Best of the Rest
Saudi fires coach Bauza: World Cup-bound Saudi Arabia has fired coach Edgardo Bauza nine days before the draw.
The Saudi Arabia Football Federation announced the Argentine coach’s exit after only five friendlies in charge. The team lost to Portugal and Bulgaria this month.
Bauza has been fired twice this year by teams in the World Cup lineup. He lost the Argentina job in April, after eight months in charge, when the two-time World Cup champions risked missing out on qualification. (AP)
UEFA fines Everton: UEFA has fined Everton 30,000 euros ($35,300) after a fan tried to punch an opposing team’s goalkeeper when a clash between players spilled toward the stands.
UEFA says Everton was guilty of “aggressions by supporters against players” during a Europa League game against Lyon last month. (AP)
Carvajal charged by UEFA: Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal has been charged by UEFA for getting booked on purpose during their 6-0 win at Apoel Nicosia in Champions League Group H on Tuesday to wipe his disciplinary slate clean for the knockout stage.
The right back was shown a yellow card in the 90th minute for time wasting when taking a throw in, his third booking of the group stage which means he is banned for the final group game at home to Borussia Dortmund on Dec 6. (RTRS)
Niasse banned for diving: Everton’s Oumar Niasse will serve a two-match ban after his appeal against a diving charge was rejected, becoming the first Premier League player to be hit with a retrospective suspension.
The Senegalese was charged on Tuesday by the Football Association after he won a controversial penalty in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace. (AFP)
Gollob says career is over: Motorcycle speedway racer Tomasz Gollob says his career is over following an accident in April that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
The 46-year-old Polish racer, sitting in a wheelchair, met with reporters Wednesday at a hospital in his hometown of Bydgoszcz.
He says “the thing that has happened has shut my chances for competing in any sport. That’s history now.” (AP)
Police probe Sharapova: Maria Sharapova is being investigated by police in India in a cheating and criminal conspiracy case involving a real estate company who used the tennis star to endorse a luxury housing project that never took off.
Real estate firm Homestead Infrastructure is accused of taking tens of millions of rupees (millions of dollars) from home buyers for a project named “Ballet by Maria Sharapova,” a luxury apartment complex with its own helipad, tennis academy and other amenities. (AP)