Palestinians object to Israeli plaque

Olympics: Members of the Palestine Olympic Committee have protested against the Sydney Games organisers' decision to mount a plaque honouring the 11 Israeli athletes killed in a Palestinian guerrilla attack at the 1972 Games in Munich.

"If they are going to have a plaque in the Olympic venue then we want the same," said Rabie Al Turk, vice-president of the Palestine committee.

Al Turk's complaint related to a plaque that the Sydney 2000 Games organising committee have mounted below a lighting tower. The tower stands in an enclosed area of the Homebush Olympic Park, about 20 metres from the main Olympic Stadium.

Al Turk stressed the Palestinians would not object if the plaque was mounted in a area of the city outside the confines of the Olympic venue.

Meanwhile, East Timor athletes can compete in the Sydney Olympics, but not under their national flag, said IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch yesterday.

The agreement was arrived at after pleas from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Soccer Bet: Bookmakers William Hill woke up with a half a million pound hangover yesterday after a Polish customer went on a winning spree with four huge bets.

The punter put £48,000 on Lazio to win Italy's Serie A and another £120,000 on Galatasary to beat Arsenal in last week's UEFA Cup Final.

He then gambled £240,000 on Chelsea as FA Cup Final victors. On Wednesday, he staked £340,000 on Real Madrid to win the Champions League.

"This is the most astonishing sequence of football bets we've ever taken," Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe said, adding the client was sitting on a £511,000 balance.

Cricket Scandal: Ian Botham says cricket is rotten to the core and wants independent judges to probe the match-fixing scandal which has tarnished the sport's reputation for fair play.

"I think corruption goes all the way to the top," the former England all-rounder is quoted as saying.

"Someone, somewhere is doing a very good job covering this up. If not, why haven't they launched a proper enquiry?

"But let's have it done by people from countries which know nothing about the game and who will not be influenced by the names involved," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

Rowing: There will be a great deal of interest in the list of applicants from within and without rowing for the post of chief executive of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union, which will be advertised tomorrow. The relatively well remunerated post - the salary is believed to be in the region of £30,000 to £35,000 - is part of the union's strategic plan for the sport. Applications have to be in by June 9th and a decision should be made by the end of the month.

Athletics: Ger Healy is favourite to defend his Irish title in tomorrow's national marathon championships, to be held over a two-lap course in Tallaght. The Civil Service clubman was the comfortable winner in Sligo last year, a victory he later used as a stepping stone to a second place finish in the Dublin marathon.

One of the more interesting entries is that of Peter Maher, the Cork runner who has an impressive past marathon record while representing Canada. Mary Jennings of Waterford AC is also back to defend the women's title.