SOCCER
Ronaldo plays 1,200th game
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 1,200th professional match on Friday with a goal and an assist as he helped his Saudi Pro League side al-Nassr to get a 4-1 win over al-Riyadh. “Cristiano Ronaldo has now played in 1,200 professional matches,” the league wrote on X, as the former Real Madrid player moved closer to Peter Shilton, who leads the list of male players with most official appearances. Thirty-eight-year-old Ronaldo opened the scoring shortly after the half-hour mark when he tapped in a cross from Sadio Mane. “Thankful to all my team mates who helped me reach my 1,200th match. What a ride but we’re not done yet!” Ronaldo wrote on social media. Former England goalkeeper Shilton is acknowledged as the record holder for the most competitive men’s professional games, although the total is disputed. Some statistics Web sites say the tally is 1,390, but Shilton himself, on his X feed, says it is 1,387.
FORMULA ONE
Hamilton slams Wolff probe
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton on Friday criticized Formula One’s governing body for the “unacceptable” way it investigated Toto and Susie Wolff on allegations of conflict of interest. Hamilton spoke at a news conference before the International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) season-ending gala in Baku. The Mercedes driver said something “has to change” within the FIA leadership after a tumultuous week in which the governing body revealed it was looking into allegations then dropped the probe 48 hours later. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, said earlier on Friday there was an “active legal exchange” happening with the FIA a day after the governing body ended its inquiry. “It has been a challenging week, I think, a disappointing week really to see that the governing body of our sport has [sought] to question the integrity of one of the most incredible female leaders we’ve ever had in our sport with Susie Wolff without questioning [her], without any evidence and then just saying ‘sorry’ at the end, and that’s just unacceptable,” Hamilton said. “There is a constant fight to really improve diversity and inclusion within the industry, but it seems that there are certain individuals in the leadership within the FIA that every time we try and make a step forward they’re trying to pull us back, and that has to change.”
OLYMPICS
Russians can compete
Olympic chiefs on Friday approved the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at next year’s Paris Games as neutrals, outside of team events and as long as they do not actively support the war in Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) added that there were currently only eight athletes from Russia and three from Belarus who had qualified as neutral athletes. The athletes must meet strict eligibility conditions. That includes the exclusion of “teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport.” Also missing out would be “athletes who actively support the war,” as well as “athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.” Additionally, “no flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications whatsoever of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in any official venue or any official function.”
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
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