Sun, Jul 02, 2023 page7

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  SOCCER

  Thailand boss resigns

  The president of Thailand’s soccer association yesterday announced his resignation following political pressure over brawling between the kingdom’s national team and Indonesia during the men’s final at the Southeast Asian Games. Indonesia defeated Thailand 5-2 in the final last month that saw players and coaches on both sides clash on two occasions with four red cards issued. The Thailand Football Association later apologized and handed out lengthy bans to two players, two officials and a coach. In a statement on Facebook, association president Somyot Poompanmoung said that Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who heads the country’s national Olympic committee, had ordered him to stand down as president at a meeting on Friday. “As President of the Football Association of Thailand ... I am ready to follow the order of General Prawit,” Somyot said.

  SOCCER

  Cardiff ordered to pay

  FIFA has ordered Cardiff City to pay French club Nantes the remaining installments for the transfer fee of Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash in 2019 before he could join the Welsh team. Sala died when the light aircraft he was traveling in from France crashed into the English Channel in January 2019, two days after Cardiff had announced the signing of the 28-year-old Argentine forward from Nantes. Cardiff had already been ordered by FIFA to pay the first installment of the ￡15 million (US$19 million) transfer fee, a decision that was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in August last year. Soccer’s world governing body on Friday ordered Cardiff to pay the last two installments as well.

  ICE HOCKEY

  Women’s league planned

  Organizers on Friday announced plans to launch a new women’s professional ice hockey league in January next year that they hope would provide a stable, economically sustainable home for the sport’s top players. The North American league is expected to start with six teams — three in the US and three in Canada — a person with knowledge of the league’s plans said. “I don’t think there’s a more significant moment for the game since women’s ice hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998,” Professional Hockey Federation commissioner Reagan Carey said. “I think it will forever change the landscape of our sport — and certainly for the better.”

  TENNIS

  WTA eyes Saudi Arabia

  Women’s tennis is looking into the possibility of getting into business with Saudi Arabia. WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon on Friday said that he visited that country with players in February as part of the evaluation process. “It’s a very difficult and very challenging topic that’s being, obviously, measured by many, many different groups right now,” Simon said at an event in London to mark the 50th anniversary of the meeting that led to the founding of the WTA. He said that there “are still tons of issues in Saudi Arabia” with regard to women’s rights, but added: “The Saudis are talking to a lot of people and a lot of different sports right now. I think everybody’s evaluating what this means and: How do you move forward with that?”
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