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Nowitzki cheered by thousands upon return home

German basketball star Dirk Nowitzki received a hero's welcome upon his return home to Würzburg, Bavaria on Tuesday. Dirk got the cheers, but one super-fan earned a seat of honour for helping to galvanize thousands to attend the lavish event.

Nowitzki cheered by thousands upon return home
Photo: DPA

“It’s all unbelievable,” the newly-minted NBA champion said Tuesday before 3,000 fans at Würzburg’s sold out s.Oliver Arena. “Everything happening here is absolutely overwhelming.”

The day would only get better for the 33-year-old.

After a press conference, he attended a ceremony at the Würzburg town hall to sign his name in the city’s “Golden Book“, likely marking the first time that an NBA player has autographed a volume also signed by Winston Churchill.

Nowitzki was then shuttled to the Würzburg Residence palace, where he took in a lavish reception held in his honour.

In an unusual twist, the fanfare of Nowitzki’s reception was enhanced through the efforts of an ordinary fan.

After watching Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks win the NBA finals, Markus Michler, a 28-year-old self-professed “sports freak“ from Würzburg, used social media to pay tribute to his favourite NBA player.

Michler started a Facebook group titled “Established for the reception of Dirk Nowitzki on the balcony of the Würzburg Residence“, which had the unexpected result of mobilising thousands to greet the star on his homecoming.

“We all watched the last game together in Würzburg and I got a sense of this incredible energy,“ Michler said.

“Then I thought that such a superstar can’t simply be greeted at the town hall and eventually be voted Würzburg’s athlete of the year,“ Michler added.

“This needed to be something special.“

Within a few hours after its formation, Michler’s group had over 9,500 members on Facebook. Then Silke Nowitzki, Dirk’s sister who organised his homecoming, got word of the group and decided to turn its mission into reality.

Several thousand adoring fans showed up to cheer Nowitzki, but Michler got perhaps the biggest prize of all: a seat at the reception as a guest of honour.

“This is like a dream,“ he said afterwards.

In lieu of winning an NBA ring, not a bad dream to make come true.

DPA/The Local/adn

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CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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