Football - Dutch winger Elia signs for Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen says it has signed Dutch winger Eljero Elia from Juventus on a four-year contract. Elia returns to the Bundesliga, where he spent two seasons with Hamburger SV before moving to Italy in 2011. He had a strong start in Hamburg but an ankle injury slowed his progress. Elia played at the 2010 World Cup for the Netherlands but has not been invited to the national team since October and was not in the squad for last month’s European Championship.
Football - Swansea sign on Flores and De Guzman
Swansea has completed the signing of Spanish central defender Jose Manuel Flores from Italian club Genoa for three years and 2 million pounds. The 25-year-old Flores revealed the desire to play under new coach Michael Laudrup was one of the main reasons he signed for the English Premier League club. Flores played under Laudrup for Mallorca, where he was on a seasonlong loan deal from Genoa. Swansea begins its second season in the EPL away to Queens Park Rangers on 18 August. Swansea also signed attacking midfielder Jonathan de Guzman on a season-long loan from Spanish club Villarreal. The Premier League side says De Guzman completed a medical yesterday in a deal that contains an option to make the move permanent. The 24-year-old De Guzman is a former Dutch under-21 international.
Football - UEFA warns Arsenal’s Wilshere over betting tweets
UEFA says it has warned Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere after he posted a Twitter message which suggested he broke betting rules during a Champions League match. Wilshere, who was injured for the entire season, wrote last December that teammate Emanuel Frimpong was worth betting on to score the first goal against Greek side Olympiakos. When Frimpong’s shot narrowly missed early in the game, Wilshere wrote that “Frimmy nearly won me some money there!” Wilshere later wrote that he knew UEFA rules prohibit players gambling on their own team, and said he had not actually placed a bet. UEFA says its disciplinary panel warned Wilshere in May.
Football - Diego Maradona fired as Al Wasl coach
Diego Maradona has been fired as Al Wasl coach following a disappointing season in which the Argentine great failed to win a title for the Dubai club. The board of directors met yesterday and issued a statement saying Maradona and his technical staff had been immediately “relieved” of their duties. Maradona, who was on vacation and not in Dubai, could not be reached for comment. A replacement for Maradona was not announced. Maradona signed a two-year deal in May 2011. He was popular with fans and helped put United Arab Emirates football on the map, however his team finished eighth in the 12-team league. Maradona had still been expected to return for a second season but was left vulnerable when the Al Wasl board was replaced in June.
Olympics 2012 - Syrian Olympic head says he’s not invited to games
A Syrian official says the country’s Olympic chief will not attend the London Games because the organising committee did not invite him. Syrian Olympic Committee president Gen. Mowaffak Joumaa had previously insisted he would travel to London despite indications he would be denied entry by Britain because of his links to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. But yesterday, Joumaa’s deputy Maher Khayatah accused London organisers of politicising the games by refusing to send Joumaa an invitation. He said 29 members of Syria’s Olympic delegation have received invitations, with only Joumaa omitted. IOC President Jacques Rogge said last week that the IOC has not received any notification that Joumaa had been denied a visa. Rogge said Syria’s Olympic committee remains recognised and Syrian athletes will compete under their flag.
Golf - Former champ Mark O’Meara to miss British Open
Former champion Mark O’Meara has withdrawn from the British Open next week because of an injury. The Royal & Ancient did not disclose the nature of the injury in announcing Tuesday that the 54-year-old O’Meara has pulled out. O’Meara won in 1998 at Royal Birkdale at age 40, making him the oldest player to win two majors in one year. He had won the Masters that April. O’Meara was not replaced in the field because the Open already is above the 156-man limit.
Golf - European Tour’s Madrid Open canceled over funding
The Madrid Open has been removed from the European Tour’s calendar due to a lack of funding. Tournament spokeswoman Maria Acacia Lopez-Bachiller tells The Associated Press that no sponsors for the 20-23 September event were found to replace Bankia, the bailed-out Spanish bank that sponsored the tournament previously. Acacia Lopez-Bachiller says “organiwers are hoping to find new sponsorship to bring the tournament back next year. It’s a shame, but the situation in Spain has left it this way.”
Tour de France - 3 Armstrong associates receive lifetime bans
The US Anti-Doping Agency has issued lifetime sports bans to three former staff members and consultants for some of Lance Armstrong’s winning Tour de France teams. Luis Garcia del Moral of Spain was a team doctor; Michele Ferrari was a consulting doctor; and Jose “Pepe” Marti worked as a trainer for Armstrong’s US Postal Service teams. All had been accused by USADA of participating in a vast doping conspiracy on those teams.