Michele Kang appointed president of Olympique Lyonnais
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's Champions League - Semi Final - Second Leg - Olympique Lyonnais v Arsenal - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - April 27, 2025 General view outside the stadium REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
Eagle Football Group, the holding company behind Olympique Lyonnais, has appointed women's football mogul Michele Kang as the president of the financially struggling French club, it said on Monday.
Kang, who owns Lyon's women's soccer team OL Lyonnes, will also be the CEO of Eagle Football Group, replacing U.S. businessman John Textor.
Olympique Lyonnais have been relegated to Ligue 2 following an audit of its finances, which the club said it would appeal.
"We are entering a critical moment for OL," Kang said in a statement.
Eagle Football Group also said it had named the group's chief sports officer, Michael Gerlinger, as the director general of Olympique Lyonnais. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Paolini powers her way into Wimbledon second round
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Italy's Jasmine Paolini in action during her first round match against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova REUTERS/Isabel Infantes Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Italy's Jasmine Paolini reacts during her first round match against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova REUTERS/Isabel Infantes Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Italy's Jasmine Paolini and Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova shake hands after their match REUTERS/Isabel Infantes Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates winning her first round match against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova REUTERS/Isabel Infantes Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Italy's Jasmine Paolini in action during her first round match against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova REUTERS/Isabel Infantes LONDON - Wimbledon fourth seed and 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini came from a set down to beat Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova 2-6 6-3 6-2 on Monday, sealing a place in the second round. The 5-foot-4-inch pocket rocket, who had not won a main draw match on grass before her surge to the Wimbledon final last year, looked a bit rusty in the early evening sunshine on Court 2, surrendering an early break to her 35-year-old opponent. Sevastova, making her first Wimbledon appearance since 2021 after maternity leave and injury, set up another break point with a deft backhand slice and went 5-2 up when Paolini hit into the net. The Italian made 13 unforced errors in the first set as her 402nd-ranked opponent took the lead. The pair traded breaks twice in the second set but after an hour of play it was Paolini who had the momentum while Sevastova began to tire, the power ebbing away from her groundstrokes. Paolini broke again and served out the set to level. Sevastova took a medical timeout before the third set, but on the resumption of play Paolini pounced and pummelled the Latvian into submission, rattling off three games in a row as the sun set on her opponent's stay at the All England Club. The 29-year-old Italian, having found her rhythm and her voice, comfortably powered her way to victory and a second-round meeting with Russia's 80th-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Threat of more tariffs hangs over countries negotiating trade deals with the US
Newly manufactured cars of the automobile maker Subaru awaiting export are parked at a port in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan. PHOTO: REUTERS Threat of more tariffs hangs over countries negotiating trade deals with the US WASHINGTON – Governments around the world are racing to negotiate trade deals with the United States in order to forestall President Donald Trump's punishing tariffs, which could kick in July 9. But the discussions have been slowed because Mr Trump has threatened to impose more tariffs even if those deals are in place. Mr Trump announced what he refers to as 'reciprocal tariffs' on April 8, which he said were in response to other countries' unfair trading practices. But he agreed to pause those levies for 90 days to give countries time to reach trade deals with the United States. Some administration officials recently suggested that the deadline could be extended but Mr Trump has signalled that he is ready to slap tariffs on countries he views as uncooperative. 'We have countries that are negotiating in good faith, but they should be aware that if we can't get across the line because they are being recalcitrant, then we could spring back to the April 2 levels,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on June 30. India, Vietnam, Japan, the European Union, Malaysia and other governments have been working toward deals that could smooth relations with the United States and avoid double-digit tariffs. But the Trump administration has been moving forward with plans to impose another set of tariffs on certain industries that it views as essential to national security, a threat that has foreign leaders worried there could be more pain ahead. These tariffs are dependent on the outcomes of trade investigations into lumber and timber, copper and critical minerals by the Commerce Department, which are expected to be finalised soon and submitted to the White House, according to people familiar with the matter. A determination that imports pose a national security threat would allow the president to issue tariffs on those products in the coming weeks. Investigations on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and electronic devices are also proceeding and could be finalised in time for tariffs as early as July, the people said. Mr Bessent added that tariffs on imports of items such as lumber were being implemented on a different track than the reciprocal tariffs that were announced in April and are not part of the current round of trade negotiations. Those tariffs on certain critical sectors, which would be issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, aim to build up domestic capacity for important products and ensure that the country isn't reliant on foreign factories in times of war or shortages. But these sectors – along with automobiles and steel, on which the Trump administration has already applied national security tariffs – are also vital industries for America's largest trading partners, like Japan, the European Union and India. These governments have been hesitant to strike a deal with the Trump administration, worried that they only will be hit by more levies down the road. For some foreign governments, these national security tariffs are potentially more concerning than the reciprocal tariffs Mr Trump is threatening to apply to all their US exports. For the EU, tariffs on medicines, the bloc's No. 1 export to America, could be enormously painful. It is unclear whether a trade deal that the United States and the European Union have been drafting will address that issue. Mr Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has suggested that negotiations should focus on a few key sectors including medical drugs. 'We now need rapid joint decisions for four of the five major industries: automotive, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and mechanical engineering,' Mr Merz said last week, adding that 'we don't want the best of the best; we want the most important of the necessary.' Pharmaceutical tariffs are also a major threat for India, which the Trump team has consistently been optimistic about striking a deal with. Last year, India exported almost US$13 billion (S$17 billion) worth of drugs, and the United States is its biggest market. For Japan and South Korea, as well as Europe, exports of cars and steel to the United States have been a particular concern. Along with disputes over opening Japan's market to US agriculture, US tariffs on Japanese cars appear to be a thorny obstacle in what US officials presumed would be a relatively smooth negotiation. Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Indonesia could be hit by tariffs on semiconductors and other electronics, including phones and computers. Vietnam and Malaysia could also be hurt by tariffs on lumber and timber, which could cover products like kitchen cabinets. Several foreign governments have tried to negotiate provisions exempting them from other future tariff increases, but it's not clear how lenient the Trump administration will be on national security tariffs. The Trump administration has sent some mixed messages about how much it might be willing to lower them; some officials insist they are not up for negotiation. Trump officials have criticiSed exemptions from global steel tariffs granted to various countries by the Biden administration, saying that they undermined their effectiveness. Trade experts said that giving tariff exemptions would also risk angering labour unions that support them, and undercut the Trump administration's argument that the tariffs must be in place to protect national security. Mr Nick Iacovella, the executive vice-president of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a trade group that supports tariffs, said that if the administration was 'giving away' exemptions on tariffs on critical industries, it was 'signaling to everyone that these really aren't national security issues.' Privately, Trump officials have said there may be some wiggle room. Notably, the framework agreement that the United States announced with Britain in May included some concessions on national security tariffs on cars and steel. Britain secured an exemption from car tariffs for a volume of exports set at historical levels. That deal, as well as lower levies on aerospace exports such as Rolls-Royce jet engines, came into effect on June 30, more than seven weeks after the framework agreement was announced. For most of that time, companies were unsure when lower tariffs would be implemented. However, the agreement to eliminate steel tariffs hasn't been implemented as the two sides negotiate requirements for British steel companies. This arrangement has encouraged Japan, the European Union and others to seek a 'UK-style deal' to also exempt them from national security tariffs. But some Trump officials say that because the volume of their exports is so large, exemptions would be a major threat to US industry. British exports of cars and steel to the United States were viewed as too limited to be much of a threat. But such exports from Japan, Korea and Europe are substantial. Mr Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative, has said privately that the British provisions were not a precedent or framework for other countries, according a person familiar with the remarks. Mr Peter Harrell, a former Biden administration official who is a nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the United Kingdom exports about 100,000 cars to the United States each year. But Japan, the European Union and South Korea together exported approximately 3.5 million cars in 2024, a much larger share of the US market. If the president exempted large quantities of these cars, 'then it doesn't look like you have a 25 per cent auto tariff anymore,' Mr Harrell said. 'He'd face political blowback.' The Commerce Department and the Office of the United States Trade Representative declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. For now, foreign governments appear wary of making substantial commitments on trade, only to see US tariffs rise or potentially fall. The Trump administration is awaiting the outcome of a significant court case on whether the reciprocal tariffs are lawful. That decision could come this fall. Mr Jake Colvin, the president of the National Foreign Trade Council, a trade organisation that advocates open trade, said other countries were 'looking for certainty' in deals with the Trump administration. But uncertainty continues because investigations under the 232 national security provision are still underway. 'Countries do want to make deals with us, but they are not going to agree to anything final until they know the status of the 232 investigations,' he said. Part of the confusion is because trade negotiations are being handled by various departments. Mr Greer and his office focus on negotiating tariffs and other trade irritants. But the 232 tariffs fall under the authority of the Commerce Department, which is juggling multiple investigations and other priorities. Some foreign officials have said they have little clarity from the Commerce Department about the likelihood of exceptions. Dr Philip Luck, an analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said foreign governments were experiencing 'a lot of frustration and confusion,' in part because countries have been negotiating with multiple officials. They have been hearing different things from different principles, and also been told that all their agreements were contingent on Mr Trump. 'There doesn't seem to be anybody in charge,' Dr Luck said. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Raducanu, Kartal and Tarvet get British Wimbledon charge off to flying start
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2025 Britain's Sonay Kartal shakes hands with Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko after winning her first round match REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON - The biggest home assault on Wimbledon for 41 years got off to a great start on Monday when Sonay Kartal and Oliver Tarvet claimed upset wins and Emma Raducanu triumphed in an all-British clash. British tennis is enjoying a buoyant period, and although former U.S. champion Raducanu and Jack Draper are making most of the headlines, there are 23 local players in the men's and women's singles this week, the most at Wimbledon since 1984. Seven qualified directly through their top-100 world rankings, U.S.-based collegiate player Tarvet came through qualifying and a further 15 were handed wildcards. With Draper not in action until Tuesday, British women's number one Raducanu was the main attraction, although home loyalties were somewhat split as she faced 17-year-old Welsh wildcard Mimi Xu, making her Grand Slam debut. Xu had not beaten a top 50 player and never looked likely to break that duck on Number One court as she went down 6-3 6-3. Raducanu, desperate for a deep run in her home slam after a previous best of two fourth-round exits, did not have to do anything too extraordinary against a rival who for a while seemed intimidated by the occasion. After Xu swung wildly for a rare air shot and then tumbled to the pristine turf after a slip, the 318th-ranked teen got what no young player wants to hear - some sympathy applause. Raducanu swept to the first set, dropping only three points in her four service games, and with a lack of tension on court, the obligatory 'come on Britain' shout drew the usual ripple of Wimbledon laughter usually reserved for any lingering pigeon. Xu settled in the second set, however, finally getting to grips with the Raducanu serve during a run of five successive breaks, but the favourite got back on track to come through. FLYING START Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Kartal were all in the top 50 last week, the first time three British women have been ranked that high since 1986, and Kartal got the day off to a flier by beating ex-French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2. She fought back from 4-1 down to win the first set before Ostapenko, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2018 and quarter-finalist last year, hit back to take the second. However, the Latvian's famed inconsistency showed up again in the third as Kartal stormed to a 5-0 lead and, after a minor wobble, finished it off. "I was happy to be first up," Kartal said. "I guess the other (British) guys that are coming out can maybe get a bit of motivation from my win." It was also a good day, though not as lucrative, for Tarvet as the British qualifier beat Switzerland's Leandro Riedi 6-4 6-4 6-4 for his first win in a Grand Slam tournament. The 21-year-old's reward is a Centre Court meeting with holder Carlos Alcaraz but, win or lose, he will go home with only $10,000 plus expenses due to the rules surrounding student athletes in the United States, where he goes to college. All other second-round losers will take home 99,000 pounds ($135,000) in prize money. Britain's Cameron Norrie got past Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets and Bill Harris was an impressive straight-sets winner over Serbian Lucky Loser Dusan Lajovic, but British number two Jacob Fearnley went down in three against Brazil's Joao Fonseca. Fourth seed Draper, one of 13 Britons in the men's draw, is the biggest home hope since Andy Murray and kicks off his campaign against Argentine Sebastian Baez on Tuesday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
