Carlos Stein fall a point behind Alianza into the relegation zone. The federation said that it would reinstate Alianza to the top tier, although the league began last week and some clubs have already played two games. The federation said it had not yet decided what to do about points already won or lost.
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