Yaya Toure admits drink-driving charge
LONDON • Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure admitted yesterday to being over the legal limit following a drink-driving conviction but had no explanation for the reading after saying he does not consume alcohol because of his religious beliefs.
He was arrested in London on Nov 28 and was given an 18-month ban and an income-related fine of £54,000 (S$68,700) on Monday.
REUTERS
Nations mull boycott of meet in Russia
BERLIN • Germany is against boycotting next year's bobsleigh and skeleton world championships in Sochi in protest against Russian doping but is ready to step in and host the event should it be moved.
Latvia pulled out of the Feb 13-26 championships following the publication last week of the second part of the McLaren report into Russian doping which revealed an institutional conspiracy to conceal positive drug tests.
South Korea, host of the 2018 Winter Olympics, and skeleton athletes from the United States are also considering withdrawing.
REUTERS
Baptism of fire for woman coach
KUALA LUMPUR • Hong Kong trailblazer Chan Yuen Ting, the first woman coach to win a top-flight men's football title, faces a brutal AFC Champions League initiation after her Eastern SC were bracketed with China's Guangzhou Evergrande yesterday.
Chan will face off in Group G against World Cup-winning Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and his Guangzhou side.
They are joined in the group by Suwon Samsung Bluewings of South Korea and a yet-to-be determined Japanese club. The group stage runs from February to May.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Spanish tax office demands papers
MADRID • Spain's tax office has ordered the El Mundo newspaper to hand over documents related to its probe into alleged massive fraud involving top footballers.
The paper is part of a group of 12 European news outlets that began publishing on Dec 2 the results of months of investigations into a vast trove of more than 18 million financial documents.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Police handed file on alleged child abuser
LONDON • The Football League has said it is passing to police a file with documents relating to Bob Higgins, the former Southampton youth coach named in connection with allegations of historical sexual abuse of children.
Former players have alleged they were abused at Southampton, where he worked with youngsters in the 1980s.
THE GUARDIAN
Chapecoense goalie is Brazil's top player
RIO DE JANEIRO • The Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, who was killed in the Colombian air crash last month, was posthumously named Brazil's footballer of the year on Monday after a vote by fans. His last-gasp save in the semi-final against San Lorenzo had helped his side get into the Copa Sudamericana final.
THE GUARDIAN
