Sports World

Blatter expected at Cup draw

MOSCOW - Fifa president Sepp Blatter will attend football's 2018 World Cup qualifying draw in St Petersburg on July 25, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said.

Blatter said on June 2 he would step down from his post after US and Swiss authorities widened their investigations into bribery and corruption at world football's governing body.

REUTERS

3 Paraguay refs suspended

ASUNCION - Three Paraguayan referees have been suspended after being implicated in a corruption scandal following the emergence of recorded conversations featuring late Argentinian football godfather Julio Grondona.

Carlos Amarilla, Rodney Aquino and Carlos Caceres were suspended by the Paraguayan Football Association after the release of the Grondona tapes in Argentina on Sunday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Hornets to host All-Star game

RALEIGH (United States) - Michael Jordan's Charlotte Hornets have been selected to host the National Basketball Association's 2017 All-Star Game.

Top players representing the NBA's Eastern and Western conferences will tip off at Time Warner Cable Arena on Feb 19, capping a weekend that includes the popular slam dunk contest and other events.

REUTERS

$2.4 million for British Open win

LONDON - The winner of this year's British Open will collect more than £1 million (S$2.1 million) for the first time in the tournament's history.

The overall prize fund for golf's oldest major championship has increased by £900,000 to £6.3 million, with the champion receiving £1.15 million. This is £175,000 more than what Rory McIlroy won last year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Police use Tour to back demand

THE HAGUE - Dutch police are planning protests to disrupt the first two stages of cycling's Tour de France in the Netherlands on July 4 and 5, their union, which is demanding better pay, said.

Police will carry out a protest bike ride in Utrecht shortly before the start of the race on July 4 and briefly stop competitors on a bridge in Rotterdam the following day.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Stadium design still in limbo

TOKYO - No final decision has been made on Japan's new National Stadium, the centrepiece for the 2020 Summer Olympics, but with an alternative plan judged "unrealistic", there are still no reasons to abandon the original design, an official said yesterday.

Construction has run into numerous problems, including skyrocketing costs and payment issues, prompting speculation it might not be finished in time.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 25, 2015, with the headline Sports World. Subscribe