21, April 2022
Mike Tyson hits passenger on US plane 0
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson repeatedly punched a passenger on a plane about to fly out of San Francisco after reportedly becoming irritated by the man’s attempts to talk to him.
Cell phone footage showed Tyson leaning over the back of his seat and delivering a flurry of blows to the man, who appeared to be left with bruises and some bleeding in the incident on Wednesday.
“Iron Mike” was initially friendly to the passenger and his friend when they boarded the flight but reacted after the man “wouldn’t stop provoking” him, the TMZ entertainment website said.
The man “kept trying to talk” to the 55-year-old fighter, it reported.
“Tyson had enough of the guy behind him talking in his ear… and told him to chill. When the guy didn’t, that’s when the witness says Tyson started to throw several punches at the man’s face.”
Tyson was reported to have walked off the plane before it took off for Florida.
US police, the JetBlue airline and Tyson’s representatives made no immediate comment on Thursday.
Considered one of the best heavyweights of all time, Tyson is also known for his erratic behavior — biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in a 1997 bout — and brushes with the law, including a conviction for rape and a cocaine addiction.
Source: AFP
24, April 2022
Football: Didier Drogba loses bid to become Ivorian federation president 0
Didier Drogba lost a controversial bid to become president of the Ivory Coast Football Federation when he was eliminated after the first round of voting at Saturday’s elective congress.
The former Chelsea star polled only 21 votes in a three-way race, with the two other candidates, Yacine Idriss Diallo (59) and Sory Diabate (50) polling more than double his tally. Diallo won a second round to decide the presidency of the federation.
Drogba’s candidacy had been disputed last year when he first attempted to stand for election but did not receive the required support from clubs and other interest groups, such as the players’ union and coaches’ association, whose nominations he needed to get on the ballot.
FIFA then stepped in to dissolve the federation, putting the control of Ivorian football under a ‘normalisation committee’ while the statutes and electoral code were rewritten.
It allowed Drogba, 44, to stand but while he received much public encouragement, he garnered little support inside the Ivorian football community.
Earlier this week he was accused of pulling out of a live television debate with the other two candidates hours before it was due to be aired on television, according to a statement released by the state broadcaster. The debate went ahead without him.
The Ivory Coast hosts next year’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
Source: REUTERS