Lowly Trinidad hold 11th ranked Mexico in Gold Cup opener
ARLINGTON, July 11: No. 103 Trinidad and Tobago held 11th-ranked Mexico to a 0-0 draw Saturday night in the opener of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of soccer’s North and Central American and Caribbean region. Defending champion Mexico outshot the Soca Warriors 30-4 in the Group A match and had a 15-1 advantage in corner kicks. Trinidad did not reach the tourament until beating French Guiana on penalty kicks last week. The other Group A match was postponed a day until Sunday. Curaçao was dropped because of positive COVID tests and replaced by Guatemala, opens against El Salador. (AP)
Benfica president under house arrest after tax fraud investigation
Madrid, July 11: Benfica president, Luis Filipe Vieira, was put under house arrest on Sunday after it was reported that he is being investigated for charges of tax evasion and money laundering. Vieira and three other men are being investigated as part of “Operation Red Card” for possible fraud, money laundering and tax fraud. The 72-year-old, who became Benfica president in 2003, suspended his current presidency. Former Benfica star and the club’s vice-president, Rui Costa, has taken over in Vieira’s absence. Vieira was ordered by a judge in Lisbon to remain under house arrest until he posts a bail of three million euros (3.6 million USD). (AP)
Mourinho and Roma kick off pre-season preparations
Rome, July 11: New AS Roma head coach Jose Mourinho started the team’s preparation work for 2021/22 season right after he was officially introduced as the new boss at the Italian capital. Roma will compete in qualifying rounds of the new Europa Conference League in August after finishing seventh in Serie A last season. Mourinho’s side will be without Leonardo Spinazzola for about six-months after the Azzurri’s left-back suffered a torn Achilles tendon at the Euro 2020. (AP)
Sri Lanka first team players test negative in latest RT-PCR
Colombo, July 11: The entire Sri Lankan first team, including senior players Kusal Perera, Dushmantha Chameera and Dhananjaya de Silva, have all returned negative in their latest RT-PCR tests ahead of the limited overs series against India. The tests were conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). It is now expected that the players would be allowed to enter the bio-bubble by Monday as they complete a week-long hard quarantine after their arrival from the United Kingdom. After batting coach Grant Flower and data analyst G T Niroshan, along with another player in a separate bio-bubble, tested positive for COVID-19, the series that was originally scheduled to start on July 13 was pushed back by five days. (PTI)
Indian boxers training in Italy to leave for Tokyo on July 17
New Delhi, July 11: India’s Olympic-bound boxing contingent, which is preparing for the Games in Italy right now, will leave for Tokyo from their training base in Assisi on July 17. An unprecedented nine Indian pugilists have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, including five men and four women. The Games will open on July 23 with boxing competitions starting the next day. The men who have qualified include world number one and Asian Games champion Amit Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg), and Satish Kumar (+91kg). The women’s squad comprises six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg). (PTI)