Global Sport

South Korea protest over wrong flagSEOUL: South Korea protested to the Nigerian government and TV authorities for using the flag of rival...

South Korea protest over wrong flag

SEOUL: South Korea protested to the Nigerian government and TV authorities for using the flag of rival North Korea instead of South Korea’s at the World Youth Championships, officials said. The South Korean embassy filed the protest after the North’s red and blue flag was repeatedly shown on Nigerian television coverage during South Korea’S 3-1 defeat by Portugal on Tuesday. The embassy also complained to the Nigerian television authority during the first half of the match, foreign ministry officials said. Nigerian state television stopped using the North’s flag after the break.

Spain beat Brazil

LAGOS: The United States beat England in their opening match in the World Youth Championship while Spain put two goals past Brazil. The US, playing in their first under-20 World Championship, beat England 1-0 in Group E. Spain stopped three-times winners from Brazil as Barcelona’s Gabriel Francisco Garcia de la Torres struck twice in the first half. Africanteams scored a hat-trick of wins with Cameroon, Zambia and Mali all on target.

Mijatovic fined

MADRID: Real Madrid have imposed a five million pesetas ($35,000) fine on Yugoslav international striker Predrag Mijatovic for his refusal to play because of the Kosovo conflict. The fine, a Real spokesman said, after a meeting of the club’s directors, is “the maximum possible under the club’s rules”. If Mijatovic, from Montenegro, continues to refuse to play, he may be thrown out of the team, added the spokesman.

Japanese sue Samaranch

TOKYO: Three Japanese residents launched legal action against Olympic supremo Juan Antonio Samaranch to recover public money spent on winning the 1998 Winter Games for Nagano. Forty-six year old Kaoru Iwata, from Nagano, said he filed the suit with two members of his group, the society for inquiring into wrongdoings of Nagano bidding. Iwata’s group called on Samaranch and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to return $6.9 million in taxpayers’ moneyspent by the Nagano bid committee on wooing IOC members. The Nagano committee gave Samaranch an expensive Japanese sword and a painting by a renowned painter, Iwata alleged.

Aussies to appeal

SYDNEY: Australia will appeal to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) over the location of their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final against the United States. Under normal Davis Cup home and away regulations, Australia would host the tie because the last clash between the two nations was in the United States in 1997. But a decision was made two years ago to guarantee the US a home tie in Boston to commemorate the competition’s centenary at the site where it began.