VOLLEYBALL
Serbian player banned
A Serbian player has been hit with a two-match ban after making a racist gesture during a match against Thailand, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) said on Wednesday. Sanja Djurdjevic was photographed pulling at the corners of her eyes with her fingers, a derogatory gesture toward Asians during her side’s 3-0 victory over the Thai team at the Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy, on Tuesday last week. The FIVB said its disciplinary committee found that she “violated the FIVB Disciplinary Regulations following a gesture made during the” match. The Volleyball Federation of Serbia was also fined 20,000 Swiss francs (US$22,337).
ATHLETICS
NZ backs trans inclusion
Inclusion should be the starting point for any discussion about the participation of transgender people in the sex class of their choice, New Zealand Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson said yesterday. Robertson was responding to an open letter from 43 former Olympic champions and athletes calling on the government to widen consultation on Sport New Zealand’s guidance on the participation of transgender players. “If we can all agree that we want all New Zealanders to have the opportunity to be part of sport ... I think that’s a good starting point, and then we can work from there,” he told Radio New Zealand. “Of course we’ve got to consider overall everybody’s safety and everybody’s comfort, but an approach based on inclusion is the one I want.”
BASKETBALL
NBA fines Heat’s Riley
The NBA on Wednesday fined Miami Heat president Pat Riley US$25,000 for contravening anti-tampering rules over comments made on Friday last week about Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. In a radio interview, Riley thought a question about Dwyane Wade, a former Heat star guard, was instead about James. Riley, according to the Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel, joked about leaving LeBron a key if he should ever wish to return to the Heat. “I would leave the key under the doormat if he would call me and let me know that he’s coming,” Riley said. Riley, 76, even predicted his fate after his remarks about 36-year-old James, who is under contract with the Lakers for the next two seasons. “This will just get me fined for tampering,” he said in the radio interview.
SOCCER
Super League six fined
The six rebel English clubs that signed up to the European Super League have reached a financial settlement with the Premier League worth a combined ￡22 million pounds (US$31 million), the league said on Wednesday. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur announced themselves as founder members of the competition in April, but the project quickly collapsed after widespread opposition. “The six clubs involved in proposals to form a European Super League have today acknowledged once again that their actions were a mistake, and have reconfirmed their commitment to the Premier League and the future of the English game,” the Premier League said in a statement.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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