SOCCER
Help sought for journalist
The family of a French sports journalist who has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria is calling for help from the sporting world and soccer great Zinedine Zidane. Christophe Gleizes, a 36-year-old freelance sportswriter, was sentenced last week over an interview with a soccer official accused of ties to a banned separatist movement. Gleizes was arrested and placed under judicial supervision more than a year ago for entering Algeria without a proper visa, “glorifying terrorism” and “possessing propaganda publications harmful to the national interest,” Reporters Without Borders said last week. Gleizes’ relatives on French television on Thursday called on sports personalities to support his case. “It would be great if Zinedine Zidane were to get involved in this fight,” Gleizes’ father in law, Francis Godard, told France 2 channel. “After all, it’s a fight for both freedom of the press and the world of football. Journalists are mobilized, as we know, but we would like the sporting world to be just as mobilized. Christophe is a sports journalist and is therefore interested in the business of sport. This concerns the world of sport very directly.”
Photo: AFP / SO Press-RSF / Courtesy of the Gleizes family
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Trump touts UFC plans
The Octagon likely is coming to the White House next year after US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he plans to have the UFC hold a fight card at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as part of the US’ 250th birthday celebrations. The president, who is close with UFC president Dana White, made the announcement at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. “Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White? We’re going to have a UFC fight. We’re going to have a UFC fight — think of this — on the grounds of the White House,” Trump said. “We have a lot of land there. We’re going to build a little — we’re not, Dana is going to do it. Dana is great, one of a kind — going to be UFC fight, championship fight, full fight, like 20,000 to 25,000 people, and we’re going to do that as part of ‘250’ also.”
BOXING
Chavez Jr faces deportation
US immigration officials have arrested Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr — days after his loss in a fight against Jake Paul — for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application, officials said on Thursday. Chavez was detained in front of his home on Wednesday and faced deportation to Mexico, where he faces organized crime charges, authorities said. The 39-year-old boxer is a former middleweight champion. His father, Julio Cesar Chavez, is one of the most beloved athletes in Mexican history and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. However, his son has battled drug addiction for much of his lengthy boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport. The younger Chavez still rose to the heights, winning the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defending it three times.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
SEMI-FINAL SWEEP: Taiwanese are to take up all four berths in the men’s doubles semi-finals, while three Taiwanese women’s doubles pairings secured spots Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday. Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament. Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final. He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese
TAIWANESE WIN: Chan Hao-ching and Wu Fang-hsien and their partners won their first-round matches in the women’s doubles at the All England Lawn Tennis Club Late-night finishes and five-set matches are becoming a habit for Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon this year. On Wednesday, he wrapped up his win over Gabriel Diallo before the match was suspended — making sure the fifth-seeded American would not have to come back on court for a fourth straight day. Fritz overcame a bloodied elbow to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 4-6, 6-3 on No. 1 Court a day after he finished off another five-set win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a match that was halted on Monday at about 10:15pm after Fritz forced a fifth set with Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew looming. He
RSS