Russian police are hunting an Uzbek amateur MMA fighter after he escaped custody in St. Petersburg following an attack on security officers from the Interior Ministry.
Bunyod Tukhtayev, 28, was detained by members of the Russian Center for Combatting Extremism – known colloquially as ‘Center E’ – earlier this week.
Footage showed Tukhtayev attempting to escape during his arrest as he fled an unmarked car before grappling with two officers on the street.
В Санкт-Петербурге боец ММА Бунёд Тухтаев совершил дерзкий побег из отдела МВД после того, как напал на силовиков и пытался отобрать у них оружие. Национальность не называю pic.twitter.com/0b5qKIuHG9
He was eventually restrained and taken into custody but did not remain there for long.
According to reports, the morning following his detention Tukhtayev asked to use the toilet and then staged his escape when he returned to a preliminary detention room.
Officials confirmed to Interfax that Tukhtaev was “wanted” after being detained on suspicion of involvement in trading QR codes – which are required in public places across St. Petersburg to verify Covid vaccination status – and fake migration documents.
Tukhtaev is also facing charges of violence towards an official after resisting his initial detention.
Records indicate that Tukhtaev has had at least one amateur MMA contest – losing to fellow Uzbek Dostonbek Dostmurodov at an R3 Fighting Championship event in St. Petersburg earlier this year when he was unable to come out for the second round.
The English Football League has issued advice to clubs to segregate their players depending on their Covid vaccination status or if they have previously been infected, reports have claimed.
The EFL consists of 72 clubs across England’s Championship, League One and League Two competitions.
According to The Telegraph, they have been advised to split up stars in groups such as unvaccinated, double-jabbed, boosted, and previously infected when traveling to and from fixtures to reduce possible coronavirus transmission.
The move comes amid the UK government’s rolling out of Plan B to battle the Omicron variant this week, which includes the reintroduction of the use of facemasks indoors and the need to carry a vaccine passport or provide a negative test result to enter football stadiums and other venues with large crowds.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson reintroduced working from home where possible but encouraged people to attend office Christmas parties, a controversial move as Downing Street battles accusations that it held bashes during lockdown last year.
Meanwhile, the English Premier League has contacted all 20 of its clubs to re-install emergency Covid protocol with both the top tier and EFL advising against end-of-year parties.
The Telegraph’s report further claims that the EFL has instructed teams to separate their goalkeepers in training to reduce the chances of “close contact”.
Above all, the guidance aims to ensure that there are no disruptions to the packed calendar over Christmas and New Year, with the new measures set to last until the end of the next month.
In addition to maintaining social distancing and not sitting down for meals together with their whole squad, EFL players have been ordered to bear in mind contact with others “outside of their bubble”.
A separate report from The Sun alleges there is fear among Premier League bosses that unvaccinated stars could be banned from playing altogether.
In October, it was announced that 81% of players in the league had received at least one jab of their vaccination and 68% had been double-jabbed.
While these figures are said to have risen in the past six weeks, clubs have apparently noted how the NBA previously sought a vaccine mandate with rebels like Kyrie Irving sidelined for his refusal to get vaccinated amid strict New York Covid laws.
Vaccine passports for fans Will players have to be vaccinated? Positive case and illness at Leicester @SkyKaveh has the latest on fresh Coronavirus rules in the Premier League pic.twitter.com/iD7dVv7WDC
In the Germaan Bundesliga, where unvaccinated players who test positive must head into isolation, big names such as Joshua Kimmich have also been out of action and docked pay.
For clubs already braced for fan anger from those who can’t attend matches without proof of their double-jabbed status, potentially not being able to field some of their stars would be added stress.
Football super-agent Mino Raiola has shared the clubs he believes are in line to sign Norwegian sensation Erling Haaland once the forward makes a widely expected move from Borussia Dortmund, which could happen in the summer.
The prolific Haaland has struck 17 goals in 13 appearances across all competitions for Dortmund this season as he continues his rise as one of the most coveted young stars in world football.
A host of big names across Europe are expected to come knocking at the Dortmund door again at the end of the season, when a release clause of a reported €75 million ($85 million / £64 million) is believed to kick in.
Asked if Dortmund will cash in on their prized asset, Raiola told Sport1: “Maybe this summer, maybe the summer after. But there is a big chance that Erling will leave this summer. We will see.”
Manchester United are believed to be among those keen on Haaland – but Raiola seemingly dealt a blow to the Old Trafford giants by not naming them or Chelsea as among his likely destinations.
“He can and will take the next step. Bayern, Real, Barcelona, City – these are the big clubs he can go to. City have won the championship five times in the last few years, much more than United.”
The remarks will likely sting at Old Trafford, where another of Raiola’s clients, Paul Pogba, appears set to leave as a free agent at the end of the season.
Chelsea were believed to be keen on Haaland last summer but ended up spending a record fee to bring Romelu Lukaku back to Stamford Bridge.
Haaland has scored 74 time in 72 games for Dortmund since joining the Germans from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.
His current deal runs until 2024, but Raiola says his future will be discussed this winter, even if no firm decision is made.
“We all knew when we moved to Dortmund that this step would come,” said the agent, who refused to give details of any release clause in the striker’s contract.
Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City would certainly have the kind of financial firepower to lure Haaland to the Premier League and pay the wages demanded by Raiola.
However, doubts would be cast over debt-ridden Barcelona’s ability to do so, and possibly that of La Liga rivals Real Madrid, who are in any case intent on completing their protracted pursuit of PSG star Kylian Mbappe.
A teammate of a transgender college swimmer has spoken out on the controversy surrounding her colleague and accused their coach of prioritizing victory over fairness.
Lia Thomas currently competes for Penn State but had previously featured in the male NCAA Division I competition swim team as Will for three years at the university.
As Lia, Thomas has smashed a string of records with three broken at the Zippy Invitational Event in Akron, Ohio, this past weekend alone.
In the 1,650-yard freestyle, Thomas set a competition record with a 15:59.71 time that was 38 seconds faster than her teammate Anna Kalandadze.
In the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyles, she broke US records with times of 4:34.06 and 1:41.93 respectively.
Thomas’ very presence in female competitions has caused outrage and sparked widespread debate.
Providing fuel to those against her participation, one of her colleagues has claimed that team support for Thomas is “very fake” with their coach Mike Schnur appearing to prioritize victory above fairness.
“Pretty much everyone individually has spoken to our coaches about not liking this,” remarked the girl to Outkick, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Our coach just really likes winning. He’s like most coaches. I think secretly everyone just knows it’s the wrong thing to do.”
While Thomas has separately claimed that her teammates and coaches have been “unbelievably supportive since the beginning” with Schnur “one of my biggest supporters and allies in this process since day one”, the teammate has stated that the support from colleagues is put on.
Hats off to Lia Thomas (right) for breaking all these records in women's swimming competitions. I just wish we knew what her secret was so every athlete could be as talented. #UPennpic.twitter.com/QgloR405b9
“When the whole team is together, we have to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, go Lia, that’s great, you’re amazing’. It’s very fake,” she revealed.
“The Ivy League is not a fast league for swimming, so that’s why it’s particularly ridiculous that we could potentially have an NCAA champion. That’s unheard of coming from the Ivy League,” she continued, as per Thomas’ achievements.
“On paper, if Lia Thomas gets back down to Will Thomas’ best times, those numbers are female world records. Faster than all the times [seven-time Olympic champion swimmer] Katie Ledecky went in college. Faster than any other Olympian you can think of. His times in three events are [female] world records.”
Perhaps with an eye on Paris 2024, Thomas welcomed new IOC guidelines tipped to be brought in after February’s Winter Olympics in her own interview on Thursday.
“I think the guidelines they set forward are very good and do a very good job of promoting inclusivity while keeping competitional integrity going,” she said of the proposals, which suggest it should not be presumed trans women have automatic advantages over other females.
“Each sport basically has to come up with eligibility criteria for what constitutes an unfair advantage in that sport,” Thomas explained.
“Everybody is able to compete in the category they’re most comfortable with unless there’s a proven unfair advantage that they have.”
UPenn transgender swimmer Lia Thomas says it's completely fair to compete against women:
“Everybody is able to compete in the category they’re most comfortable with unless there’s a proven unfair advantage that they have.” pic.twitter.com/JGzeUZ0SnG
At present, NCAA rules dictate that any athlete who wishes to switch from male to female competition needs to have completed a least a year’s worth of testosterone suppression to participate.
But according to the unnamed teammate, “one year doesn’t mean anything”.
“What about the years of puberty as a male, the male growth you went through as a man?” she asked.
“There are a bunch of comments on the internet about how, ‘Oh, these girls are just letting this happen. They should just boycott or protest.’
Source: Penn swimmers were 'strongly advised' by school administration to avoid talking to the media & told during a meeting that it's a non-negotiable, Lia Thomas will be swimming for Penn. https://t.co/IPpUhI2EP3
“At the end of the day, it’s an individual sport. If we protest it, we’re only hurting ourselves because we’re going to miss out on all that we’ve been working for,” it was stressed.
“When I have kids, I kinda hope they’re all boys because if I have any girls that want to play sports in college, good luck. [Their rivals] are all going to be biological men saying that they’re women.
“Right now we have one, but what if we had three on the team? There’d be three less girls competing,” it was concluded.
Firuza Sharipova takes on one of the most feared faces in women’s boxing this weekend as she steps into the ring with undefeated Irish star Katie Taylor – but the Kazakh fighter is not daunted by the challenge.
Undisputed women’s lightweight champion Taylor puts her titles on the line against mandatory WBA challenger Sharipova at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday night, with the Irish Olympic gold medalist heavily fancied by the bookmakers to extend her unblemished professional record to 20-0.
But despite her underdog status, the 27-year-old Sharipova is not unfamiliar with breaking the mold and defying expectations.
The Kazakh pugilist was the first woman to turn professional in her country, and following a baptism of fire against Russia’s Sofya Ochigava in her first fight in 2016 – which ended in a unanimous decision defeat – Sharipova has since reeled off an impressive 14 straight victories.
The Kazakh puncher captured the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) world lightweight title in just her eighth pro outing in 2017, before adding the vacant IBO and WBC silver super feather titles to her collection in the same year.
However, she returned the following August to claim the vacant IBA world female super lightweight title in a dominant victory over Tanzania’s Happy Daudi.
She’s since notched three more victories – including a second-round TKO of Russia’s Liubov Beliakova in September – to set up her shot at Taylor.
According to Sharipova, she has a secret weapon heading into the contest thanks to former foe Ochigava.
Ochigava was an opponent for Taylor in the amateur ranks, and the Irishwoman prevailed in their biggest bout when they battled for Olympic gold in London in 2012.
Sharipova has called on Ochigava during her training to plot the downfall of the 35-year-old Taylor.
“I am eight years younger than Katie Taylor, I am stronger than her and Sofya Ochigava helped me to prepare for this fight,” Sharipova said.
“No one else knows how to fight Taylor like Sofya Ochigava. Therefore, not only I, Firuza Sharipova, will be in the ring against Taylor, but the intelligence of Sofya Ochigava, who has preparedme very well for this fight, will be with me.
“Sofya has been in my camp from the very beginning, has passed on all her knowledge to me and has done her best to help me defeat Katie Taylor.”
Taylor was feted as a national hero for her Olympic success in London, but Sharipova attempted to needle her opponent with claims that she was an undeserving gold medalist.
“I watched their fight in the final of the Olympic Games and I’m sure that the judges helped Taylor. Sofya knocked her down, which wasn’t counted. Sofya was better in the fight, she won it,” Sharipova said.
“Taylor is usually not afraid of anyone, but in that final fight, Sofya saw fear in her eyes. Even now, Taylor refuses to fight Sofya.”
Saturday night will be the first time Sharipova has fought outside of her homeland or Russia since her second professional bout back in 2016.
The photogenic fight queen – who was married to fellow boxer Denis Rybak before their divorce in 2017 – is among the most popular female sports stars in her homeland and was once voted her nation’s sexiest athlete in a poll.
Bizarre betting markets even opened on whether Sharipova could one day take on the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the judo mat, or pose nude for Playboy.
“Of course I would love to conduct a joint training session with Vladimir Putin,” Sharipova told RT Sport back in 2019.
“It wouldn’t be full contact or hard sparring. It would be a friendly joint training session and not full blooded in any way.
“As for the Playboy shoot – I’d be against taking part in any nude photo shoots! If the photos are decent and beautiful, the I will be ok with that. Otherwise no,” said Sharipova.
While Playboy is off the cards, it will certainly be maximum exposure for the Kazakh ring queen this weekend in Liverpool as she aims to pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets women’s boxing has ever seen.
