League Championship Birmingham City Owner CARSON YEUNG "wrapped up his testimony on Tuesday, four weeks after he first took the witness stand" in a $93M money-laundering trial that "has cast a spotlight on how the barber-turned-businessman made his fortune." Yeung "has denied five charges of money-laundering." The offences "allegedly took place" from Jan. '01 to Dec. '07 and "involved five bank accounts" (REUTERS, 11/12). A Hong Kong judge "rejected" Yeung’s second appeal to have his money-laundering trial tossed out. District Court Judge DOUGLAS YAU Tuesday said Yeung "wasn’t prejudiced by new evidence submitted by the prosecution last week after the trial -- now in its 52nd day -- was extended to allow the businessman to take the stand" (BLOOMBERG, 11/12). ... Former Spanish second division side Mallorca President VICENTE GRANDE has been sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding Spanish tax authorities of more than €500,000 ($672,000). In addition to the prison sentence, Grande was fined €514,969 ($692,000) (EP, 11/12). ... Spanish tennis player NURIA LLAGOSTERA has been suspended from tennis for two years for doping and will not be able to "officially compete again until Nov. 7, 2015." The Int'l Tennis Federation announced that Llagostera has been sanctioned after testing positive for methamphetamine (DPA, 11/11). ... Milan forward ROBINHO has not been allowed to enter the U.S. "after issues with his visa." The striker "travelled with the Brazil national team to Miami for a friendly with Honduras on Saturday" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 11/12). ... Egyptian football club al-Ahly "has banned its star striker from taking part in the FIFA Club World Cup for making a pro-Muslim Brotherhood gesture after scoring in its win at the Africa Champions League final." The club’s board "may also impose a financial penalty" on AHMED ABDEL-ZAHER. The Egyptian FA "is also due to investigate Abdel-Zaher" (DPA, 11/12).
CHARITABLE GESTURE: Premier League Sunderland striker CONNOR WICKHAM "used his Twitter following over the weekend to help raise money for charity." Wickham, who is currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, "pledged to donate 10p to the Poppy Appeal for every retweet his Remembrance Twitter message received from 10am to 11am on Armistice Day morning." Given the 20-year-old boasts over 100,000 followers, "it is not surprising that the tweet received 17,300 retweets within the allotted hour," meaning Wickham will now "generously donate" £1,730 ($2,750) to the charity (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/12). ... JUSTIN ROSE has been given an honorary membership of the European Tour after becoming the first Englishman to win a U.S. Open in 43 years (London GUARDIAN, 11/12). ... Former French diplomat JEROME CHAMPAGNE, who spent 11 years at FIFA in roles that included deputy general secretary before he was ousted in a '10 coup "led by the later tarnished Asian Football Confederation President MOHAMED BIN HAMMAM," is also pondering a run against FIFA President SEPP BLATTER (London GUARDIAN, 11/12).
