Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 19 Maart 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# We start off with golf: Thirty-six-year-old Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy says he is pleased with his recovery from a back injury, as he looks to play the Masters in three weeks as defending champion. He captured his fifth major title by winning last year’s Masters to complete a career Grand Slam. Only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo have captured the Masters in consecutive years. McIlroy says he is excited to head back to Augusta:

# Soccer: The EFF says the ruling to strip Senegal of the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations title represents a dangerous overreach by the Confederation of African Football. The CAF’s Appeal Board stripped Senegal of their title for leaving the pitch and declared that it forfeited the match. Tournament hosts Morocco are now considered 3-0 winners of the final. The EFF’s Thembi Msane says this unjust decision by CAF is a fundamental misapplication of its own regulations:

# Tennis: The Miami Open will have a stacked schedule today as rain washed out yesterday’s play in South Florida, disrupting first-round action. The likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Matteo Berrettini, Marin Cilic, Hubert Hurkacz and Stefanos Tsitsipas will all be in action on the men’s side today. Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, Venus Williams will be among the headline acts, alongside the return of Jennifer Brady against former US Open champion Sloane Stephens. World number one Aryna Sabalenka and 13th-ranked Jakub Mensik ​are ⁠the defending champions.

# Rugby: As the SA Cup heads into its third weekend and after two rounds of exciting rugby the log is starting to take an interesting shape. Griquas, Boland Kavaliers and Pumas are all sitting on the maximum of ten points from two bonus-point wins each. They are followed by the SWD Eagles on seven points, the Cheetahs on six points and the duo of the Griffons and Valke on five points each. In the first match tomorrow evening the Cheetahs and the Pumas face-off in Bloemfontein at 6 pm.

# And lastly, five members of Iran’s national women’s soccer team have returned to the country with the squad after dropping their bids for Australian asylum. Seven players initially sought humanitarian visas to stay in Australia. It came after concerns they would face repercussions for staying silent during Iran’s national anthem at their opening Asian Cup match. According to human rights activists the team’s captain Zahra Ghanbari was one of the players who may have been pressured to reverse their decisions through threats against their families. Just two others who were granted sanctuary stayed behind as defectors.

Stay tuned for more news………….