BOY, 12, ARRESTED AFTER ZAHA GETS RACIST POSTS
A 12-year-old boy was arrested by police in England after Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha highlighted racist abuse he received ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match at Aston Villa.
The racist messages and images referenced the Ivory Coast international being Black and showed the Ku Klux Klan. They were sent on Instagram from a user who referenced central Englandbased club Villa in their name.
“Woke up to this today,” Zaha posted on Twitter alongside screenshots.
“We were alerted to a series of racist messages sent to a footballer today and after looking into them and conducting checks, we have arrested a boy,” West Midlands Police said on Twitter. “The 12-yearold from Solihull has been taken to custody. Thanks to everyone who raised it. Racism won’t be tolerated.”
Before kickoff at Villa Park, Zaha — like all players in recent weeks — took a knee as part of the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Soccer
In the top four since September, Leicester’s Champions League hopes are no longer so certain. A 4-1 loss at relegation-threatened Bournemouth summed up Leicester’s form since the Premier League returned from its three-month coronavirus-enforced shutdown. Wolverhampton is also still in sight of fifth place, moving to three points behind United after beating Everton 3-0.
Arsenal and Tottenham, though, are realistically in a scrap for a Europa League place. Tottenham has the edge after beating Arsenal 2-1 in the north London derby to leapfrog its rival into eighth place.
• Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso’s first-ever match against AC Milan ended in a 2-2 draw in Serie A. Napoli remained sixth in the Italian league, two points above Milan.
• Valencia’s chances of making the Europa League next season took a hit with a 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Leganes in the Spanish league.
• Major League Soccer postponed a match between Toronto FC and D.C. United shortly before it was scheduled to begin Sunday morning because of one unconfirmed positive test and one inconclusive test for the coronavirus. The league announced that the match would be rescheduled for today after all players on both teams had tested negative during the additional round of testing.
• Kevin Molino scored in the seventh-minute of second-half stoppage time as Minnesota United rallied with two late goals to beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in the MLS Is Back tournament.
Tennis
The San Diego Aviators began play in the World Teamtennis season with a 23-16 victory over the Orange County Breakers at White Sulpher Springs, W.VA., where the entire league will be held. The Aviators led 18-16 going into the final mixed doubles set, but Ryan Harrison and Nicole Melichar didn’t lose a game, scoring a 5-0 win for the final margin of victory.
Also
Frank Bolling, a two-time All-star second baseman and the last player to hit a grand slam off Sandy Koufax, died in Mobile, Ala. He was 88. Bolling died Saturday. He was diagnosed with cancer about five years ago, according to a notice posted by the funeral home handling the arrangements.
• The Arizona Cardinals said owner Michael Bidwill was released from a Rhode Island hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. The team revealed on Friday that the 55-year-old Bidwill was in the hospital with the virus.
• The Connecticut Sun’s Natisha Hiedeman and Briann January, neither of whom traveled with team to WNBA training camp, tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced.