CRICKET
Marlon Samuels banned
Former West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels has been banned from all cricket for six years for breaching four counts of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption code while playing in a limited-overs competition in the United Arab Emirates. The charges against Samuels, who has not played for the West Indies since 2018, relate to the T10 League in Abu Dhabi, the ICC said when the charges were laid in 2021. Samuels in August was found guilty of failing to disclose “the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit” that could bring him into disrepute, as well as the receipt of hospitality worth US$750 or more. The ICC also said that Samuels failed to cooperate with an anti-corruption official and concealed information that might have been relevant to the investigation.
RUGBY UNION
O’Mahony steps down
Ireland flanker Peter O’Mahony has stepped down as Munster captain after a decade in the role, the club said on Wednesday. The 34-year-old has been at Munster since 2010 and first captained them in 2011 on his 12th appearance for the club. He became the skipper full-time in 2013. “I can remember the day I was asked to be captain like it was yesterday,” O’Mahony said in a statement. “From that day to this it’s been an utter privilege and has never been something I’ve taken for granted. However, having given a huge amount of thought to it, I think it is the right time to step back from the role to share my experiences and give the same guidance that I received when I took on the role.”
SOCCER
Player’s release sought
South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called on the Chinese government to release World Cup midfielder Son Jun-ho in time for Christmas. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May said that the 31-year-old had been detained “on suspicion of accepting bribes by non-state employees.” Son had been with Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan since 2021 and played in three of his country’s four games at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year. “Now we have only one wish for Christmas,” Klinsmann told reporters after landing in South Korea following Tuesday’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win away in China. “That is to get Son Jun-ho released because until today, they have not proven anything that he did wrong. So we hope that the Chinese government will release him, hopefully before Christmas, to see his family.”
SOCCER
Stephen Kenny’s time ends
Stephen Kenny’s three years as Republic of Ireland manager is over after The Football Association of Ireland bosses said that his contract would not be renewed. The 52-year-old’s departure was widely expected having failed to guide the team to the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, winning only two of their eight games in qualifying Group B. Association chief executive officer Jonathan Hill thanked Kenny for working “tirelessly to create the right environment to support the development of our senior men’s team.” Hill added: “Stephen has also overseen an important period of transition for our senior men’s national team and has given debuts to a significant number of new and younger players.”
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
Two-time Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday avenged her shock Paris Olympics loss to Zheng Qinwen with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Chinese eighth seed, setting up a semi-final against 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the California desert. In the men’s singles, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz put on a show with his acrobatic shotmaking under the lights to close out the day’s action, overcoming a 4-1 second-set deficit to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the women’s doubles. Swiatek, one of the gold medal favorites when she lost to eventual champion Zheng in the
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