BRAZIL
CBF mandates vaccines
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on Friday said that players must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to take part in this year’s league championship. The CBF said that it was in constant contact with health bodies and had sent an updated list of requirements to member clubs. “One of these is the obligation to present a full vaccination certificate against COVID-19 to the CBF’s Medical Commission,” it said in a statement.
BUNDESLIGA
Wimmer stars for Arminia
Patrick Wimmer on Friday scored a goal and set up another as DSC Arminia Bielefeld beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 to boost their hopes of avoiding relegation this season. Frankfurt were slow to close down Bielefeld on the edge of the box for the opening goal in the fifth minute when a deflection found Wimmer in position to score past goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. Later, Wimmer flicked a cross to the near post, which Alessandro Schopf knocked in.
SERIA A
Kalinic hits Verona winner
Hellas Verona on Friday beat Bologna 2-1, with Nikola Kalinic heading in the winner in the 85th minute to finish off a counterattack. In the first half, Gianluca Caprari equalized for Verona with a backheel flick following Riccardo Orsolini’s acrobatic opener for Bologna.
PREMIER LEAGUE
Sargent gets first goals
American forward Josh Sargent on Friday scored his first two Premier League goals to help lift Norwich City out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win over 10-man Watford. The 21-year-old Sargent had not found the net in 18 previous games in the English top flight since his off-season move from Werder Bremen until his improvised backheel flick broke the deadlock in the 51st minute. Sargent later headed home from a Milot Rashica cross before Juraj Kucka diverted a ball from Adam Idah past Daniel Bachmann and into his own net near the end of the game.
LIGUE 1
Lyon score ugly win
Olympique Lyonnais on Friday eked out an ugly 1-0 victory over struggling neighbors AS Saint-Etienne with a 15th-minute penalty by Moussa Dembele.
LA LIGA
Betis’ good form continues
Real Betis Balompie on Friday continued their good run with a 4-1 win against RCD Espanyol, strengthening their hold on third place. It was the third consecutive win for Betis in all competitions, and the fourth in their past five matches.
SPAIN
Madrid’s Paco dies
Francisco “Paco” Gento, a former Real Madrid great who is the only soccer player to win six European Cup titles, has died. He was 88. Madrid announced Gento’s death on Tuesday, but did not give a cause. Gento played with Madrid for 18 seasons, from 1953 to 1971, and his 23 titles with the club in official competitions is a record he shares with Brazilian defender Marcelo, who tied him on Sunday by winning the Supercopa de Espana. “Paco Gento truly represents all the values of Real Madrid, and has been and will continue to be a reference for madridistas and for the sporting world,” the club said in a statement.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but