■UKRAINE
Salenko to sell award
The 1994 World Cup’s joint top goalscorer Oleg Salenko is prepared to sell his Golden Boot award for US$500,000 to pay off his debts, local media reported on Thursday. “I received a good offer from the United Arab Emirates,” Kiev-based Salenko was quoted as saying by Blik newspaper. “I had a small business but after the [global] crisis everything is down and I need to pay off some debts,” added the former Russia striker, who played for various clubs including Zenit, Dynamo Kiev, Valencia and Rangers before retiring in 2001. “I’m not totally broke or anything like that so I have to sell everything, but the offer was hard to resist. I was told wealthy Arab sheikhs would take good care of the award by putting it in a local museum.”
■UNITED KINGDOM
Man United plan tour
There will be little time to rest for Manchester United’s players in the off-season, with the English Premier League club revealing plans to tour North America immediately after the World Cup. Manchester United announced on Thursday they would play one match in Canada and another three in the US, kicking off just five days after the World Cup final, although any players involved in the latter stages of the tournament in South Africa are unlikely to be included. They will begin their tour against Scottish Premier League runners-up Celtic in Toronto (July 16), before playing Philadelphia Union (July 21) and Kansas City Wizards (July 25) then the Major League Soccer All-Stars in Houston (July 28).
■ARGENTINA
Riot police protect refs
Police were needed to protect the match officials when Alianza Lima protested vehemently against a late Universidad de Chile equalizer that knocked the Peruvians out of the Libertadores Cup on Thursday. Alianza were minutes away from qualification on the away goals rule. However, a shot by Felipe Seymour two minutes into stoppage time was deflected off a defender past Alianza goalkeeper George Forsyth and into the net to give the U a 2-2 draw and send them through instead, 3-2 on aggregate. Alianza were incensed because the linesman signaled for offside at first, but after consultation with the referee Carlos Verase the goal was allowed to stand. The Peruvians argued that Chilean players in offside positions blocked Forsyth’s vision, a view backed up by video replays. Riot police formed a protective wall around the match officials in the middle of the pitch as Alianza players tried to argue with them. Play was held up for more than a quarter of an hour before the referee resumed the match, playing out the remaining two minutes of stoppage time in a climate of hostility.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Mancini to stay at Man City
Roberto Mancini will remain as Manchester City manager for many years, club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said on Thursday. “Roberto’s going to do a wonderful job for us for many years,” Mubarak said in a video interview on the City Web site. “Roberto is our manager. He’s done an excellent job coming in mid-season, organizing the team. I’m very happy, and [owner] Sheikh Mansour is delighted with the way he’s organized the team.” City’s chance of fourth place in the Premier League and a berth in the Champions League disappeared with Wednesday’s 1-0 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur. That led to media speculation that Italian Mancini could be fired.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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