Top Shot
Thierry Henry and wife granted divorce
LONDON: The four-year marriage of French soccer star Thierry Henry and his English wife Claire Merry was ended by a divorce court judge in London on Monday.
Merry, a model and mother of the couple's two-year-old daughter, divorced Henry on the uncontested grounds of his unreasonable behavior.
She is expected to receive a sizeable settlement from the former Arsenal striker, who newspapers say has an estimated fortune of 25 million pounds ($50.45 million).
Henry, 30, is widely reported to be earning 130,000 pounds a week at his new club Barcelona.
Divorce lawyers have speculated that his 27-year-old ex-wife, who models under the name Nicole Merry, could win a payout of up to 10 million pounds.
The divorce was one of a batch granted during a one-minute hearing at the High Court's Principal Registry. The couple met when they starred together in a television advert for Renault.
Injured Ballack out of Chelsea's Champions League squad
LONDON: Germany captain Michael Ballack, who has not played for Chelsea since April because of an ankle injury, has been left out of the squad for the Champions League group stages.
The 30-year-old is still recovering from surgery and will not be fit in time for the start of the competition in two weeks.
However, if Ballack does recover fitness in the next four months he would be eligible for the later stages of the competition should Chelsea qualify.
"We can confirm Michael Ballack has not been included on the list for the group phase," the club said on their website (www.chelseafc.com) on Monday.
Mutu earns Fiorentina draw at AC Milan
MILAN: Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu earned Fiorentina a 1-1 draw with European champion AC Milan at the San Siro on Monday.
The result gave the two sides four points from two Serie A games, two fewer than leaders Juventus and AS Roma.
Milan went into the match in high spirits after beating Sevilla 3-1 in the European Super Cup on Friday and opening its league campaign with a 3-0 win at Genoa.
The visitor was also in fine fettle thanks to last week's 3-1 victory against Empoli.
Kaka and Mutu came close to scoring the winner while Milan's Filippo Inzaghi failed to make contact with the ball in front of a gaping goal.
Zdravko Kuzmanovic also hit the post for Fiorentina.
UEFA upholds Domenech's touchline ban
ZURICH: France coach Raymond Domenech will watch Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier against world champions Italy from the stands after UEFA upheld his one-match touchline ban.
UEFA's appeals body ruled yesterday that the ban, handed down following comments made by Domenech in a French newspaper, would stand.
Domenech's appeal was partially upheld, however, with the appeals body lifting the 10,000 Swiss Franc ($8,251) fine originally imposed on the trainer by UEFA's control and disciplinary board.
Domenech was summoned by the disciplinary board after accusing Italy of bribing the referee of an under-21 qualifying match for the 2000 Olympics between the two countries.
Following the original hearing, UEFA said Domenech's comments to Le Parisien newspaper had brought soccer into disrepute.
Bettini ends six-month drought with stage win
LUARCA, Spain: Italian world champion Paolo Bettini ended a six-month dearth of victories with a strong stage win in the Tour of Spain on Monday.
Perfectly placed after a narrow, twisting rise to the finish of the 155-km third stage in Luarca, the Quick Step rider outgunned race leader Oscar Freire in a close sprint, with Australian Allan Davis finishing third.
Freire, who won stage two of the three-week race, maintained his lead in the overall standings. Leonardo Duque of Colombia is second and Germany's Erik Zabel is in third with the same time as Freire.
"It's my first win since a stage win in the Tour of California in February and it couldn't have come at a better time," Bettini told reporters.
"The world championships (in Stuttgart, Germany on September 30) are my big objective for the end of the season, so this win is a welcome boost to my morale."
(China Daily 09/05/2007 page23)
