Sports News

France's Sports Minister To Speak On Investigation Into Alleged Racist

 France's sports minister will speak Tuesday on her probe into whether national coach Laurent Blanc and other top trainers discussed the possibility of introducing quotas at training academies for young French players with dual nationality, many of them black or Arab.

Minister Chantal Jouanno scheduled a news conference for Tuesday morning. She has said that discriminatory quotas targeting dual-national players would be "totally illegal" if they were put in place.

Two inquiries are examining the coaches' reported comments. Blanc was thought be their last witness. The 1998 World Cup winner travelled Monday from Bordeaux to Paris to speak at the hearing, said a sports official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the inquiries by the French Football Federation and the sports ministry. The location of Blanc's hearing was kept secret.

The probes were ordered after news site Mediapart reported that Blanc, FFF technical director Francois Blaquart, under-21 coach Erick Mombaerts and under-20 coach Francis Smerecki talked at a November meeting about how to deal with gifted and young dual-nationality French footballers who could go on to play for countries other than France.

According to Mediapart's transcript, Blaquart suggested that an unspoken "sort of quota" could be introduced to limit their numbers in training academies.

Blanc was quoted as saying that "it bothers me enormously" when players who represented France at youth level later "go to play in North African or African teams."

"That has to be limited," Mediapart quoted Blanc as saying.

Jouanno has defended Blanc, saying he is not a racist. She also has said he is "devastated" and "very demoralized" by the controversy.

Many leading French football personalities also have spoken up for Blanc, including his 1998 World Cup teammate Zinedine Zidane, who told sports newspaper L'Equipe that Blanc is not a racist and should keep his job.

Blanc has acknowledged that some of the language used at the meeting was "ambiguous" and said he apologized "if I have offended some people's sensibilities."

He also said the debate "was obviously not aimed at reducing the number of blacks and Arabs in French football."

Le Parisien newspaper on Monday quoted Blaquart as saying that their discussion was never meant to become public but also expressing regret at his choice of words. He is suspended pending the conclusions of the probes.

"I'm now aware that even thinking about this idea was an error," Le Parisien quoted him as saying. "The France team remains and will remain open to everyone."

Serbian Pride Fuels Novak Djokovic's Unstoppable Ascent To World Summit

What is remarkable about Novak Djokovic's 34-match winning streak is that nobody is prepared to say when it may end. Certainly he is the player to beat in the Rome Masters this week (on Andy Murray's side of the draw) but, after his landmark win over Rafael Nadal in the Madrid final, Roland Garros and even Wimbledon are not beyond his reach – nor is Nadal's No1 world ranking.

Djokovic will rule the world if he wins the Internazionali BNL d'Italia here and the defending champion, Nadal, does not reach the semis, an unlikely but not outlandish scenario. Since February 2004, no one has unseated Nadal or Roger Federer at the top of the rankings, but both have looked increasingly vulnerable against the Serb. He is on some roll.

It is a journey that started in a special place and on a memorable day three weeks before Christmas. The Belgrade Arena, only seven years old but 20 years in the making, is the grand theatre of Serbia's troubled modern history. Part-finished, it was the scene of Slobodan Milosevic's last public speech before a national uprising led to his expulsion as president of the old Yugoslavia in 2000, but more happily it is where the young nation of Serbia won its first Davis Cup in December.

Djokovic, shaven headed like his team-mates, was at the heart of that 3-2 victory over France and his voice cracked as he told 16,000 fans: "It's historic. This is our biggest success as individuals, as a team, as a country. We are not even aware of what we have done. This is the best moment of my career and probably of my nation. This is like winning the World Cup for us."

Since then, Djokovic has won the Australian Open and beaten Nadal in three consecutive finals, the latest of them the most stirring, in straight sets at the Caja Mágica. There was little the world No1 could do to stop him, even at his flickering, stretched best.

It was a win to mark the end of one era and the beginning of another. The rivalry in tennis is no longer between Nadal and Roger Federer, but between Djokovic and Nadal. If Nadal cannot win the Rome Masters (preferably, for him, against Djokovic) he might also struggle in Paris. There has not been such a buzz at the Foro Italico since Nadal beat Federer in an all-time classic in the 2006 final. That seems a long time ago.

Djokovic – officially the world No2 but unarguably the best player in the world at the moment – made a towering statement by conquering the Spaniard on his sacred clay, where he had not lost since Robin Soderling beat him at Roland Garros in 2009, 37 matches previously.

Once he took the first set, the force of history was with Djokovic. The last time Nadal won a final on clay after going behind was in the 2006 French Open when he beat Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6; Djokovic, meanwhile, has won all 19 finals in which he has gone in front. There are few more emphatic examples of momentum in sport.

But to understand Djokovic's rise, and what it means in a wider sporting and societal context, it is useful to listen to noises from further away.

American sport took a torpedo below the water this week when the new rankings found no place in the top 10 for any of their men or women for the first time in nearly four decades. It is not as if the hit had not been a long time coming, but its impact, nonetheless, has clearly wounded national sensibilities.

Since the modern version of ranking players began for men in 1973 and women in 1975, the United States have been ever-present, often dominant. Their heroes and heroines were John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, the Williams sisters, and many others.

Now, as Serena and Venus recuperate from health problems, their best are Mardy Fish and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The last American to win a men's grand slam was Andy Roddick at Flushing Meadows in 2003.

Roddick, ranked 12th, suffered his fourth straight defeat on Monday, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Gilles Simon (19th), and bristled when asked about the state of American tennis. "It's no worse than Italian tennis. I'm doing my part," he said, pointing to 16 wins, including the Memphis indoor final, against six losses for the year.

"It certainly looks a low point," the 81-year-old tennis writer and broadcaster Bud Collins told the New York Times on Monday. "The world has developed more tennis players. It used to be us and the Australians, a couple of British guys and the odd French or Italian. But the rest of the world has progressed."

There aren't even a "couple of British guys" any more – as has been the case since Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski retired, an era more bronze than golden. Murray is carrying the flags by himself now (the Saltire as well as the Union flag), and there is no evidence of anyone rushing to help him.

Is this upheaval a bad thing? It's not brilliant for British tennis, but the days of one country, or even a few, assuming global dominance across the range of human activities – sport, war, finance, culture, politics – have been fading into history for some time.

When eastern Europe was unshackled from the Soviet Union, long-subdued national identities began to express themselves, and sport, so important in old cold war arguments, was the obvious proving ground.

Frank Deford, writing in Sports Illustrated last week, reckoned the recent American decline in golf and tennis was due to a reluctance to embrace individual sports.

But, if Deford hankers for the rugged individualism that won the west, he fails to acknowledge the significance of the collective, the energy drawn from sacrifice for others. It is that which will have sustained Djokovic through the tough moments of his victory over Nadal and may yet elevate him to No1 in the world.

If we are looking for reasons why tennis and world sport in general has changed, Djokovic's moving ascent is a textbook case worth reading.

Turkish Hopes Of  Keeping F1 Grand Prix Rise

Turkish officials are sounding more optimistic about keeping their grand prix on the Formula One calendar after weekend talks with the sport's commercial supremo, Bernie Ecclestone.

"We sat down with Ecclestone and [the Turkish government's] youth and sport general director Yunus Akgul and discussed the plans that we could implement," the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation's chairman, Mumtaz Tahincioglu, said.

"Both sides are trying to solve this issue. Comparing before the race and the current situation, there is a 50% difference."

The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce's head, Murat Yalcintas, said before Sunday's race at Istanbul Park that the grand prix faced the axe next year because of a disagreement with Ecclestone over payments. He also said the government had rejected a bid by the 80-year-old Briton to double the payment to stage the race to $26m (£15.9m) from $13m.

Ecclestone subsequently said he would be disappointed to lose what is one of F1's better modern circuits, despite poor crowd figures.

Official figures released on Sunday put the raceday crowd at 42,000, although some paddock observers questioned the numbers.

"We will do everything we can. We will talk with Ecclestone," Akgul said. "We want this race to stay but it is not the be-all and end-all.

"We will keep this track alive in every way. There are other races, we will go to them. We definitely want Formula [One] to stay here and we will do everything we can.

"The draft calendar will be discussed on 3 June. Even if the issue is not resolved by that date, we must get into the draft."

Formula One teams and drivers expressed hopes the race would stay on the calendar. McLaren's team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, said: "It's a good circuit, it's a great city, we enjoy coming here and I think all the teams are of that mind."

Felipe Massa, the Brazilian who drives for Ferrari, said: "It is a very special place for me. I won three times, especially the first time it was a big fight with Fernando [Alonso] and Michael [Schumacher] in 2006. We will miss it if we are not coming here next year."

FIFA To Work Closer With Interpol On Match Fixing

FIFA is forging closer ties with Interpol to crack down on match-fixing and betting fraud in soccer, saying such corruption threatens fans' faith in the sport.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter says his group has pledged $29 million toward programs over 10 years to educate players, referees and officials worldwide.

Blatter said if fans "cannot believe any longer (in) football because matches are fixed, then in such a case FIFA would lose all credibility."

The project -- funded by the biggest private donation ever received by Interpol -- will operate from the international police agency's new base in Singapore.

Singapore has emerged in recent months as a common link in match-fixing scandals, including international exhibition games set up purely for betting scams.

In one highly publicized case, a Feb. 9 double-header played in Antalya, Turkey -- involving Latvia, Bolivia, Bulgaria and Estonia -- all seven goals came on penalty kicks. FIFA has charged six match officials from Hungary and Bosnia.

Blatter and Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble signed the agreement at FIFA headquarters after meeting detectives leading inquiries in Finland and Germany.

Both organizations have limited investigative powers and must rely on governments and law enforcement agencies to pursue cases.

"It is crucial for us to go together with political authorities and police authorities to fight those that want to destroy our game," Blatter said.

Noble said online betting and match-fixing offered a "perfect mix" for international organized crime syndicates.

"It's high profit, a low risk of getting caught, with very low penalties," Noble said. "Just about every act that occurs in a match is the opportunity to make a huge amount of profits."

Europe's biggest match-fixing investigation is being conducted by German police in Bochum who have investigated 300 people and 300 suspect games, including a World Cup qualifying match.

Finland became the focus in February when police arrested a second Singaporean businessman linked to match-fixing claims in the Finnish league and Asia.

Lead investigator Jouko Ikonen said the first players were convicted in court last week, and more cases would follow in June. Noble said increased media reporting of suspicious matches had prompted FIFA and Interpol to act.

"We needed to do something to make sure the public realizes that this is a problem that's long-term," the Interpol head said. "It's a problem that's going to require law enforcement to train those groups most likely to be targeted."