Villas-Boas cops $19k fine for AFC remarks
SHANGHAI • Chinese football club Shanghai SIPG's coach Andre Villas-Boas escaped a touchline ban and was instead fined US$14,000 (S$19,000) yesterday over his "offensive" comments during the AFC Champions League quarter-finals.
The Asian Football Confederation ruled that the Portuguese brought the game into disrepute, but stopped short of banning him for today's semi-final first leg at home with Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
F1 bow at Sepang for Toro Rosso's Gasly
LONDON • French driver Pierre Gasly will make his Formula One debut at the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend after being drafted in by the Toro Rosso team in place of under-performing Russian Daniil Kvyat.
The Red Bull-owned team said the switch, for an unspecified number of races, "gives us an opportunity to make a more informed decision regarding our 2018 driver choices".
REUTERS
Visa rejection dashes centenarian's dreams
NEW DELHI • A 101-year-old Indian runner said yesterday that China had refused to grant her a visa to participate in the Asian Masters Athletics Championships, robbing her of a potential medal.
Man Kaur, dubbed the "miracle from Chandigarh" after winning the 100m gold at the World Masters Games in Auckland in April, had been training hard for the competition at home in her native Punjab state.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
CFA against Henan's divine intervention
SHANGHAI • The Chinese Football Association has told Super League side Henan Jianye to seek salvation from goals rather than the gods, after Taoist priests performed an on-pitch ritual - and the team duly won at home for the first time in more than three months.
The CFA is investigating after fans of the club invited 15 Taoist priests onto the pitch to pray for a good result in Sunday's match with Shandong Luneng, which Henan went on to win 2-1.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Cricket sin-bin may finally take effect
NEW DELHI • Players could be sent off for the first time in cricket, starting with Test matches in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates this week, as new regulations come into force.
Changes governing umpire referrals and bat sizes will also come into force from tomorrow when South Africa host Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
