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

Diego Maradona’s eldest daughter claims that the Argentina shirt being auctioned is not the one her late father wore when he scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal against England.

Dalma Maradona said the shirt was actually worn by her father during the goalless first half of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final.

Steve Hodge, the former England player who says Maradona swapped shirts with him at the end of the game in Mexico City, is selling the shirt, which is set to fetch more than £4 million ($5.2 million).

Auctioneers Sotheby’s said they hired an external company that had provided a “conclusive photomatch” that proved it was authentic.

Dalma Maradona claimed the jersey her father wore in the second half, when he also scored one of the greatest goals in World Cup history, was in the hands of another owner, but she declined to name them.

“It’s not that one. I don’t want to say who has it because it’s crazy. He (Diego Maradona) said it. He said, ‘How am I going to give him the shirt of my life?'” she told reporters.

“This former player thinks he has my dad’s second-half jersey, but it’s a mix-up, he has the one from the first half.

“We wanted to clarify that so that people who want to buy it know the truth,” Dalma said in separate comments to Channel 13 television.

A Sotheby’s spokeswoman told AFP: “There was indeed a different shirt worn by Maradona in the first half, but there are clear differences between that and what was worn during the goals.

“And so, prior to putting this shirt for sale, we did extensive diligence and scientific research on the item to make sure it was the shirt worn by Maradona in the second half for the two goals.”

The photomatching process had involved matching the shirt “to both goals examining unique details on various elements of the item, including the patch, stripes, and numbering”.

It added that Maradona himself had acknowledged the provenance of the shirt himself, in his book “Touched by God”, and he recalls giving it to Hodge at the end of the match.

The online auction is scheduled for April 20 to May 4.

Source: AFP

The jersey worn by Diego Maradona when he scored twice against England in the 1986 World Cup, including the infamous “hand of God” goal, is to be auctioned off later this month, Sotheby’s announced Wednesday.

The blue number 10 shirt has been owned since the end of the controversial World Cup encounter by opposing midfielder Steve Hodge, who swapped his jersey with Maradona after England lost 2-1.

The quarter-final showdown, one of the most memorable in World Cup history, held particular significance for Argentina as it was played only four years after they lost the Falklands war.

The match became etched in football folklore for Maradona’s two goals — one notorious and one sublime — in Mexico City’s seething Aztec Stadium.

The first came shortly after half-time when Hodge, on the edge of the England penalty area, intercepted a pass and flicked the ball back towards goal.

England were incensed and complained to officials who, believing Maradona had headed the ball, allowed the goal to stand.

Maradona then stirred the controversy afterward by saying the goal had been scored “a little with the head of Maradona, a little with the hand of God.”

Four minutes later, Maradona struck again and this time there was no doubt.

Receiving the ball and turning inside his own half, Maradona left five English defenders in his wake before gliding past Shilton and slotting home for a strike that was voted “Goal of the Century” in a 2002 FIFA poll.

National hero

Argentina won the final to lift the World Cup for the second time in eight years and Maradona, already a superstar, became worshipped in his home country.

After his death from a heart attack in 2020, Argentina held three days of national mourning.

Hodge, whose autobiography is titled “The man with Maradona’s shirt,” has for the past 20 years loaned the jersey to be on public display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Sotheby’s said in a statement to AFP that it will hold its own public display for the jersey in London, during the online auction scheduled for April 20 to May 4.

The decision of whether to keep it accessible to the public will be up to the winning bidder.

Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, said “the list is long for the type of people or organisations that might want to own the item.”

“It could be an individual, it could be a museum, it could be just somebody who wants to own the best of the best, a football lover or a club.”

Bidding for the Maradona memorabilia will start at £4 million ($5.2 million), below the $5.6 million record for game-worn shirts, set in 2019 for a jersey Babe Ruth wore while on the New York Yankees.

Last year, a jersey worn in the 1950s by Brooklyn Dodgers star Jackie Robinson — the first Black player in Major League Baseball — sold for $4.2 million.

Source: AFP

The 2022 World Cup draw has Cameroon facing Brazil, England taking on the USA and reigning champions France meeting Denmark in the group stage as the focus turned to the football after a number of off-field issues dominated the leadup to the awarding of the tournament.

Here are the groups the teams have drawn:

Group A: Qatar (hosts), Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador

Group B: England, United States, Iran, Wales or Scotland or Ukraine

Group C: Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia

Group D: France, Denmark, Tunisia, Peru or UAE or Australia

Group E: Spain, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica or New Zealand

Group F: Belgium, Croatia, Morocco, Canada

Group G: Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana

In a twist of fate, reigning champions France face a similar group to the one they played in during their sluggish start to a victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, in which they drew against Denmark and narrowly beat Peru.

The USA also have an interesting group, taking on England, their fellow Anglophones, the nation that invented football, and the Euro 2021 runners-up. Team USA also face geopolitical antagonists Iran in their first footballing clash since Iran beat them at France ’98.

The real group of death is Group E, featuring two of the strongest teams in national football, Spain and Germany.

Most controversial in history

Off the pitch, this is the most controversial World Cup in history, with Qatar dogged ever since it was named host in 2010 by accusations of vote-buying — which were hotly denied — and questions over the country’s suitability.

From human rights concerns to the ongoing war in Ukraine, it has been impossible to keep the spotlight solely on the sport, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino has repeated, as he did on Thursday, that it “will be a fantastic and unique World Cup”.

Concerns remain over the treatment of gay and transgender supporters coming to a country where homosexuality is illegal, as well as over the working conditions of hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers in the country, including those who built stadiums.

Thursday’s FIFA Congress in Doha saw Lise Klaveness, head of the Norwegian Football Federation, speak out to say that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups had been awarded “in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences.”

“Human rights, equality, democracy, the core interests of football were not in the starting XI until many years later,” she said.

“There is no room for employers who do not secure the freedom and safety of World Cup workers.”

The chief executive of Qatar’s World Cup Supreme Committee, Hassan al-Thawadi, countered by saying he was disappointed that Klaveness had made no attempt to talk to Qatari authorities before speaking out.

He said the first World Cup in the Middle East would leave “truly transformational social, human, economic and environmental legacies.”

Source: REUTERS

Canada qualified for the World Cup finals for just the second time on Sunday, beating Jamaica 4-0 to book their ticket to Qatar and end 36 years of failure and heartache.

While Canada celebrated, Mexico and the United States will have to wait to learn their fate despite picking up wins along with Costa Rica, who also kept their Qatar hopes alive.

The United States got a hat-trick from Chelsea midfielder Christian Pulisic as they romped to a 5-1 home win over Panama while Mexico needed a 70th minute goal from Edson Alvarez to win 1-0 and avoid a humiliating draw with winless Honduras.

The victory for Canada puts the leaders on 28 points in the CONCACAF qualifying group, three points ahead of the United States and Mexico, with Costa Rica, who beat El Salvador 2-1, a further three points back.

The top three teams earn automatic places in November’s World Cup with the fourth-place finisher facing an Oceania team in an intercontinental playoff for another berth.

Mexico will host El Salvador on Wednesday, the United States travel to San Jose to take on Costa Rica and Canada wrap up their campaign against Panama. Both Mexico and the United States require only a draw to seal an automatic berth.

After failing to clinch a finals spot with a 1-0 away loss to Costa Rica on Thursday, Canada returned home with renewed purpose and a chance to complete the job in front of a frenzied, red-clad, flag-waving, sold-out crowd of nearly 30,000 at BMO Field.

“I’m just so pleased we didn’t win in Costa Rica,” said Canada coach John Herdman. “This is how it was meant to be, I know why the football gods wouldn’t let us score, it was for tonight.

“We just qualified for the World Cup, this is a legit football country.”

There would be no blown second opportunity as Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan netted in the first half and Junior Hoilett added another after the break with Adrian Mariappa’s own goal rounding off the scoring.

Canada will play at the World Cup for the first time since 1986 in Mexico, where they lost all three games and failed to score a goal.

“I think this country never believed in us because we’ve given them nothing to believe in,” said Herdman. “They believe now.

“This is the time for everyone to get behind football and unite because we can be a powerhouse.”

It was a warm welcome home on a biting cold afternoon, making it the classic Canadian stage to take on a Jamaican side anchored near the bottom of the eight-team group in seventh, with one win and no hope of getting to Qatar.

There was a time during their 36-year quest to return to a World Cup finals that playing at home was no different than away for Canada, with as many fans supporting the visitors as the home side.

But there were no split allegiances on Sunday in a lopsided contest Canada dominated from start to finish.

Source: REUTERS

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker told a London court he felt “shocked” and “embarrassed” after being declared bankrupt just days before the 2017 tournament at the All England Club.

The six-time Grand Slam winner said the negative publicity had damaged “brand Becker” and left him struggling to make enough money to pay off his debts.

Becker was declared bankrupt in June 2017 and is currently on trial accused of failing to hand over assets including nine trophies and medals from his glittering tennis career.

The 54-year-old German said he had been seeking to pay off a more than £3 million ($3.9 million) loan from private bank Arbuthnot Latham, including through the sale of his estate in Spain.

The court heard the bankruptcy decision came days before Wimbledon, where Becker was working for the BBC as well as Australian and Japanese television stations.

“As you can imagine, I was very shocked at the fact. Because it was all over world news, and I walked through the gate of Wimbledon and everyone knew. I was embarrassed because I was bankrupt,” Becker said.

He told jurors the bankruptcy was also in the midst of a “stressful time” with his then wife Sharlely “Lilly” Becker, while they were living in “separate quarters” at his rented house in Wimbledon.

Describing an incident while he was commentating on the men’s quarter final involving Roger Federer, he said: “My son called me saying my wife was breaking down the house – the furniture, the windows. The police came… while I was on site.”

Becker, who arrived at court with his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, sat at the witness box on Monday to give evidence.

He said he faced damaging publicity “all around the world” but especially in Germany and the UK, which has affected his ability to earn.

“It is very difficult when you are bankrupt and in the headlines every week for it. It is very difficult to make a lot of money with my name,” he said.

The former world number one, who was occasionally helped to give evidence by a German translator, denies 24 charges under the Insolvency Act.

They include nine counts of failing to hand over trophies and other awards, seven of concealing property, five of failing to disclose estate, two of removal of property and one of concealing debt.

He is accused of failing to hand over nine trophies, including two of his three Wimbledon men’s singles titles, an Olympic gold medal, his 1991 and 1996 Australian Open trophies and his Davis Cup trophy and gold coin.

Source: AFP

Chinese rights holders have told the Premier League they will not broadcast English top-flight matches this weekend because of the league’s planned shows of support for Ukraine, the BBC has learnt.

China is a close political ally of Russia, which has invaded Ukraine.

The Premier League has said it “wholeheartedly rejects Russia’s actions” and is set to show solidarity with Ukraine.

“We call for peace and our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted,” it added, when announcing its plans earlier this week.

That will include captains wearing special armbands in Ukrainian colours, while stadium screens will display ‘Football Stands Together’ in front of the country’s blue and yellow flag.

Fans have also been encouraged to join “a moment of reflection and solidarity before kick-off at each game”.

When asked about the Chinese refusal to show matches, the Premier League declined to comment.

Source: BBC

FIFA on Monday ordered Brazil and Argentina to replay a World Cup qualifying match halted in Sao Paulo in September over alleged Covid-19 quarantine breaches by the visitors.

Brazilian health officials stormed the pitch seven minutes into the clash on September 5 between the South American giants at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, stopping the match and triggering a melee involving team officials and players.

“After a thorough investigation of the various factual elements and in light of the applicable regulations, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided that the match should be replayed on a date and at a location to be decided by FIFA,” said a statement from world soccer’s governing body on Monday.

The two nations are undefeated in South American qualifying and are sure to finish in the top two places in the 10-team group, although both have three games to play, including the rematch. The top four teams qualify automatically for the World Cup in Qatar.

Hours before the on-pitch drama in September, Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) said four Argentine players based at English clubs at the time should be placed in “immediate quarantine” for breaching Covid-19 protocols.

According to ANVISA, the Premier League players — Cristian Romero and then club-mate Giovani Lo Celso of Tottenham, and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia — provided “false information” upon entering Brazil.

On Monday, FIFA said that “the abandonment of the match stemmed from several deficiencies of the parties involved towards their respective responsibilities”.

FIFA banned the four Argentine players for two matches each for “not complying with the FIFA Return to Football International Match Protocol.”

It also handed a series of fines to the two national football federations.

The Brazilian Football Association must pay 500,000 Swiss Francs (540,000 dollars, 477,000 euros) for “infringements related to order and security”.

The Argentinian Football Association was fined 200,000 Swiss Francs for “its failure to comply with its obligations in relation to order and security, the preparation of and its participation in the match.”

Both federations were also fined 50,000 Swiss Francs for the abandonment of the match.

Source: AFP

A Winter Olympics overshadowed by human rights concerns and taking place inside a strict Covid-secure bubble kicked off in Beijing on Friday with a glittering opening ceremony at the “Bird’s Nest” stadium.

The distinctive lattice-shaped arena took centre stage, just as it did at the 2008 Games – seen as China’s coming-out party to the world – as Beijing becomes the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Games open, triggering a burst of fireworks and wrapping up a ceremony filled with imagery of ice and snow. Xi’s declaration was followed by red-suited “skaters” sliding across virtual ice.

Held on the first day of Spring by the Chinese calendar,the ceremony began with a performance by dancers waving glowing green stalks to convey the vitality of the season, followed by an explosion of white and green fireworks that spelled the word “Spring”.

On a three-dimensional cube resembling a block of ice, lasers carved figures from each of the previous 23 Winter Games. The block was then “broken” by ice hockey players, enabling the Olympic rings to emerge, all in white.

That was followed by the traditional “parade of nations”, with each of the 91 delegations preceded by a women carrying a placard in the shape of a snowflake resembling a Chinese knot.

In keeping with Olympic tradition, the parade was led into the stadium by Greece with the rest ordered by stroke number in the first character of their Chinese name, which meant Turkey was second, followed by Malta, with host China going last and drawing roars from the stadium crowd.

The entrances for “Hong Kong, China”, as well as for Russia, also generated applause.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, the highest profile foreign leader present for the Games, could be seen in the stadium without a mask. However, the athletes from his country were unable to carry its flag due to doping violations, marching instead under the standard of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Source: Reuters