■ SERBIA
Clemente gets the sack
Serbia coach Javier Clemente was sacked on Thursday after failing to steer his team to the Euro 2008 finals, Serbian FA (FSS) president Zvezdan Terzic said. "The results are always the final barometer of whether someone has been successful or not and we have made the decision not to extend Clemente's contract expiring on Dec. 31," Terzic told reporters after a meeting with his aides. "Clemente himself said he didn't want to carry on unless he had unanimous support from the FSS, the fans and the media, which he doesn't although only a few people wanted him out. He had a difficult task of reaching the Euro 2008 finals with a young team and we were unrealistic in our expectations." Serbia finished third in qualifying Group A behind Poland and 2004 finalists Portugal and face an uphill task to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals after being drawn in Group 7 with last year's finalists France and neighbors Romania.
■ POLAND
Corruption case closes
Seventeen people were handed suspended prison sentences ranging from three to seven years on Thursday in the nation's biggest soccer corruption case, the PAP news agency reported. All of the accused, which included referees and observers from the Polish soccer federation (PZPN), pleaded guilty. They were also ordered to repay bribes they had received. "I hope that today's verdict, relatively lenient on account of the accused's remorse, will encourage other referees and officials to admit their mistakes," judge Marek Poteralski said. The two-year investigation had seen more than 60 people quizzed, including one member of the PZPN, while its ruling body was also temporarily suspended by the country's sport minister who had become frustrated with the lack of effort in battling corruption. The Polish federation had already relegated two clubs -- Arka Gdynia and Gornik Leczna -- from the top flight to the second and third divisions. Arka were also docked five points after pleading guilty; Gornik Leczna were penalized 10 points after protesting their innocence. Both clubs were also fined.
■ ROMANIA
Cosmin Contra found guilty
Romanian international Cosmin Contra was convicted of punching a policeman on Thursday, received a one-year suspended sentence and was ordered to pay 10,000 lei (US$4,200) in damages. Contra, 31, who plays for Getafe in Spain, rejected the ruling from the court in Timisoara, vowing to appeal. "I don't understand why I was convicted because I didn't do anything to him," he was reported as saying by Realitatea TV. The incident stemmed from a minor car accident in June last year between the policeman, Adrian Beleiu, and Contra's wife. Beleiu claims Contra arrived at the scene after the accident and hit him in the face, adding that he suffered a broken nose and lost one tooth.
■ ROMANIA
Coaches, president sent off
Referee Sebastian Coltescu sent off two coaches, a club president and two players during a tense Romanian cup match. FC Brasov coach Razvan Lucescu and Otelul Galati manager Petre Grigoras were shown the red card for protesting. Brasov president Dinu Gheorghe was also dismissed when he ran on the pitch to protest at an unawarded penalty and Galati midfielder Sergiu Costin and Brasov defender Nae Constantin were sent off for professional fouls. Second division Brasov won 7-6 on penalties after the teams were 2-2 after extra time.
■ BASKETBALL
Kidd denies protest reports
Jason Kidd denied reports that he staged a protest by calling in sick and skipping the New Jersey Nets' NBA game on Wednesday against the New York Knicks. Nets coach Lawrence Frank said Kidd told him he could not play because of migraine headaches but unnamed sources told several publications the move was a protest over a rejected contract extension. Kidd, however, spoke to WFAN radio and said, "I did have a migraine" and while admitting there had been contract talks said they were not involved in his absence. "I would never disrespect the game by not playing because the game has been so good to me,"Kidd said.
■ BOXING
Brit gets world title shot
Matt "The Bedford Banger" Skelton will challenge Uzbekistan's Ruslan Chagaev for the WBA heavyweight title next month. The fight, which will be staged on Jan. 19 in Duesseldorf, Germany, was announced on Thursday by the British fighter's promoter, Frank Warren. Skelton is a former kickboxer who did not have his first professional boxing match until he was 35. Based in Hamburg, the unbeaten Chagaev (22-0-1) took the title from Nikolai Valuev in April. "White Tyson," as he is known, was due to fight WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov in October but withdrew after contracting hepatitis and was replaced by Evander Holyfield, who lost a unanimous decision in Moscow.
■ Golf
Masters boost for kids
Youngsters aged between eight and 16 will be given free admission to next year's US Masters if accompanied by an accredited patron. "We want to inspire the next generation of golfers," Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne said in a statement on Thursday. "We're serious about exposing youngsters to golf and the Masters." Tickets to the Masters are among the most cherished in sport and exposing youth to the first major of the year is part of a new global strategy announced by tournament organizers in October. Next year's Masters will be played from April 10 to April 13 when Zach Johnson will defend the title he won this year by two shots from Tiger Woods.
■ Gymnastics
Coaches to protect athletes
China's gymnastics coaches will be forced to sign contracts promising not to let their athletes get injured before the Beijing Olympics, team leader Zhang Peiwen told yesterday's China Daily. China will be relying on their gymnasts for a bumper haul of gold medals at next August's Games. "In the coming days, all the Chinese national coaches will sign contracts with the gymnastics administrative center to prevent serious injuries from happening before the Beijing Games," he told the paper. "We don't want injuries to destroy our prospects for the Beijing Games. I hope we can reduce injuries to a minimum by signing these contracts." The Chinese team for the world athletics championships earlier this year signed contracts committing them to minimum achievements in Osaka and Zhang said his gymnasts would also sign a commitment not to use drugs. "I do not mean our gymnasts will take drugs intentionally, but I am just afraid that they might take them by mistake, such as unauthorized nutritious medicines," he told the paper.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
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