Ex-England cricket captain Vaughan cleared of racism on ‘balance of probabilities’

Former England cricket team captain Michael Vaughan leaves the International Arbitration Centre, in London, United Kingdom on March. 3, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 31 March 2023

Ex-England cricket captain Vaughan cleared of racism on ‘balance of probabilities’

  • Vaughan was alleged to have used the term “you lot” when referring to players of South Asian ethnicity
  • In November 2021, Pakistan-born Azeem Rafiq accused English cricket of being “institutionally racist”

LONDON: Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan was Friday cleared “on the balance of probabilities” of using racist language before a match for county club Yorkshire in 2009.
The 2005 Ashes-winning captain was alleged to have used the term “you lot” when referring to a group of four players of South Asian ethnicity, including Pakistan-born Azeem Rafiq.
A Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) report said it was “not satisfied on the balance of probabilities” that Vaughan spoke the words he was alleged to have used.




Former England cricket team captain Michael Vaughan leaves the International Arbitration Centre, in London, United Kingdom on March. 3, 2023. (AP)

But it added that its findings “do not in any way undermine the wider assertions” made by Rafiq, who told lawmakers in November 2021 that English cricket was “institutionally racist.”
Vaughan, who appeared in person at a CDC hearing earlier this month, thanked the panel for “their careful attention in very difficult circumstances” in a statement on social media.
 


Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after winning European trophy, club chairman says

Updated 08 June 2023

Declan Rice set to leave West Ham after winning European trophy, club chairman says

  • Rice, who captained West Ham in its victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday, has been promised he can leave the club and wants to go
  • Rice has been linked with some of Europe’s top teams, including Arsenal and Bayern Munich

LONDON: England midfielder Declan Rice looks to have played his final match for West Ham.
Rice, who captained West Ham in their victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday, has been promised he can leave the club and wants to go, chairman David Sullivan said.
“You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there,” Sullivan told British radio station Talksport on Thursday.
Rice has been linked with some of Europe’s top teams, including Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
“It’s not something we want to happen,” Sullivan said. “We offered him 200,000 pounds ($250,000) a week 18 months ago. He turned it down.”
The 24-year-old Rice has played for West Ham since 2017. He said after Wednesday’s final that “it’s not a goodbye yet.”
“Obviously there’s loads of speculation, but nothing’s happened,” Rice said. “I’m a West Ham player, I’ve got two years left on my contract. I love every minute of it.”
Sullivan said West Ham has yet to receive an offer.
“But I think the offers will start to come today,” Sullivan said. “There are three or four clubs who have shown interest, but out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”


Disqualified Japanese player Kato becomes French Open champion

Updated 08 June 2023

Disqualified Japanese player Kato becomes French Open champion

  • Kato and her German partner Tim Puetz defeated Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 in the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros
  • "It has been challenging mentally in the last few days after my unjust disqualification from the women's doubles," Kato told the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd

PARIS: Japan’s Miyu Kato became a French Open champion on Thursday, four days after she was controversially disqualified from the women’s doubles for accidentally hitting a ball girl.
Kato and her German partner Tim Puetz defeated Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 in the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros.
“It has been challenging mentally in the last few days after my unjust disqualification from the women’s doubles,” Kato told the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd, reading from a prepared statement.
“Thanks to all the players for their heartfelt messages of support. I used that positive energy on court here today.
“I am now looking for a positive result to my appeal so I can reclaim my prize money, points and my reputation.”
Puetz said he hoped the title would help Kato after the drama of the default.
“I hope this is redemption for you after what happened. The support you received was well deserved.”
The 28-year-old Kato and her Indonesian teammate Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted on Sunday after a gentle lob from the Japanese player left a ballgirl in tears and shaking.
Initially, the pair were handed only a warning by the chair umpire but their opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo protested and urged the tournament supervisor to look again at the incident.
Kato and Sutjiadi were then disqualified. Kato also had to forfeit her prize money.
“I hope the ballgirl is OK and I hope we get to play Marie and Sara again,” said Kato.


Man City and Inter target Champions League glory in Istanbul final

Updated 08 June 2023

Man City and Inter target Champions League glory in Istanbul final

  • A victory for City will see them complete the treble after they claimed a fifth Premier League title in six seasons
  • Inter Milan have won the European Cup twice in the 1960s and this is their sixth final altogether

ISTANBUL, Turkiye: Manchester City are hoping to get their hands on the Champions League trophy at last, and complete a historic treble, when Pep Guardiola’s team face outsiders Inter Milan in Saturday’s final in Istanbul.

City have been building toward winning Europe’s elite club competition since the Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of 2008 which transformed them and helped reshape the sport on the continent.
They came agonizingly close to Champions League glory in 2021, losing narrowly to Chelsea in the final, before being denied in last year’s semifinals by a remarkable Real Madrid comeback.
Having exacted revenge on Madrid, the holders, in this season’s last four with a 5-1 aggregate triumph, they are now expected to complete the job at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
“We have all been working for this for a long time,” City goalkeeper Ederson, at the club since 2017, said this week.
“The whole team have seen a lot of victories but also defeats as well. The players who have been here for five or six years who have seen these sorts of defeats, we have learnt from them so that helps us to grow as a team.”

The Champions League trophy is shown at Besiktas' Vodafone park stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 6, 2023. (AP)

A victory for City will see them complete the treble after they claimed a fifth Premier League title in six seasons and then lifted the FA Cup last weekend, beating Manchester United 2-1 in the final.
United were the last English club to achieve the treble, in 1999.
Ilkay Gundogan was City’s goal hero in the FA Cup final, as Erling Haaland drew a rare blank, but the Norwegian has scored 52 times for his club this season.
His goals appear to have taken City to another level, and Guardiola seems poised to finally win a third Champions League, 12 years after claiming a second in three seasons with Barcelona.
“If we want to make a definitive step as a big club, we must win in Europe,” Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, told UEFA.com.
“We have to win the Champions (League). That’s something you can’t avoid.”

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter may have something to say about that, however, and perhaps being the underdog will suit the Nerazzurri.
They are one of Europe’s grand old names, having won the European Cup twice in the 1960s.
This is their sixth final altogether, and first since Jose Mourinho’s team triumphed in 2010, completing a treble of their own.
No Italian club has lifted the trophy since.
Money talks more than ever in football, and City topped this year’s Deloitte Football Money League with revenue of over 700 million euros ($749m).
Their revenue was more than double that of Inter, a club swimming in enormous debts. Nevertheless, their proud history means Inter will be in Saturday’s final to win it.
“We are a big club and we have a lot of expectation,” said goalkeeper Andre Onana.
“When Inter gets into a final they have to win. We’re all big players, we know how to play finals.”
Inter, who finished third in Serie A and won the Coppa Italia, could have had a harder run to this stage, beating Porto, Benfica and neighbors AC Milan in the knockout rounds.
However, they did qualify from a difficult group ahead of Barcelona.

Curiously, City’s first ever appearance in the old European Cup came against Istanbul club Fenerbahce in the 1968/69 first round, and ended in a 2-1 defeat.
That team, featuring Francis Lee, Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee, was City’s last great side before Abu Dhabi’s arrival.
City did not return to Europe’s top table until 2011, by which time former Inter coach Roberto Mancini was at the helm.
The Ataturk Olympic Stadium has hosted a Champions League final between English and Italian clubs before.
This year’s match will need to go a long way to equal the drama of 2005, when Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool recovered from a three-goal half-time deficit to draw 3-3 with Carlo Ancelotti’s Milan before winning on penalties.
The 72,000-seat stadium, located around 25 kilometers west of central Istanbul, now finally gets the chance to stage the showpiece game again.
It was supposed to be the venue for the 2020 final, only for the pandemic to force UEFA to move the latter stages of the competition to Lisbon.
Plans to hold the final there in 2021 again had to be changed, with the match between City and Chelsea eventually taking place in the Portuguese city of Porto.
 


French Open 2023: No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka on course for final showdown

Updated 08 June 2023

French Open 2023: No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka on course for final showdown

  • In the women’s quarterfinals, Swiatek beat No. 6 Coco Gauff, and Haddad Maia defeated No. 7 Ons Jabeur
  • In the men’s round of 8, No. 4 Casper Ruud eliminated No. 6 Holger Rune, and No. 22 Alexander Zverev got past unseeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry

PARIS: If Iga Swiatek meets Aryna Sabalenka for the French Open championship, more than the trophy would be at stake. The No. 1 ranking would be, too.

But there’s work to be done for both players first — getting to the final.

In Thursday’s semifinals, No. 2 Sabalenka of Belarus will play unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, before No. 1 Swiatek of Poland faces No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil.

Sabalenka is unbeaten in Grand Slam action in 2023; she won her first major title at the Australian Open in January.

She’s drawn more attention for non-tennis matters over the past 1 1/2 weeks, however, connected to her country’s assistance to Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. After being asked about that at two news conferences, Sabalenka skipped the next two post-match sessions with reporters, before speaking to the media for the first time in nearly a week after her quarterfinal victory.

Swiatek has not been challenged much at Roland Garros this year as she pursues her third triumph on the red clay and fourth Slam title overall. She hasn’t dropped a set yet heading into the matchup against Haddad Maia, a player who served a 10-month doping ban after failing a test in 2019 and had never been past the second round at a major tournament until now.

WHAT HAPPENED WEDNESDAY?

In the women’s quarterfinals, Swiatek beat No. 6 Coco Gauff, and Haddad Maia defeated No. 7 Ons Jabeur. In the men’s, No. 4 Casper Ruud eliminated No. 6 Holger Rune, and No. 22 Alexander Zverev got past unseeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

WHAT IS COMING FRIDAY?

The men’s semifinals feature No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 3 Novak Djokovic, and Ruud vs. Zverev. Alcaraz, who is 20, owns one major title; Djokovic, who is 36, owns 22. Alcaraz will be playing in his second Grand Slam semifinal, Djokovic in his 45th. Zverev reached the final four in Paris for the third year in a row; Ruud was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in last year’s final in Paris.

WHEN ARE THURSDAY’S MATCHES?

Play begins in Court Philippe Chatrier at noon local time in Paris, which is 6 a.m. EDT. First up is the mixed doubles final, with 2019 US Open singles champion Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus playing against Miyo Kato and Tim Pütz. That will be followed by the women’s singles semifinals, starting no sooner than 3 p.m. local time, which is 9 a.m. EDT: Muchova-Sabalenka, then Haddad Maia-Swiatek. It is an off day in men’s singles.

GET CAUGHT UP

What you need to know about the year’s second Grand Slam tennis tournament:

  • Rafael Nadal is not here
  • Can AI help prevent cyberbullying of tennis players?
  • French players bid a quick adieu to French Open
  • Novak Djokovic can break a tie with Nadal by winning Slam No. 23
  • Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina split past four major titles
  • Carlos Alcaraz hits shots no one else does

THE NUMBER TO KNOW

55 — Number of years since a Brazilian woman reached a Grand Slam singles semifinal; Beatriz Haddad Maia is the first to do so since Maria Bueno at the 1968 US Open.

THE QUOTE TO KNOW

“Obviously, you lose to someone seven times, you feel crappy.” — Coco Gauff, after dropping to 0-7 against Iga Swiatek.

UPCOMING SINGLES SCHEDULE

  • Thursday: Women’s Semifinals
  • Friday: Men’s Semifinals
  • Saturday: Women’s Final
  • Sunday: Men’s Final

West Ham beat Fiorentina to win Europa Conference League

Updated 08 June 2023

West Ham beat Fiorentina to win Europa Conference League

PRAGUE: Jarrod Bowen’s dramatic 90th-minute goal secured West Ham their first major European trophy since 1965 with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.
It is the second European trophy for West Ham after they won the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup 58 years ago with a team including England World Cup heroes Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst.
Bowen picked up a superb through ball from Lucas Paqueta, before sending a low shot past a helpless Pietro Terracciano in the Fiorentina goal.
“I obviously dreamed of scoring but to score the winner in the last minute. It’s what you always say you want to do,” Bowen told BT Sport.
“To do it in front of these fans. I thought I was going to cry. I’m just happy.”
Said Benrahma had opened the scoring for West Ham in Prague as he blasted a penalty past Terracciano on 62 minutes after VAR had caught Cristiano Biraghi handling the ball trying to stop Bowen in the box.
Giacomo Bonaventura levelled five minutes later, beating West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola with a fine, low right-footed effort.
Bonaventura capitalized on a superb header back from Nicolas Gonzalez who had leapt over West Ham full-back Emerson.
The champions’ name will be the second ever on the Conference League trophy following Roma, who won the maiden edition of the competition last year.
West Ham have also clinched a spot in next season’s Europa League with the win, while Fiorentina will miss out on European competition after finishing eighth in the Serie A.
West Ham’s previous major trophy was back in 1980 when they won the FA Cup.
They spent most of the last season battling the prospect of relegation, finishing 14th in the Premier League in the end.
“We had a dream, we haven’t had the best season, myself included, but to give these fans this moment, I’m over the moon,” Bowen said.
“This is the biggest game of my career. The emotion, there was time for one more chance. I’m just so happy.”
The game got off to a slow start, although Michail Antonio tested Terracciano with a low shot on 40 seconds.
Fiorentina dominated possession and looked more organized in a largely uneventful first half.
But they did not came close until injury time when Christian Kouame headed against the post from Gonzalez’s cross.
Fiorentina striker Luka Jovic then tapped the ball across the line on a rebound but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Declan Rice’s 13th-minute shot from outside the box whizzed just past the post in the Hammers’ best chance of the first half.
Rice may have played his last game for the East Londoners as he is being courted by the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
The game changed with the goals as both sides suddenly looked far more lively, earning corners and creating chances.
But Rolando Mandragora sent his shot just wide and Sofyan Amrabat was denied by Areola, while Tomas Soucek’s header was saved by a diving Terracciano.
Before the game, Prague police said they had detained 16 people as Fiorentina fans attacked West Ham supporters in a bar in central Prague. Three people sustained light injuries.