64 arrested for betting

HANOI: Sixty-four people have been arrested in separate raids in Vietnam for illegally betting on Euro 2004 football matches, state media said on Tuesday. The arrests were made in early hours of Monday during a live broadcast of the Czech Republic’s 3-0 win over Denmark, the Thanh Nien (Young People) daily said. Fifty-five people were arrested at two cafe bars in the southern business capital of Ho Chi Minh City while nine others were nabbed in provinces of Tien Giang and Ben Tre in the Mekong river delta.

De Boer to miss semis

ALBUFEIRA: Netherlands captain Frank de Boer will miss his team’s European Championship semi-final match against Portugal due to an ankle injury, the team said. De Boer left the Netherlands’ quarter-final match against Sweden in the 35th minute after tackling Fredrik Ljungberg. The Dutch went on to win 5-4 on penalties after a scoreless draw in regulation and extra time.

Rene Bolf cleared

SINTRA: Czech defender Rene Bolf, who strained a leg muscle in the Euro 2004 quarter-final against Denmark, practiced on Tuesday and will be fit to make the semi-final against Greece on Thursday. Czech team officials said that rightback Martin Jiranek, who also suffered a muscle injury just before halftime of the 3-0 beating of the Danes, underwent a scan on Monday which showed the muscle was not torn but only strained.

Swiss referee angry

LAUSANNE: Swiss referee Urs Meier is deeply angry with England’s tabloid newspapers, which launched a campaign against him after he disallowed what would have been the winning English goal in last week’s quarter-final against Portugal. Reporters from The Sun have tracked down Meier’s family and placed a huge English flag in a field outside his home in northern Switz-erland — publishing photos of the exploit. Meier has received more than 16,000 e-mails after newspapers listed his Internet address, and his Web site has crashed under the pressure.