Serving the game and people

Politicians running sports bodies is commonplace, but one donning the cap of tennis referee is indeed a rare sight.

Spanish referee Gabriel Mato, who officiated the recently concluded Davis Cup tie between India and Uzbekistan here, is one such exception.

Mato, a Spanish MP, combines his travels all over the world for tennis with his hectic political schedule.
"I have played tennis at the national level. It was in 1985 that I first took up the job of a referee. I am also a lawyer and in 1991 became the mayor for a year of Santa Cruz De La Ralma,"says Mato, for whom the India-Uzbekistan clash was his 43rd Davis Cup tie.

Mato also has the distinction of officiating in Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and 1988 Olympics qualifiers.

Thai ref suffers players’ wrath

A Thai soccer referee was beaten up by an entire team after sending off three of their players during a match to decide promotion to country's second division.

Referee Prakong Sukguamala needed 50 stitches and also broke a finger after being attacked by the Kuiburi FC squad, furious at being shown three red cards during a 4-1 loss to Kasem Bundit on Thursday, the Thai-language Thai Rath newspaper said.

The angry players charged into Prakong's dressing room at the stadium in Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, and started to kick and punch him. They dispersed after police fired gunshots into the air.

The players then chased Prakong into the stadium's office, where the hapless official ran into a mirror, leaving him with cuts all over his body.

Jap rider amused   by the fuss

The 66-year-old equestrian rider selected for Japan's Olympic team is bemused by the fuss surrounding his record-breaking appearance in this year's Games.

"I heard the media in Japan are making a big deal of this," German-based Hiroshi Hoketsu said in a statement after being named in the Japan Equestrian Federation's team on Wednesday.
"To be honest I have absolutely no clue why. I'm not just going to the Olympics simply to take part. I'm planning to finish high up in the final placings."

Hoketsu, who turns 67 next month, took part in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where he finished 40th in the show jumping event.

He has since switched to dressage. "My horse 'Whisper' didn't understand my instructions in the beginning," he said. "But she appears to have decided 'I'll give this old guy a chance' and we're steadily improving."

Real still the richest

Real Madrid held its position as the world's richest soccer club as English clubs climbed the rankings to claim three of the top five slots in an annual survey by accountancy firm Deloitte.

Manchester United climbed two places to second in the latest "Football Money League" table of the world's 20 biggest soccer clubs ranked by revenue, Deloitte said.

London-based teams Chelsea and Arsenal also climbed to fourth and fifth places, respectively, while Barcelona dropped one place from second to third.