Karate

Eleven Iranian woman were prevented from competing at the Konishi Cup karate championships in Kalmar at the beginning of August after they refused to remove their Muslim veils.

Despite travelling to Sweden solely to take part in the event, the women ended up watching the competition from the stands when head referee Javier Escalante declined to give them a special dispensation, Sveriges Radio reports.

Escalante pointed instead to the rulebook, which clearly states that all competitors are forbidden to wear jewelry, necklaces or headgear.

Football

Johan Elmander gave Toulouse a welcome boost ahead of their crucial Champions League clash against Liverpool in midweek with a last-minute winner against champions Lyon on Saturday.

The six-in-a-row champions never gave anyone else a chance last season, almost wrapping up the title by Christmas, but this defeat owed much to the dismissal of Swedish midfielder Kim Källstrom after just 34 minutes for stupidly spitting in the direction of the fourth official.

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Sven-Göran Eriksson, branded a flop as England manager, saw his Manchester City side win 2-0 away at Upton Park in his first Premiership test, with new signings Rolando Bianchi and Geovanni grabbing the goals.

Eriksson, who has managed title-winning teams in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, got off to a flying start.

Both City and West Ham have spent heavily in new players in the pre-season, but it was Eriksson’s investments which delivered an early return.

City’s Italian forward Bianchi, an £8.8 million pound capture from Reggiana scored in the 18th minute.

And Brazilian international striker Geovanni sealed victory from 12 yards out three minutes from full time.

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Halmstad and Elfsborg share top spot in Allsvenskan, with Gothenburg and Djurgården in hot pursuit:

Allsvenskan: Table and results.

Athletics

Triple jumper Anton Andersson may be on his way to becoming the latest Swede to excel at the sport. Andersson booked himself a place at the World Championships in Osaka with a new personal best of 17.10m at the Swedish Championships at the weekend.

The jump made him only the fourth Swede to clear 17 metres and he is hoping to soon be able to mount a challenge to training partner and reigning Olympic champion Christian Olsson.

“This wasn’t the cleanest jump. No one knows how far I can jump if I get it right. But it was certainly nothing to be ashamed of,” he told Svenska Dagbladet.

Andersson showed very few signs of shame while hopping around the track like a kangaroo to celebrate his latest success.

AFP/The Local