Pakistan cricket captain SARFRAZ AHMED said that he "turned down a lucrative offer" from a bookmaker in Dubai during the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka and reported the matter to the anti-corruption and security unit officials. The incident has "shaken the Pakistan team management and anti-corruption and security officials travelling with the team in the UAE," as they felt that the bans imposed on batsmen SHARJEEL KHAN and KHALID LATIF for spot-fixing in the Pakistan Super League "might have stopped such moves" (PTI, 10/21). ... Former Super Rugby side St. Helens and South Africa int'l TOM VAN VOLLENHOVEN died, aged 82. The "flying Springbok" scored 392 tries in 408 appearances for St. Helens after signing with the club in '57 (BBC, 10/21). ... Former AC Milan defender KAKHA KALADZE was elected mayor of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. The 39-year-old won 51% of the vote in the municipal election. Kaladze, who won the Champions League twice with Milan, retired from football in '12 to "devote himself to politics" (BBC, 10/22). ... NICK KYRGIOS "continued his regular practice of calling a premature end to the season." The Australian tennis player announced he would be "unable to fulfil commitments in Basel and Paris" to finish '17 due to a recurrence of a hip problem. It has been an issue "since he slipped and fell awkwardly at the Queen’s Club in the lead-in to Wimbledon" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/20). ... Former NBA player KOBE BRYANT visited a Paris St. Germain training session in France. Nike welcomed Bryant, an avid football fan, to the Ooredoo Training Center pitch "as part of an ongoing effort to celebrate basketball culture in Europe." The five-time NBA champion spent time with NEYMAR and several other PSG players (ESPN.com, 10/20).
GUARDIOLA SPEAKS OUT: Man City Manager
PEP GUARDIOLA reacted after Spanish PM
MARIANO RAJOY confirmed he will "strip Catalonia of its autonomy and impose direct rule." Rajoy announced on Saturday he was invoking article 155 of Spain's constitution to "restore the rule of law, coexistence and the economic recovery, and to ensure that elections could be held in normal circumstances." Guardiola: "It's a really sad day for democracy. I thought in the 21st century, those kind of things didn't happen. Especially, for example, the Catalan parliament is older than the Spanish parliament itself. I am really, really sad. The Catalan people just wanted to vote and we want to be listened to and let the people say what they wanted to be [part of Spain or independent]" (
SKY SPORTS, 10/21).
