SOCCER
Ex-China official pleads guilty
Former head of the Chinese Football Association Chen Xuyuan yesterday pleaded guilty to bribery, Beijing’s state media said, as an anti-corruption drive sweeps up once-major players in the sport. Chen — who as boss of the association once promised to turn a page on the corruption scandals that have plagued the sport — was placed under investigation in February last year for “serious violations of discipline and the law.” The prosecution accused him of taking more than 81 million yuan (US$11.3 million) in bribes in exchange for helping with “project contracting, investment and operation,” among other matters. Chen pleaded guilty and “expressed remorse,” state-run Xinhua news agency said.
SOCCER
Egypt exits Africa Cup
The injured Mohamed Salah would not get the chance to return to the Africa Cup of Nations after his Egypt side were knocked out of the competition on Sunday in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), while Guinea progressed to the last eight. Record-seven time champions Egypt lost 8-7 on penalties against the Congolese after their last-16 tie ended 1-1 at the end of extra time. The DR Congo on Friday are to play their quarter-final in Abidjan against Guinea, who beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 earlier with a dramatic winner by Mohamed Bayo in the eighth minute of injury-time.
ICE HOCKEY
Player turns himself in
Former NHL player Alex Formenton on Sunday turned himself in to police in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault by several members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team. Formenton’s legal team confirmed that police in London, Ontario, have charged Formenton and several other players. Lawyer Daniel Brown did not say what charge or charges Formenton was facing. Five players from Canada’s 2018 gold medal-winning world junior team have taken a leave of absence over the past week from their current clubs amid a report that five members of that team had been asked to surrender to London police to face sexual assault charges. That included Formenton, a former Ottawa Senators player who is now in Europe. NHL players Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers and Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames also went on leave in the past few days.
SOCCER
Ten Hag to ‘deal’ with player
Erik ten Hag said he would deal with Marcus Rashford’s absence after the Manchester United star missed Sunday’s 4-2 victory at Newport in the FA Cup. Ten Hag said Rashford was absent from the fourth-round clash in south Wales after saying he was ill on Friday. However, reports over the weekend suggested that the England forward had spent Thursday evening at a Belfast nightclub before missing training with United the next day. “He reported ill,” United boss Ten Hag said after the team blew a two-goal lead before surviving their trip to fourth tier Newport. “The rest is an internal matter. I deal with it, we will deal with it.” Rashford was also dropped for a Premier League match against the Wolverhampton Wanderers last season after turning up late to a team meeting when he overslept.
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
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,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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