Italy FA President GIANCARLO ABETE has apologized to English FA Chair DAVID BERNSTEIN following an assault on EPL club Tottenham fans in a Rome bar on Thursday. Abete said that he was condemning on behalf of "the whole Italian football family" what he said was a "disgraceful" anti-Semitic attack (BBC, 11/23). ... Irish Hockey named DARREN SMITH as the women’s field hockey national coach. Smith is a New Zealand native. She takes up the role following six years as assistant coach to the New Zealand men’s team that recently finished ninth at the London Olympics. Smith will take up the role in January (IRISH TIMES, 11/22). ... F1 driver MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, veteran of 305 grands prix, 91 race wins and seven world championships, has "bid farewell to a sport he has graced, upset, laced with controversy and at times turned into a processional march through the record books." The 43-year-old has begun his second retirement, three seasons after his return to the sport (AFP, 11/25). ... The FA revealed former ManU and Chelsea Manager DAVE SEXTON has died aged 82. Sexton lifted the FA Cup as Chelsea boss in '70 and went on to win the European Cup Winners' Cup the following season (REUTERS, 11/25). ... FIFA has denied DIDER DROGBA's request for special permission to leave his Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua on loan ahead of the official transfer period, "ending speculation he could join his former Chelsea club immediately" (AP, 11/22).
NOT STOPPING AT OLYMPIC MEDALS: Jamaican sprinter USAIN BOLT has revealed he "definitely" wants to compete in the 100m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. He missed the '06 edition in Melbourne, Australia with a hamstring injury and chose not to travel to Delhi, India four years ago, but he said that "he wants to compete again in Britain to complete his collection of int'l sprint titles." Bolt said, "That's the only title I don't have, so I think it's something I would like to go for, even if I just do the 100m" (London DAILY MAIL, 11/23). ... Spanish Olympian BARBARA GONZALEZ has been declared the new face of drinks brand Martini. She follows in the footsteps of CHARLIZE THERON, THANDIE NEWTON and MONICA BELLUCCI. Gonzalez is the first Spaniard to represent the Martini image worldwide (OLIVE PRESS, 11/21).
