Sport shorts: Messi faces two-year ban, Murray confident of singles return, Wilder vs. Fury rematch is on

Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Chile’s Gary Medel were sent off in the Copa America third-place play-off in Sao Paulo, Brazil

(Image credit: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

By The Week Staff

published 8 July 2019

1. Messi could be banned for corruption comments

Spanish newspaper AS reports that Lionel Messi could face a possible two-year ban from international football after accusing officials of corruption during the 2019 Copa America in Brazil.

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Andy Murray is confident he can once again challenge the best players in the world. Continuing his comeback after hip surgery, Murray is playing doubles at Wimbledon this week but The Guardian reports that the 32-year-old is “fired up” for a return to singles. When asked if he can beat the best players in the men’s game, the Scot said: “Why not? If someone can give me a reason why I shouldn’t be able to compete again then I would listen to it, but so far I haven’t really been given one.”

England and Australia meet in the World Cup semi-final on Thursday at Edgbaston, and already the Aussies are trying to pile the psychological pressure on the hosts. “It’s their World Cup to lose,” said Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon, when asked about the contest. “They’re full of world-class players and they’ve been the No.1 team for a couple of years now. They should be going into this World Cup as favourites, it’s all on them.”

Spain’s Jon Rahm hit a superb final round 62 to win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open by two shots. After securing his second Irish Open title, the 24-year-old said: “I’m excited to repeat. I think Seve [Ballesteros] was the only Spanish player to win more than one. The list of winners, [Nick] Faldo, [Rory] McIlroy, [José María] Olazábal, Seve, the champions at this event, and to put my name on there is really special.”

The United States won the Fifa Women’s World Cup for a record fourth time after beating the Netherlands in yesterday’s final in Lyon. European champions Holland held the holders to a goalless first half, but the US were too strong as they went on to secure a 2-0 win. Megan Rapinoe’s 61st-minute penalty gave the US the breakthrough and eight minutes later Rose Lavelle made sure of the victory.