France player who laughed during minute’s silence apologises
Paris, Oct 17: France defender Jean-Clair Todibo apologised on Monday after he was filmed laughing during a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the war between Israel and Hamas and of a teacher killed in France by a suspected extremist. The minute’s silence was held before France’s 2-1 win over the Netherlands on Friday in a European Championship qualifier. Todibo said he had a “nervous laugh” after French media reported he had been asked by the French football federation’s ethics body to explain himself. “I don’t think I’m a disrespectful guy when it comes to these things. I had a nervous laugh, but in no way was I making fun of the current situation,” he told journalists ahead of Tuesday’s friendly match against Scotland. Todibo said that he was sitting in the stands, in the middle of opposing supporters. “Some made jokes and I laughed nervously,” he said. “In no way was I making fun of the situation.” (AP)
Election of eight new members
takes IOC’s total strength to 107
Mumbai, Oct 17: Eight new members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were elected to take the total strength of the global sports umbrella body to 107 as its 141st session concluded here on Tuesday. Four among the eight were women, bringing the proportion of female representation in the IOC to 41.1 per cent. “This is in keeping with the IOC’s ambition to lead by example and increase female representation in governance structures,” the IOC said in a statement. Following a vote, the Session elected Israel’s Yael Arad, Hungarian Balazs Furjes and Peru’s Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta as independent IOC members. Malaysian actress and producer Michelle Yeoh and sports entrepreneur Michael Mronz of Germany were also made independent members in accordance with Rule 16.1.1.1 of the Olympic Charter, which allows for up to seven individuals to be elected in special cases without a nationality or National Olympic Committee requirement. Two candidates – one woman and one man – were also elected based on their functions within an international federation. They are Sweden’s International Table Tennis Federation president Petra Sorling and Korea’s International Skating Union chief Jae-youl Kim. Mehrez Boussayene of Tunisia was elected to the IOC membership in his capacity as president of National Olympic Committee. (PTI)
Sweden players take overnight flight home after shooting incident
Brussels, Oct 17: Sweden players were returning to their clubs on Tuesday after taking an overnight flight home from Brussels following the suspension of their European Championship qualifier against Belgium at halftime because a gunman killed two Swedish nationals before kickoff. The squad went directly to the airport and flew back to Sweden once they were allowed to leave King Baudouin Stadium, which was locked down for 2½ hours for security reasons before officials began an evacuation process around midnight local time. It was around 4 am local time when the last of the Swedish supporters – totaling about 650, according to the Swedish Football Association – left the stadium under police surveillance, along with some staff from the federation. The suspect in the shooting was shot dead by police on Tuesday, Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said, and the weapon believed to have been used by the man has been recovered. (AP)