I Dig Sports

Defending champions needing to set the record straight

Published in Table Tennis

Friday, 07 February 2020 14:04

Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the no.2 seed, faces Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar, the no.11 seed, the player against whom he suffered in the third round at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships in Budapest.

He is in the same quarter of the draw as Portugal’s Marcos Freitas, the no.7 seed and the winner in 2014 in Lausanne on the last occasion the tournament was the Top 12 as opposed to the Top 16. In the opening round he faces Austria’s Daniel Habesohn, the no.10 seed and one year ago a somewhat surprise semi-finalist.

In the same half of the draw, Frenchman, Simon Gauzy, the no.4 seed, confronts Slovakia’s Wang Yang, the player he beat in the fourth round of the men’s singles event at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships. Awaiting is the winner of the intriguing clash of the generations between Slovenia’s 21 year old Darko Jorgic, the no.14 seed and 43 years of age Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus, the no.6 seed.

Exacting opening round encounters; for the top seed, Sweden’s Mattias Falck, the opening round duel could not be more testing, he faces Frenchman Emmanuel Lebesson, the no.15 seed, a player who the Swede has never beaten on the international stage. Two meetings on the ITTF World Tour, in 2015 in China and 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Emmanuel Lebesson prevailed.

Same half as six times winner

They are listed in the same quarter of the draw as Austria’s Robert Gardos, the no.12 seed and Denmark’s Jonathan Groth, the no.8 seed. Most pertinently they are in the same half of the draw as Timo Boll, the no.3 seed, the six times the tournament winner. In the opening round Timo Boll meets Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson, the no.9 seed; laying in wait is either England’s Liam Pitchford, the no.5 seed or Switzerland’s Lionel Weber, the no.16 seed.

Men’s Singles – Round One – Order of Play (seeded positions in brackets)

09.30 Simon Gauzy v Wang Yang
10.20 Darko Jorgic v Vladimir Samsonov
11.10 Robert Gardos v Jonathan Groth
12.00 Mattias Falck v Emmanuel Lebesson
13.50 Kristian Karlsson v Timo Boll
14.40 Liam Pitchford v Lionel Weber
15.30 Marcos Freitas v Daniel Habesohn
16.20 Tomislav Pucar v Dimitrij Ovtcharov

Similar situation

Meanwhile, for Petrissa Solja, the no.2 seed, it is a similar situation; likewise she confronts an adversary against whom she has never enjoyed success on the international stage. She faces Poland’s Natalia Partyka, the no.13 seed and runner up one year ago. Much water has flowed under the bridge since they last met but on the ITTF World Tour in 2008 in Poland and in 2010 in Qatar the verdict favoured Natalia Partyka.

Natalia Partyka and Petrissa Solja appear in the same quarter of the draw as Romania’s Elizabeta Samara, the no.5 seed and Russia’s Yana Noskova, the no.14 seed. In the same half appears the name of a further German player in the guise of Han Ying, the no.4 seed; she meets the Czech Republic’s Hana Matelova, the no.11 seed. Awaiting in the round of the last eight is either Ukraine’s Margaryta Pesotska, the no.7 seed or Hungary’s Dora Madarasz, the no.15 seed.

At the recent 2020 ITTF World Team Qualification Tournament in Gondomar, Dora Madarasz was in blistering form, guiding Hungary to an Olympic Games place. However, on their most recent meeting, the Liebherr 2019 European Team Championships in Nantes, the verdict went in favour of Margaryta Pesotska.

An exacting first round women’s singles encounter for the defending champion, it is the same for Romania’s Bernadette Szocs, the 2018 champion and runner up last year. The no.3 seed, she meets Britt Eerland of the Netherlands, the no.10 seed, a player against whom she does not have a good record. Britt Eerland has won seven of their nine encounters; the fact in favour of the Romanian is they were some time ago and Bernadette Szocs did win the most recent when they crossed swords in 2016 at the ITTF World Tour Swedish Open.

Top quarter

Bernadette Szocs and Britt Eerland appear in the same quarter of the draw as Russia’s Polina Mikhailova, the no.8 seed and Luxembourg’s Ni Xia Lian, the no.9 seed.

They are in the same half as Austria’s Sofia Polcanova, the top seed who, as last year in the opening round, confronts the host nation’s Rachel Moret, the no.16 seed. In the same half appear Sweden’s Matilda Ekholm, the no.6 seed and Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova, the no.12 seed.

Women’s Singles – Round One – Order of Play (seeded positions in brackets)

09.30 Dora Madarasz v Margaryta Pesotska
10.20 Han Ying v Hana Matelova
11.10 Polina Mikhailova v Ni Xia Lian
12.00 Britt Eerland v Bernadette Szocs
13.50 Elizabeta Samara v Yana Noskova
14.40 Natalia Partyka v Petrissa Solja
15.30 Barbora Balazova v Matilda Ekholm
16.20 Sofia Polcanova v Rachel Moret

The semi-finals, third place matches and finals will be conducted on Sunday 9th February.

Tagged under

Six things to look out for in the Women's Six Nations

Published in Rugby

Friday, 07 February 2020 11:24

England got their Grand Slam defence off to a winning start in the Women's Six Nations, while there were also victories for Italy and Ireland in the opening round.

Round two begins when France welcome Italy on Sunday evening, before the Red Roses travel to Scotland and Ireland host Wales on Sunday.

Want a quick round-up of the biggest talking points this weekend?

With the help of BBC Rugby Union Weekly's Sara Orchard and Philippa Tuttiett, BBC Sport has chosen six things to look out for in the second round of matches.

England's Amber Reed

After helping set up an impressive try for World Rugby Women's Player of the Year Emily Scarratt against France, centre Amber Reed has been given a place in Simon Middleton's starting XV for Sunday's game against Scotland.

The 28-year-old Bristol back won the World Cup with England in 2014 and has 54 caps but only came back into the England fold in June after being sidelined with a back injury.

She also missed the November Tests because of injury but impressed former Wales captain Tuttiett on her return to international rugby in Pau last weekend.

"We talk about dominating collisions as an attacker - watch Amber Reed," Tuttiett said. "That is exactly what she does. But she's also got lovely soft handling skills. She timed a lift to Emily Scarratt beautifully to score last weekend."

Fixture logjam

Rugby Union Weekly listener Jemima asked: "Who on earth is responsible for the shambolic scheduling of the Women's Six Nations games? I was having to watch Ireland v Scotland on the TV, while streaming the epic France v England game on my phone."

Jemima has a point. For the opening round of the tournament, the weekend's three games all kicked off within 30 minutes of each other.

You needed either a very impressive multi-screen set-up or a self-imposed exile from social media if you were to enjoy the suspense of all three without knowing the score.

"It was really frustrating when the fixtures came out," said Tuttiett.

The situation is slightly better this weekend. Only two of the games overlap, with Scotland v England beginning 50 minutes before the start of Ireland v Wales on Sunday.

And it could be fully sorted soon. Six Nations organisers are planning a full review off all aspects of the tournament - sponsorship, scheduling, broadcasting rights and the rest - at the end of this season.

Will Wales bounce back?

Wales threatened a comeback against Italy last weekend, but were defeated 19-15 by the Azzurre.

The hosts dominated the first 20 minutes and had a 10-5 lead at half-time, but Tuttiett thinks they need to work on their attack if they are going to beat Ireland on Sunday.

"They need to be in the right areas of the field in attack," she said. "They could not get out of their 22 against Italy.

"The momentum was behind Wales going into the game, seeing the new breed of attack we saw them play in the autumn. Wales should be beating Italy now. And a certain amount of Wales' defence is strong but it needs to be more adaptable."

Ireland seek redemption

Ireland managed to hold off Scotland to win 18-14 last weekend, but Tuttiett believes Adam Griggs' side still have more to prove against Wales.

They will play at Donnybrook again in their second home game in a row and BBC Radio 5 Live rugby reporter Orchard says that will give Ireland a "massive boost" but wonders if the side are "falling away" after winning two Six Nations titles in the last 10 years.

And Tuttiett pointed out that it might take time for Ireland to adapt to the absence of forward Claire Molloy, who is taking a sabbatical from rugby to continue her training in emergency medicine.

"There has been a change of personnel for Ireland," Tuttiett added. "Anna Caplice is making a good bit of ground at number eight. She doesn't normally play there.

"They are not the Ireland of old and you can imagine Adam Griggs will want to put things right. We could see a different game come out against Wales."

Can Scotland reduce handling errors?

"How did Scotland lose that game?" asked Orchard on the podcast.

Scotland had more territory and possession and won 100% of their scrums against Ireland, but could only come away with a losing bonus point.

The result could largely be blamed on the 15 handling errors the visitors committed, something which left Tuttiett "frustrated."

"There are exciting players in the Scotland team," she said. "When they pass the ball to each other in the backline it looks like they don't like each other.

"They're not sympathetic with their passes. It is frustrating because their backs have so much to offer but we never really saw them at their true potential against Ireland."

France's forwards power

"The French scrum - whoa!"

That was Tuttiett's reaction to the monstering that the hosts dished out to England at scrum time in Pau last weekend.

France won four penalties from the set-piece. But might it have been just as much sleight of hand as pure shove power?

France loose-head prop Lise Arricastre seemed to get the upper hand over Shaunagh Brown with a touch of illegal sideways pushing, and the French pack did a better PR job on South African referee Aimee Barrett-Theron.

Fortunately for England, France's misfiring backline spurned that advantage, with 18 handling errors squandering some promising field position.

Tagged under

Six Nations 2020: Wales aim to make life 'uncomfortable' for Sexton

Published in Rugby

Friday, 07 February 2020 14:06

Fly-half Dan Biggar says his side aim to make life "uncomfortable" for opposite number Jonathan Sexton in Dublin.

New captain Sexton scored all of Ireland's points in the 19-12 win over Scotland in the opening round.

"I suppose it is up to us on Saturday to try and make life as uncomfortable for him as possible," said Biggar.

"If we give him a free ride and let him dictate play, we have seen over the years how good a player Johnny is."

Biggar insists his comments are a compliment for a player he has battled against for the last decade and toured with on the British and Irish Lions trip to New Zealand in 2017.

Sexton, 34, will play his 96th Test for Ireland and the Lions while Biggar, 30, will make his 81st Wales Test appearance.

Biggar and Sexton have started six international games against each other at 10 with three victories for Wales, two wins for Ireland and a draw.

"He has been almost Ireland's best player for the last 10 to 12 years," said Biggar.

"You tend to know people's game better when you play against them so many times and in an Ireland shirt we have faced each other tons of times.

"It is great to play against Johnny and he is one of the best blokes around that you will meet.

"He knows their game inside out and will be driving them around the field.

"We need to try and force some errors out of him but Johnny has been around the block long enough to know that any side playing Leinster or Ireland are going to try and make him make mistakes.

"He has done OK over his career so far and I am sure he will be fine. but that is our plan, make life difficult for nine and 10, and that starts with stopping momentum.

"You know he is going to be abrasive, play flat to the line and look to control things through his kicking game. I am sure it will be great headlines writing about Johnny, but it is about which team can stop the momentum for the other team's backs.

"With the weather as well, it looks as though it is going to be even more of an arm-wrestle."

Biggar and Sexton are both known to be vocal on the field and French referee Romain Poite will be dealing with the two fly-halves on Saturday.

"I'd say we probably give each other a run for their money!" said Biggar.

"We tend to always have a bit of a laugh and a joke in terms of that. I think whoever is reffing the game on Saturday must be pulling their hair out.

"It is all in good jest with Johnny. We will be focused on making sure we do our jobs rather than anything else."

Kicking role

Sexton has been handed the extra captaincy responsibility by new head coach Andy Farrell while Biggar has taken over the goal-kicking duties from prolific full-back Leigh Halfpenny.

"It comes with a responsibility," said Biggar.

"I always say this game we play couldn't be more of a team game. If your 14 team-mates don't turn up it's very difficult, but with kicking you get to one part of the game and it couldn't be any more individual.

"You've got no one to blame if it goes wrong. It's nice to be given the nod on that.

"Leigh's record speaks for itself and we're fortunate we've got good options in the squad. My kicking form has been good over the years and it's just about trying to maintain that."

'Never been happier'

Biggar's elevation is indicative of the confidence the fly-half is showing with Northampton and Wales. That was demonstrated by his superb between the legs pass for a try by Josh Adams against Italy.

"I am happy at Northampton and that makes it a lot easier when you come down here (to Wales)," said Biggar.

"I realise I am not going to be around forever - I turned 30 last year, so I'm going to enjoy myself as much as I can in the next four or five years until I'm out of the game.

"Whatever role I have in this team it's great to be involved. I want to be involved as long as possible, but certainly club-wise I have never been happier."

For the latest Welsh rugby union news follow @BBCScrumV on Twitter.

Tagged under

NASCAR & Penn National Gaming Expand Strategic Alliance

Published in Racing

Friday, 07 February 2020 11:08

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR and Penn Interactive, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming Inc., have announced a new multi-year partnership that will make Penn National an authorized gaming operator of NASCAR in the United States.

The partnership is Penn National’s first with a professional sports league and will center around a brand new, free-to-play, mobile game named NASCAR Finish Line, which offers users the chance to win a $50,000 jackpot every race.

In addition, NASCAR and Penn National have extended their long-standing race title sponsorship for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway through 2026. The partnership furthers Hollywood Casino’s position as the Official Casino Partner of Kansas Speedway and the race title sponsor of the NASCAR Cup Series race that is scheduled for Oct. 18.

“We’re thrilled to have Penn National on board as our first authorized gaming operator to strengthen our effort to increase fan engagement with a platform perfect for in-play experience,” said Craig Neeb, Executive Vice President, Innovation, NASCAR. “Coupled with our landmark deal with Genius Sports in 2019, this partnership also positions NASCAR to take advantage of the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting across the country.”

“We are very excited to enter this long-term, strategic partnership with NASCAR,” said Jennifer Weissman, Chief Marketing Officer for Penn National. “We look forward to the opportunity to provide NASCAR fans multiple outlets for their fandom, including online on a new free-to-play mobile game and at our destination casinos and sportsbooks.”

The free-to-play NASCAR Finish Line mobile game will be available ahead of the DAYTONA 500 across iOS and Android phones and tablets and can be downloaded on the App Store and Google Play store. Players can win the $50,000 jackpot by accurately predicting the race winner and the highest finishers across six different groupings of six drivers.

“I’m excited that we have extended our title race sponsorship agreement with Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway and as a company, that we are expanding our relationship with Penn National,” said Kansas Speedway President Patrick Warren. “Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway has been able to entertain thousands of their customers, not only from the Kansas City area, but also from around the country during the “Hollywood Casino 400” the last several years. I look forward to continuing to help them entertain and reward their patrons for the next few years.”

Penn National is the nation’s largest regional gaming operator with 41 facilities in 19 states, including the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway that overlooks turn two of the Speedway, which opened in 2012. The partnership with NASCAR reflects the company’s strategy to continue evolving its business, with a focus on becoming a best-in-class omni-channel provider of retail and online gaming and sports betting entertainment. As part of that strategy, Penn National recently announced an exclusive gaming partnership with Barstool Sports to utilize its brand for all of the company’s online and retail sports betting and iCasino products, subject to the closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur within the First Quarter.

As an authorized gaming operator of NASCAR, Penn National will take an active role in promoting NASCAR across its properties and on its soon-to-launch sports betting app. Genius Sports, NASCAR’s exclusive provider of NASCAR data to licensed sportsbooks, rolled out several new in-race bet types in 2019 and is set to expand upon that with an additional eight in time for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Last year, NASCAR announced a series of partnerships to prepare the industry and its fans for the rapidly growing sports betting landscape in the U.S., including an integrity deal with Sportradar, an exclusive data distribution deal with Genius Sports, and content deals with Action Network and VSiN. Additionally, the sanctioning body granted all teams and tracks the ability to sell marketing sponsorships to sports betting companies and licensed sportsbooks.

Tagged under

PHOTOS: DIRTcar Nationals Night Two

Published in Racing

Friday, 07 February 2020 12:00

Tagged under

TrueTimber Backing Davies’ eNASCAR iRacing Efforts

Published in Racing

Friday, 07 February 2020 12:50

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – JR Motorsports has unveiled a new partner for its No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

Brad Davies, one of iRacing’s longest-tenured competitors, will compete with TrueTimber Camo backing during the new season, which begins on Feb. 11 at the virtual Daytona Int’l Speedway.

A product innovator of realistic camouflage patterns that offer concealment and versatility in the outdoors, TrueTimber Camo will be the primary partner for Davies throughout the 20-race season.

“I am looking forward to having TrueTimber Camo on my No. 88 Chevrolet this season in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series,” Davies said. “TrueTimber has been a tremendous supporter of JRM and its grass-roots program over the years. I am committed to adding to their success in the online world against the top sim racers in the world this year.”

Davies’ virtual No. 88 Chevrolet will mirror the photo-realistic TrueTimber Camo patterns.

The company, based in Inman, S.C., was the first to create camo designs using 100 percent digital photography. Each layer uses digital photos of a hunter’s surroundings to create three-dimensional patterns that enrich users’ experiences no matter where they hunt.

It’s not the first collaboration between JRM and TrueTimber Camo, either. In 2016, the company was the primary backer for the No. 88 Chevrolet late model in five races that season, helping Josh Berry earn the CARS Late Model Stock Tour owner’s championship.

One of only two drivers in history to have competed in every season of the top eNASCAR iRacing series, Davies finished 16th in series points last season.

Tagged under

Schoenburg Gets Support From Traeger & Cometic Gasket

Published in Racing

Friday, 07 February 2020 14:00

MOORPARK, Calif. – Cometic Gasket and Traeger Grills will serve as co-primary sponsors of Brian Schoenburg’s No. 79 Ford Mustang this season in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

Schoenburg, one of two drivers out of the Clint Bowyer Racing stable, is a longtime veteran of iRacing’s top oval division, having competed in all but one season during the series’ decade-long tenure.

As he enters his 10th year of action, Schoenburg looks to build on a stat line that consists of 22 top-five and 51 top-10 finishes in 144 starts. He also has one pole, earned at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2012.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Cometic Gasket and Traeger Grills to the series at a time when it’s growing at such an incredible rate,” Schoenburg told SPEED SPORT. “Everything about this car and the No. 79 team is new for 2020, and we plan to put on a very professional and productive campaign for them.

“This is a building year for us and I think we can do great things with this car and give both of these brands some value throughout the season.”

Cometic Gasket Inc. is a worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the automotive performance, powersports, original equipment and remanufactured engine industries.

Cometic is housed in a 70,000 square-foot R&D and manufacturing center in Concord Township, Ohio.

Traeger invented the original wood pellet grill more than 30 years ago in Mt. Angel, Ore., and is one of the industry’s highest-selling wood-fired grill brands in the present day.

With experience under his belt and a new team with which to hopefully grow, Schoenburg is targeting both an increase on his career-best finish of fifth in points, as well as a long-awaited race victory.

The Californian will race alongside teammate Brandon Kettelle, from Florida, during the 20-race season.

“Clint Bowyer is entertaining, and I like to be entertaining too,” Schoenburg said. “Representing his name will definitely be a cool thing… I don’t know if Clint knows it, but he got two pretty entertaining personalities, between myself and (Brandon) Kettelle.”

“If he got us together in the same Cup race, they would probably shut down the Cup garage at some point, that’s a guarantee,” he laughed.

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season begins Feb. 11 at the virtual Daytona Int’l Speedway.

Tagged under

Deegan Paces Friday ARCA Practice At Daytona

Published in Racing

Friday, 07 February 2020 14:25

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Hailie Deegan wasted no time on Friday proving that she’s prepared to go toe to toe with the best that the ARCA Menards Series has to offer.

Making her debut at Daytona Int’l Speedway, Deegan posted the fastest lap time across two practice sessions Friday afternoon, touring the 2.5-mile high banks in 49.027 seconds (183.572 mph) with the No. 4 Monster Energy Ford for DGR-Crosley.

Deegan is running the full ARCA schedule this year as a Ford Performance development driver and has already experienced Daytona once this year, albeit in a sports car last month during an IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge event.

She ran 24 laps overall on Friday, despite not going out during the final round of practice.

“That was crazy. That was the real drafting practice that I had with more than five cars,” she said. “I needed that, and I didn’t really get a lot of that in the test. I’ve been feeling that out and feeling what it’s like to suck up to the rear end of other cars.

“It was really good leading the pack too. It felt super stable, not darty at all. It does get a little tight, but I think we have a really good platform to build on.”

Venturini Motorsports’ Drew Dollar was second-quickest on the overall speed charts Friday, turning a best lap of 49.093 seconds (183.326 mph) with his No. 15 Venturini Motorsports Toyota.

Tanner Gray ended the day third-fastest in a second DGR-Crosley Ford (49.122/183.217), followed by Riley Herbst for Joe Gibbs Racing and Bret Holmes with his family-owned team.

Connor Hall and Jacob Heafner – teammates at Chad Bryant Racing – were sixth and seventh, respectively. The top seven drivers Friday all cleared the 183 mph threshold.

Gus Dean, Michael Self and Ryan Repko completed the top 10, while World of Outlaws sprint car star David Gravel was 13th-best for KBR Development in a GMS Racing-aided Chevrolet.

The top 12 single-lap speeds on Friday all came out of the first practice round, with many drivers electing to sit out Happy Hour after finding everything they needed with their cars.

Hall led the final practice at 49.476 seconds (181.906 mph), ahead of Dave Mader III, Dominique van Wieringen, Willie Mullins and Sean Corr.

General Tire Pole Qualifying for the ARCA Menards Series Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Christian Eckes, now racing full time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, won the pole for last year’s race.

Tagged under

Leafs' Ceci out at least month with ankle injury

Published in Hockey

Friday, 07 February 2020 11:47

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Cody Ceci will miss at least a month after suffering an ankle injury during Wednesday's loss to the New York Rangers, according to the team.

Ceci will be placed on injured reserve and is considered out indefinitely, with a reevaluation expected to take place in a month.

The 26-year-old Ceci has one goal and seven assists in 54 games this season. He signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the Maple Leafs after joining the team from the Ottawa Senators in an offseason trade.

The Maple Leafs are also calling up defenseman Timothy Liljegren from AHL Toronto. The 2017 first-round pick has played in one career NHL game, which came earlier this season.

Tagged under

MLS gets favourable pro/rel ruling from CAS

Published in Soccer

Friday, 07 February 2020 13:07

A long-running lawsuit looking to force promotion and relegation on Major League Soccer has failed.

Lower-tier clubs Miami and Kingston Stockade filed a challenge in 2017 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against FIFA, North American soccer body CONCACAF and the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Miami owner Riccardo Silva, the former head of media rights agency MP & Silva, sought to disrupt the closed MLS system of new clubs paying franchise fees up to $200 million.

The clubs' case cited a sub-section of FIFA statutes stating "a club's entitlement to take part in a domestic league championship shall depend principally on sporting merit." The FIFA article also notes participation "may be subject to other criteria."

CAS ruled this week that FIFA never intended the promotion-relegation principle to apply to the U.S. and Australia.

The ruling said that although FIFA may not like closed leagues they can be allowed if a domestic professional championship never had promotion and relegation between divisions.

Closed leagues are the norm in the United States and lawyers for the two clubs "did not argue why such practice could not be maintained in soccer," the ruling stated.

Miami and Kingston Stockade said being unable to "climb the ladder" from lower divisions into the MLS system denied them access to "premium club markets" of international competitions run by CONCACAF and FIFA.

The case was heard in a one-day session in New York last May. It included witness statements from former FIFA secretary general Michel Zen-Ruffinen and former USSF presidents Alan Rothenberg and Sunil Gulati.

The court ordered both clubs to each pay $15,350 toward USSF's legal costs and $7,675 to each of FIFA and CONCACAF.

The ruling was made weeks before the Inter Miami franchise, led by David Beckham, kicks off its debut MLS season.

Tagged under