■ENGLAND
Cesc ‘committed to Gunners’
Team captain Cesc Fabregas said on Thursday that he was fully committed to Arsenal after he criticized the Premier League club’s lack of recent silverware and said his parents would back a move to Real Madrid. Fabregas was quoted in British media reports as saying the lack of trophies over the past four years reflected the “impotence” of his team’s efforts and said “my family would understand if I signed for Real Madrid.” While not denying the comments, Fabregas sought to explain them in a statement released by Arsenal in which he acknowledged his anger with the lack of achievement. “Let me make myself absolutely crystal clear. I am wholeheartedly committed to Arsenal and my future lies with this great club. It is a fact that we have not won a trophy for four years and yes, I am angry about that, but that anger stems from the deep, deep desire I have to win things with Arsenal. I am proud to captain this team and proud to wear the shirt,” Fabregas said.
■ARGENTINA
Maradona signs bumper deal
Diego Maradona has signed a bumper contract to continue as coach of the Argentine national team. Press reports on Thursday said Maradona will earn US$1.2 million for his one-year stint as coach, which comes in at US$100,000 a month and covers the period from last November to this October. The deal means Maradona, who has worked as coach of Argentina since November but without signing a contract, will remain in the post at least until the end of the World Cup qualifiers in October. If the former World Cup winners qualify for the 2010 showpiece in South Africa Maradona’s contract is likely to be extended. The news will prove interesting reading for former Argentina coaches Daniel Passarella, Marcelo Bielsa, Jose Pekerman and Alfio Basile, who were all paid between US$40,000 and US$50,000 a month. The Argentine soccer federation justified Maradona’s bumper pay packet by highlighting the positive influence he had on the team — attracting huge crowds even for friendly matches and thus benefiting the team’s sponsors. Maradona has come in for some criticism of late, however, after Argentina slipped to fourth in the South American zone qualifying table for the 2010 World Cup.
■ITALY
Roma takeover falls through
A Swiss consortium has failed to agree to a takeover of AS Roma, the Serie A club’s main shareholder said on Thursday. Soccer agent Vinicio Fioranelli, who heads the consortium, has been talking to Roma for several weeks but shares have fallen in recent days amid media reports the deal would fall through. “Italpetroli makes clear that up to today, despite the efforts made, the conditions to continue with an evaluation of a possible deal have not been realized,” the oil storage company said in a statement.
■BRAZIL
Lopez accused of racial slur
Brazilian police are investigating an accusation that Gremio’s Argentine striker Maxi Lopez racially abused a Cruzeiro player in the semi-final of the Copa Libertadores on Thursday. In an e-mailed statement, police in Belo Horizonte said that Elicarlos Souza, who is black, is accusing Lopez, of making the racist comment. Cruzeiro, playing at home, won the game 3-1. Police took testimony from both players at a police station near the stadium. They didn’t disclose what Lopez allegedly called Elicarlos, but the Cruzeiro midfielder told reporters Lopez called him a “monkey” during the match.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans