Blues apologise for sex abuse cases

LONDON • English Premier League club Chelsea yesterday apologised for the "terrible past experiences" of some former youth players after an investigation into child sexual abuse.

Barrister Charles Geekie found that Eddie Heath, who coached Chelsea's youth teams from 1968-1979, was a "dangerous and prolific" child abuser, whose conduct was "beyond reprehensible".

Former Crewe manager Dario Gradi, who was suspended by the Football Association in 2016 amid separate investigations, was also criticised by Geekie for failing to stop Heath when he was working at Chelsea in the early 1970s.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Fraud charges for German FA officials

BERN • Swiss prosecutors yesterday charged former members of the German football federation (DFB) and a former Fifa official with fraud over the true purpose of a €6.7 million (S$10.3 million) payment before the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Former DFB president Theo Zwanziger, its general secretary Horst R. Schmidt and former Fifa general secretary Urs Linsi are accused of jointly committing fraud, while Wolfgang Niersbach - Zwanziger's successor as DFB president - has been charged with being complicit in fraud.

The Swiss attorney-general's office said that proceedings against Germany great Franz Beckenbauer, who headed the 2006 World Cup organising committee, will be conducted separately because he is currently unable to participate "for health reasons".

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Marlins sorry for 'regrettable' tweet

MIAMI • The Miami Marlins apologised on Monday for a tweet that used the death of famed wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin to troll the Tampa Bay Rays after the 7-2 loss to their Major League Baseball rivals the day before.

In a statement, the team said it "was a regrettable exchange by our otherwise creative social media team".

Australian Irwin was filming a documentary series in the waters along the Great Barrier Reef when he was killed by a stingray in 2006.

WASHINGTON POST