Premiership side Sale Sharks announced the "controversial signing" of record-breaking Super League winger Denny Solomona. The 23-year-old Auckland-born player "failed to report for pre-season training with Castleford despite having two years left on his contract and has now signed a three-year deal" with Sale. The announcement is "set to trigger legal action, with Castleford threatening to take the matter to the High Court with the backing of the Rugby Football League." The row escalated to governing body level with RFL CEO Nigel Wood confirming that he had "expressed his concern to both the RFU and Premier Rugby." He said, "This has profound implications for the game. Clearly the sanctity of contracts have to be respected" (London TELEGRAPH, 12/13).
Chelsea has "avoided a points deduction following the ugly scenes" during its draw with Man City. Chelsea was "in danger of a serious punishment following the brawl at the Etihad." The club has been fined £100,000 ($126,590). Man City has been fined £35,000 ($44,306) for its part in the brawl (London MIRROR, 12/13).
Brazil's superior court for sports justice, the Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva, said on Monday that it "will not apply any economic fines to Chapecoense or Atletico Mineiro for failure to play their final match of the Brazilian league season." The court determined that "there will be no sanction from the prosecution because the case is atypical." The club was on its way to play in the Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional when its plane crashed (ESPN.com, 12/12).
