SOCCER
Groups demand Israel boycott
A coalition of advocacy organizations and fan groups called on European soccer federations to boycott Israel in a New York’s Times Square billboard that went live on Tuesday, launching the #GameOverIsrael campaign months ahead of the FIFA World Cup. New York is to host eight matches in the World Cup next year, including the final. The campaign calls on soccer federations in Belgium, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland and Spain to boycott the Israel national team and ban Israeli players from domestic competitions, citing the ongoing attacks in Gaza. “As the United States prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, Americans must not allow our stadiums to become platforms for whitewashing war crimes,” American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee national executive director Abed Ayoub said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
RUGBY UNION
French bans confirmed
France captain Manae Feleu and loose forward Axelle Berthoumieu are to miss the rest of the Women’s Rugby World Cup after a disciplinary committee on Tuesday confirmed the players’ bans. They had appealed hefty suspensions handed down on Monday with Berthoumieu’s 12-match ban for biting reduced to nine games after she apologized, but Feleu had her three-match ban for a dangerous tackle in Sunday’s quarter-final win over Ireland upheld. It means they will both play no further part in the tournament as France prepare to take on heavily fancied England in Saturday’s semi-final in Bristol.
CYCLING
Protests new to sport: director
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme on Tuesday said that the pro-Palestine protests that disrupted several stages of this season’s Vuelta a Espana were “a completely new phenomenon.” An estimated 100,000 people took to the streets of Madrid to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza and the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team in the race. Speaking at the French embassy in Berlin to mark the release of a book on the Tour de France, Prudhomme said that road cycling races have always been subject to the “ups and downs” of life. “Brigands attacked Tour riders in the 1920s,” he said. “It’s always been like that. When we go somewhere, factories always close, and negotiations are necessary. We know this fragility, it’s obvious.” However, “the strength of these races is usually precisely that people prefer them not to be disrupted. This [pro-Palestine protests] is a new phenomenon.”
ICE HOCKEY
Carter Hart not returning
Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere on Tuesday said the agent for Carter Hart told the team the goalie has ruled out signing with the franchise when he is eligible to return to the NHL next month. Hart is one of five players who were acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 2018 when they were members of Canada’s world junior team. The NHL has since reinstated the players and said they would be eligible to sign contracts on Oct. 15 and take part in games on Dec. 1. Briere said a reunion with Hart would not happen, as his agent said the goaltender was seeking a “fresh start.”
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
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