CRISTIANO RONALDO was crowned the best men's football player in the world "for the second year running" at FIFA's The Best awards gala on Monday. LIONEL MESSI, who has won the Ballon d'Or five times, and NEYMAR were runners-up for the award "voted for by national team coaches and captains plus the media and fans." Real Madrid's ZINEDINE ZIDANE won the men's manager of the year trophy (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 10/24). ... Former world snooker champion STUART BINGHAM has been banned for six months for "betting breaches." Bingham, 41, was found guilty of breaking World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association rules on "betting on matches involving himself and other players." The world No. 10 must also pay £20,000 ($26,300) in costs (BBC, 10/24). ... Wallabies fullback ISRAEL FOLAU rejected a short-term contract, understood to be worth A$500,000 ($388,800), to play in Japan. Instead, he is "opting to spend some much needed time with his fiancee," Silver Fern MARIA TUTAIA. Folau earns more than A$1M ($777,600) annually on his Australian Rugby Union contract (STUFF, 10/24).
SMITH DEFENDS GAYLE: West Indies cricketer CHRIS GAYLE's teammate DWAYNE SMITH admitted he texted the word "sexy" to a female massage therapist a day before she alleges "Gayle exposed himself to her in a Sydney dressing room while Smith was present." But Smith told the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday that Gayle had not exposed himself to the woman and "that's something you would remember" if it did happen. Gayle is suing Fairfax Media for defamation over a series of articles published in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times between January 6 and January 9, 2016, which alleged he exposed himself to a team massage therapist during the 2015 Cricket World Cup (SMH, 10/24).
