Zambia coach accused of sexual misconduct at Women’s World Cup

officials on and off the field of play.

Former

Pakistan captain Imran Khan, who served as the country's Prime Minister between 2018 and 2022, has been arrested and sentenced to three years in jail.

A Reuters report said Imran, 70, had been sentenced by a Pakistan trial court for not declaring the proceeds of state gifts to the Election Commission of Pakistan. His political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has already filed an appeal with the country's Supreme Court. In previous instances, any attempts to arrest Imran from his residence were met with significant resistance from his supporters, foiling at least two arrest attempts. When he was finally arrested on May 9, protests and rioting erupted across the country, leading to a severe crackdown against his party and a bill to try his supporters in military courts, a move that violates international law.

When Imran was arrested in May, he was ordered to be released two days later by the Supreme Court, which declared the arrest illegal.

Since Imran's release was ordered by a judge on May 11, he has been ordered to appear in Pakistan's courts in more than 150 cases reg- istered against him. He has repeatedly said he risks being imprisoned in interviews and broadcasts on his social media channels.

This case, in which a judge declared him guilty for concealing revenue earned from the sale of state gifts from the Election Commission of Pakistan, is locally known as the Toshakhana case. The court has imposed the maximum possible penalty allowed under the law, three years in prison and a fine of PKR 100,000. Imran's lawyers said they have already appealed the verdict. Under the law, the appellate court can suspend the sentence until a verdict on the appeal is reached.

Before entering politics, Imran represented Pakistan in 88 Tests and 175 ODIs for Pakistan and led them to the World Cup title in 1992. (Cricinfo).

FIFA is investigating an official complaint that Zambia head coach Bruce Mwape sexually assaulted a player at the Women’s World Cup.

Mwape is accused of rubbing his hands over the chest of one of his players during a training session in New Zealand on July 29.

“A complaint has been received,” a FIFA spokesperson said.

But the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) said “it has not received any such complaint” and it is a “surprise”.

The alleged incident is said to have taken place during a training session two days before their final group match against Costa Rica, which Zambia won 3-1 for their first victory at a World Cup.

FIFA’s spokesperson added: “FIFA takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously and has a clear process in place for anyone in football who wants to report an incident.”

Zambia have returned home, having been eliminated after finishing third in Group C.

“All the training sessions for the Copper Queens [Zambia] were filmed by the FAZ media team and offers no such footage,” the FAZ said.

“Additionally, a FIFA film crew attached to the Zambian team at the World Cup was present at all training sessions.

“We, however, wish to reassure the public that FAZ maintains the highest standards of integrity and transparency and always demands unwavering ethical conduct of the players and

“We therefore would not hesitate to take disciplinary measures and act on any misconduct once we are in receipt of an official complaint or when presented with evidence pertaining to an alleged incident.”

A New Zealand police spokesperson said: “We were made aware of an alleged incident and after making initial enquiries, no further action was required to be taken.”

Sexual abuse allegations against Mwape, who took charge in 2018, also emerged last year on social media. The FAZ said at the time that it had received no official complaint, but had opened an investigation, adding that “we consider these allegations very serious”.

Mwape was repeatedly asked about those allegations at the World Cup but he denied any wrongdoing and insisted they were “fake”. (BBC Sport)