Digest

SOCCER

Messi donates to Argentina's virus fight

Lionel Messi has donated half a million euros to help hospitals in his native Argentina fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buenos Airesbased foundation Casa Garrahan said the funds－around $540,000 dollars－would be used to buy protective equipment for health professionals.

"We are very grateful for this recognition of our workforce, allowing us to continue our commitment to Argentina's public health," Casa Garrahan executive director Silvia Kassab said in a statement.

The Barcelona forward's gesture allowed the foundation to purchase respirators, infusion pumps and computers for hospitals in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires provinces, as well as the autonomous city of Buenos Aires.

The statement added that high-frequency ventilation equipment and other protective gear would be delivered to the hospitals shortly.

Podolski considering Boca move, says agent

Former Bayern Munich and Germany international forward Lukas Podolski could join Boca Juniors when soccer resumes from its coronavirus shutdown, according to his agent.

"I don't think it's impossible that Boca signs Podolski," agent Rodrigo Codas told local radio station Mundo Boca.

"We agreed to talk in the middle of the year. Boca is the most influential team in South America."

Podolski, who is contracted to Turkey's Antalyaspor until June next year, has long been linked with a move to South America. The 34-year-old World Cup winner has regularly expressed an admiration for Argentine and Brazilian soccer and often interacts with fans from both countries on social media.

"We are talking about a world champion player," Codas said. "If he said that he wants to come to Boca, it's because he really does. When I spoke with him, he also showed an interest in getting involved in marketing, which would work well at Boca."

Podolski retired from international soccer in 2017 after 130 appearances for Germany's national team and 49 goals.

MOTOR SPORTS

Vettel to leave Ferrari at end of F1 season

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of the season, the Italian team announced on Tuesday.

"The team and I have realized that there is no longer a common desire to stay together beyond the end of this season," Vettel said in a statement released by Ferrari.

"Financial matters have played no part in this joint decision."

Where the 32-year-old German will go now, and indeed whether he will remain in a sport whose season has yet to start due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are the big questions.

Italy's Gazetta dello Sport newspaper recently reported that Vettel, who won 14 races with the team but all his titles with Red Bull, had been offered a one-year extension with a salary reduction.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, at Renault, and McLaren's Spaniard Carlos Sainz have been installed as the leading candidates to take one of the most coveted seats on the grid.

Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has also been linked to Ferrari but has repeatedly indicated he intends to stay with Mercedes.

BOXING

'I'm back' declares Tyson in training video

Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson continued to tease boxing fans about a possible return to the ring by posting another training video on Instagram on Monday that ended with the message, "I'm back".

The 53-year-old caught the attention of the boxing world last week when he posted a short video of a workout that showed he possesses plenty of the punching power and speed that allowed him to become the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles. Tyson said then that he was considering a return to the ring for some exhibition bouts to raise money for charity.

The newest video showed Tyson growling through a workout and hitting the pads with the kind of ferocious power that made him one of the sport's most feared punchers. Since Tyson hinted at a return, challengers have been lining up for a shot at the boxer known as "Iron Mike".

BASEBALL

MLB owners OK June restart proposals

Major League Baseball owners gave the go-ahead on Monday to making a proposal to the players' union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting without fans in ballparks around the Fourth of July weekend.

Spring training could start in early to mid-June, a source told Associated Press.

Each team would play about 82 regular-season games against opponents in its own division plus interleague matchups. Postseason play would be expanded from 10 clubs to 14 by doubling wild cards in each league to four.

An agreement with the players' association is needed, and talks are expected to be difficult－especially over a proposal for a revenue split that would be unprecedented for baseball. Players withstood a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 to fight off such a plan.

"If you do anything that resembles a cap, that smells like a cap, you've given too much," said Dave Stewart, a four-time 20-game winner who is now an agent and spent two years as Arizona's general manager.

TENNIS

Kvitova, Pliskova top charity tourney lineup

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and third-ranked Karolina Pliskova will lead two teams in a charity competition during the coronavirus pandemic.

Pliskova's team will include her twin-sister Kristyna, 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova, Tereza Martincova and Nikola Bartunkova. Kvitova will be joined in her squad by Barbora Strycova, Kate ina Siniakova, Barbora Krej ikova, Linda Fruhvirtova and Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.

"It's a great opportunity for us to play a unique tournament," Pliskova said.

The first of the four tournaments that are part of the competition is scheduled for June 13-15 in Prague. Separately, the first of a series of tournaments organized by the Czech tennis federation is scheduled for May 26-28 in Prague.

Xinhua - Agencies