Bribery to win Germany’s Cup bid alleged
The corruption scandal sweeping world soccer engulfed Germany as FIFA said Friday that it would investigate “very serious allegations” that voters were bribed to win Germany the 2006 World Cup bid.
The latest claims of wrongdoing linked to soccer’s governing body broke as suspended President Sepp Blatter went public with his fight to get his FIFA ethics case thrown out.
Blatter may have deepened the prospect of a long ban by admitting there was only a “gentleman’s agreement” for the 2011 payment he authorized to UEFA President Michel Platini that led to their both being suspended by FIFA last week after it emerged through a criminal investigation.
The investigation will include looking into a report in news magazine Der Spiegel that Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid committee established a slush fund of 10.3 million Swiss francs (then about $6 million) to bribe four of the 24 voters.
Brendan Steele, who shot a course-record 63 in the opening round at Frys.com Open, shot a two-under 70 Friday in the second round and remained atop the leaderboard in Napa, Calif.
Steele shot a two-under 70 Friday and holds a two-shot lead going into the weekend. He was at 11under 133.
He’ll take the two-shot margin over Will Wilcox (67), Jhonattan Vegas (71), Graham DeLaet (68) and Harold Varner III (70).
Lydia Ko took advantage of Sung Hyun Park’s struggles to take the lead in the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship at Incheon, South Korea.
The second-ranked Ko made an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a seven-under 65 and a onestroke lead over Lexi Thompson.
Wes Short Jr. birdied three of the last four holes for a five-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s San Antonio Championship.
Brad Keselowski won the pole for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway, turning a lap at 195.503 mph to beat out 10 other Chase drivers in the final round of qualifying in Kansas City, Kan.
Sportscaster and TV host Erin Andrews is seeking a $75-million judgment against the Marriott hotel chain and a man who admitted making secret nude tapes of her in 2008.
The lawsuit, filed in Nashville in 2010, was amended this week to include the dollar amount the former ESPN reporter is suing for on the basis of negligence and invasion of privacy.
Michael David Barrett of Westmont, Ill., in 2009 pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to renting hotel rooms next to Andrews in three cities, altering the peepholes and shooting videos at two locations in Columbus, Ohio, and in Nashville.
Venus Williams closed in on a spot in the season-ending WTA Finals by beating Alize Cornet, 6-1, 6-1, to reach the Hong Kong Open semifinals.
After struggling with his confidence and consistency for much of the season, Rafael Nadal beat a top-five player for the first time in more than a year with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic advanced with his 15th consecutive victory, holding off Australia’s Bernard Tomic in a first-set tiebreaker before closing it out 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Djokovic will play Andy Murray in Saturday’s semifinal after the third-seeded Briton defeated Tomas Berdych, 6-1, 6-3. Nadal will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other semifinal. Tsonga topped Kevin Anderson, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4.
Mario Gutierrez rode five winners in the first six races Friday at Santa Anita.
San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture will probably miss more than a month after breaking a leg during practice.