SOCCER
PSV ban fan for 40 years
A man who last month attacked Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic during PSV Eindhoven’s UEFA Europa League match has been banned from entering the club’s Philips Stadium for the next 40 years, the Dutch side said on Monday. The match in Eindhoven was halted during the closing stages after the supporter ran onto the pitch and assaulted Dmitrovic, punching him in the face before being wrestled to the ground by the Serbian goalkeeper. The 20-year-old supporter was handed a three-month prison sentence, with one month suspended. “He has also received a two-year area ban around the Philips Stadium from the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” the Eredivisie side said in a statement. “At the time, due to a stadium ban for previous misconduct, he should not have been present at all.” The man was already serving a national stadium ban until 2026 imposed by the Royal Dutch Football Association, but entered with a ticket bought by a friend.
BASKETBALL
Shaq hip surgery confirmed
Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has had hip surgery, broadcaster TNT said on Monday, after the four-time NBA champion gave fans a fright by posting a photograph of himself lying in a hospital bed. The 15-time All-Star and analyst for Inside the NBA is absent from the broadcast booth while he recovers, but on Sunday sent out a note of support for the job being done by his fellow sportscasters, Ernie Johnson and Candace Parker. “I’m always watching... Miss y’all,” the 51-year-old wrote on Twitter, with a photograph of himself in a hospital gown.
TENNIS
Nadal out of top 10
Rafa Nadal’s absence from Indian Wells saw the 22-time Grand Slam champion on Monday slip out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005, but the Spaniard is still likely to be the man to beat at the French Open if he can get back to full fitness. Nadal was forced to skip the Masters 1000 event in California, where he reached the final last year, as he continues his recovery from a hip issue that ended his Australian Open title defense in the second round in January. Unable to defend the 600 points from Indian Wells resulted in Nadal dropping four places to 13th in the rankings, ending his record 912-week stay inside the top 10, which began when current No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz was not even two years old.
SOCCER
Mitrovic faces long ban
Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is facing a lengthy ban after England’s Football Association said the standard punishment for his dismissal during their 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Manchester United would be “clearly insufficient.” Fulham coach Marco Silva was also charged on Monday. During the second half of Sunday’s tie, a confrontation broke out after Fulham’s Willian was red-carded for handling the ball in the box following a video assistant referee review. During a chaotic few minutes, Silva angrily addressed the fourth official before being shown a red card. Serbian forward Mitrovic was also red-carded after confronting referee Chris Kavanagh and shoving him with his shoulder. “It’s alleged that Marco Silva used abusive and/or insulting words, and/or gestures and/or behaviours towards the fourth official prior to his dismissal and ... after being sent off,” the FA wrote in a statement.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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