Toro Rosso Formula 1 confirmed New Zealand's BRENDON HARTLEY will "lose his drive" for '19. He will be replaced by British-born Thai driver ALEXANDER ALBON. Hartley "endured an up and down time with the team" and finished the F1 season by coming in 12th at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following an early crash (STUFF, 11/27). ... JÜRGEN KLOPP was charged with misconduct by the FA "over his celebratory pitch invasion" in Sunday's Merseyside derby. The Liverpool manager sprinted onto the Anfield pitch to embrace goalkeeper ALISSON following DIVOCK ORIGI’s "dramatic" 96th minute winner against Everton. He later admitted his reaction was "not cool" and claimed to have apologized to Everton Manager MARCO SILVA on the final whistle (London GUARDIAN, 12/3). ... Former West Indies cricket captain CHRIS GAYLE was awarded $300,000 for "being defamed in articles claiming he exposed himself to a female massage therapist." A NSW Supreme Court jury ruled in favor of Gayle, who sued Fairfax Media over articles published in Jan. '16 (AAP, 12/3). ... Boxing manager FRANK WARREN and the British Boxing Board of Control will "complain about the scorecards" for TYSON FURY's drawn WBC heavyweight title fight with DEONTAY WILDER after the challenger was "controversially denied victory." Fury "excelled throughout," recovering from two knockdowns, but was "harshly" made the winner with only one of the three ringside judges. Warren said, "I've spoken to CHARLIE GILES, president of the British Boxing Board of Control, and they, along with us, will be writing to the WBC asking that they look at what's gone on there and to order the rematch" (AP, 12/2). ... UEFA announced that Premier League representative MATHIEU MOREIL will replace La Liga President JAVIER TEBAS on the organization's strategic committee. Moreil will serve in the role until the end of next season (AS, 12/3). ... Three-time Wimbledon champion BORIS BECKER on Monday "dropped his claim of diplomatic immunity from bankruptcy proceedings because of his role as a sporting ambassador for the Central African Republic." The 51-year-old German lodged the claim earlier this year, "successfully blocking a sale of his sporting trophies and personal memorabilia to recover debt" (AFP, 12/3). ... A hospital apologized to ALEX FERGUSON after staff was "accused of spying on his medical records while he was having treatment for a brain haemorrhage." The hospital said that several staff were under investigation "in relation to an information governance breach" and that it had "apologised unreservedly" (London GUARDIAN, 12/3).
IN MEMORIAM: Former Barcelona President JOSEP LLUÍS NUÑEZ died on Monday at the age of 87. He led the club from '78-00, making him the longest-serving president in Barcelona history (Barcelona).
