Best of the Rest
England prop banned:
England prop Kyle Sinckler will miss the team’s opening match of the Six Nations against Scotland on Feb 6 after receiving a two-week ban on Wednesday for swearing at a referee in a club game.
The incident took place when Sinckler was playing for Bristol Bears in a Premiership match against Exeter on Saturday. He used bad language as he questioned a referee’s decision not to award a penalty.
Sinckler was cited and appeared before an online independent disciplinary hearing, which upheld a charge that he failed to respect the authority of a referee.
The 27-year-old Sinckler is free to play again on Feb 9, making him available for the match against Italy at Twickenham in round two.
He apologized for the outburst straight after Saturday’s game, saying it was “not the example I want to be setting”. (AP)
US team out: The United States men’s handball team has been forced to withdraw from the world championships in Egypt after a coronavirus outbreak.
The International Handball Federation said there were “several positive results after the obligatory COVID-19 tests” found on the US team before the squad planned to travel to Egypt.
United States coach Robert Hedin told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet on Tuesday that 18 people in the squad, including players and staff members, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The United States is the second team ruled out by coronavirus cases, following the Czech Republic. The IHF named Switzerland and North Macedonia as late replacements for the championships.
The U.S. men’s team was due to play in its first world championships since 2001 and was drawn to face Austria, France and Norway in the preliminary round. The Americans have already failed to qualify for this year’s postponed Tokyo Olympics.
The tournament in four cities in Egypt begins Wednesday and is being played without spectators. (AP)
Cyclist found guilty:
An Austrian cyclist who won a stage at the Spanish Vuelta was found guilty of fraud in connection with a doping scheme.
The Austria Press Agency reported Stefan Denifl received a two-year sentence with 16 months of that time suspended after being accused of doping from 2014 to 2018.
It was not immediately clear whether Denifl, who can appeal the ruling, would serve any time in prison. He has the option to apply to serve the time while living at home under certain conditions including monitoring with an electronic ankle tag.
Denifl admitted being involved in a blood doping ring allegedly run from neighboring Germany, but denied he earned money fraudulently by doping, APA reported.
Another Austrian cyclist, Georg Preidler, was given a 12-month suspended sentence in Austria last year.
Denifl won a Vuelta stage and the Tour of Austria, both in 2017, but was stripped of those accomplishments last year when he was banned from sports for four years by the Austrian National Anti-Doping Organization. (AP)
Canada loses appeal:
Canada’s equestrian team lost its appeal to regain a place in the Tokyo Olympics jumping lineup on Tuesday in a doping case involving traces of cocaine in South American tea.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges gave an urgent ruling dismissing appeals by Nicole Walker and the Canadian equestrian federation against her disqualification from the 2019 Pan American Games team jumping competition in Peru.
Without Walker’s scores in Lima, the Canadians slipped out of the final Olympic qualification place, which instead went to Argentina.
Walker tested positive for metabolites of cocaine believed to have come from drinking coca tea, which is popular in South America. (AP)
squads of four to six players mitigates the risk. Watching other leagues postpone and reschedule games has helped, as has regular communication among medical experts.
Players are tested daily and all arenas except for three – Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes and the Stars – will
not have fans as the season gets going. The league realigned its teams to include an all-Canadian division to avoid border crossing hassle; questions remain about where the San Jose Sharks will play home games because of a ban on team sports in Santa Clara County, California.