SOCCER
N Korea pull out of qualifiers
North Korea have pulled out of next month’s qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Asian Football Confederation said Sunday. “The Asian Football Confederation has today confirmed the withdrawal of the DPR Korea Football Association from the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” it said in a statement. No reasons were given for the withdrawal, but South Korean media reported earlier this month that Pyongyang had said it would skip the qualifiers over COVID-19 fears.
SOCCER
Twenty arrested in melee
Three police officers were on Saturday injured and more than 20 people arrested after Rangers fans packed the streets of Glasgow to celebrate winning the Scottish Premiership with an unbeaten record. Steven Gerrard’s side had already been confirmed as champions two months ago, but fans gathered in large numbers outside Ibrox Stadium for a 4-0 win over Aberdeen. Fans ignored pleas to disperse, as they marched from Ibrox into Glasgow city center. Riot police helped disperse the crowds as scenes turned violent. “As celebrations continued sections of the crowd became increasingly disorderly, property was damaged and people were assaulted,” said Chief Superintendent Mark Sutherland, Police Scotland’s divisional commander for greater Glasgow. “Our officers became the focus of the crowd’s attention with missiles and flares being thrown at them. So far, we know that three officers have been injured and more than 20 people have been arrested.”
CRICKET
Tampering known: Bancroft
Cricket Australia is open to examining any new information about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal after Cameron Bancroft suggested that the team’s bowlers were aware it was going on, it said yesterday. Bancroft served a nine-month ban after being caught on television hiding yellow sandpaper, which had been used to rough up the ball, in his trousers during the third Test at Cape Town against South Africa. Bancroft in an interview with the Guardian suggested that some bowlers also knew of the plot. “Yeah, obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory,” he said in a story about his path back from that defining moment. Asked again if some of the bowlers knew, Bancroft replied: “Yeah, look, I think, yeah. I think it’s pretty probably self-explanatory.”
RUGBY
Kieran Read retires
Former All Blacks captain and two-time World Cup winner Kieran Read on Saturday announced his retirement from professional rugby aged 35. Read made the announcement before his Toyota Verblitz team was beaten by the Panasonic Wild Knights in the semi-finals of Japan’s Top League. In a social media post Read wrote: “I’m looking forward to returning to New Zealand and spending time with my family.” He is the third most-capped All Black with 127 test appearances in the back row, including 52 as captain. He was a member of New Zealand teams that won the 2011 and 2015 World Cups and was voted World Rugby Player of the Year in 2013. He also won four Super Rugby titles with the Christchurch-based Crusaders.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB