SPORTS BRIEFS

Lionel Messi on Wednesday headed a goal and provided an assist as Inter Miami won the Campeones Cup, beating Cruz Azul 2-0 in the annual clash between Major League Soccer (MLS) and Mexican Liga MX champions. It was Inter Miami’s first Campeones Cup triumph and came thanks to the Argentine superstar’s 100th goal for the reigning MLS Cup winners. A late Messi corner was headed home by Casemiro to seal the win. Victory gave 39-year-old Messi his first trophy of the year, two months after the heartbreak of losing the FIFA World Cup final to Spain with Argentina. After the game, Casemiro paid tribute to his illustrious teammate Messi. “We have to enjoy this because we don’t know how long we’ll have it,” the former Real Madrid midfielder said. “What he has done and continues to do for football is incredible ... he remains the best. He proved it at the World Cup and continues to prove it in MLS.”

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi shoots a corner kick that assisted Casemiro to score on a header during their Campeones Cup final against Cruz Azul at Nu Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday.

Photo: AFP

FOOTBALL

Travis Kelce defrauded

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, husband of singer Taylor Swift, was among investors defrauded out of millions of dollars by a financial adviser who is going to prison. Kelce was named in court by prosecutors among the victims in a Ponzi scheme that saw Siddharth Jawahar sentenced on Tuesday to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay US$31.35 million to Kelce and other investors, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said. Jawahar, 38, was a cofounder and managing partner of Texas-based Swiftarc Capital, whose investors included Kelce. The court said Jawahar took more than US$35 million from Swiftarc, but invested only about US$10 million from July 2016 through December 2023, with money spent on private jets, lavish hotels, luxury apartments in Texas and New York, fancy clothes and meals and memberships in private clubs.

SOCCER

Boehly, Walter sell holdings

Chelsea on Wednesday confirmed that Clearlake Capital Group would be buying out the minority interests of co-owners Todd Boehly and Mark Walter and taking full control of the English Premier League club. American Boehly would stand down as chairman of the west London club after the widely anticipated deal, which media reports suggest would be worth about ￡950 million (US$1.27 billion). Clearlake, which was cofounded by Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, has teamed up with a third minority owner, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, to purchase the stakes, which amount to about one-quarter of the club.

CRICKET

Crew blames Bollywood

Leicestershire have been docked 27 points over the state of the pitch during a match against Glamorgan last month, with the county side’s head groundskeeper blaming the playing conditions on a Bollywood shoot and scorching weather. Leicestershire beat the visitors by 42 runs at Grace Road, but the match referee rated the pitch as “poor” in his report. Glamorgan head coach Richard Dawson said the uneven bounce had led to batters being hit. After a formal hearing, the independent Cricket Discipline Panel ordered Leicestershire to forfeit the 19 points for the win and handed them an eight-point sanction, leaving them at the bottom of the table.