Chile Upheld as Winner in Violence-Marred Match

Chile was upheld Thursday as the winner of last weekend’s violence-marred Davis Cup zonal match against Argentina, but was barred from playing home matches for three years.

The International Tennis Federation’s Davis Cup Committee ruled that the Argentine team “failed in their obligation” to abide by the match referee’s decision to proceed with play.

Trouble flared in Santiago last Friday with Chile leading, 1-0, and Argentina’s Mariano Zabaleta ahead of Nicolas Massu, two sets to one. Angered by line calls against their player, Chilean spectators tossed fruit, coins, bottles and plastic chairs onto the court, forcing the match to be halted.

The Argentine team was escorted off the court by police using riot shields, and Zabaleta’s father sustained a head injury that required 10 stitches.

On Saturday, Argentina withdrew from the best-of-five series, and Chile was declared the winner, 5-0.

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Andre Agassi injured his right hamstring and retired in a match against Jiri Vanke of the Czech Republic in the Galleryfurniture.com Challenge in Duluth, Ga. . . . Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain withstood a 6 1/2-hour rain delay before finally beating Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla. . . . Carlos Moya of Spain, fighting off a lingering back injury that cost him the No. 1 ranking in the world, downed second-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden, 6-1, 6-3, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal.

Miscellany

The New York Jets made another trade, moving up four spots in the first round of the NFL draft in a swap with the San Francisco 49ers. The Jets now own the 12th, 13th, 18th and 27th spots. San Francisco, which also has the 24th slot, got the 16th choice from New York and a second-rounder, 48th overall. . . . Running back Ki-Jana Carter, who has been sidelined almost half of his NFL career because of injuries since the Cincinnati Bengals made him the first player drafted in 1995, suffered a knee injury this week during a workout.

The U.S. women’s soccer team will be one of eight countries in the inaugural Women’s Gold Cup, which will be held in three U.S. cities from June 23 to July 3.

Coachsports, which owns the Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League, is negotiating with the city of Ontario to build an 11,000-seat arena near the Ontario Mills mall.

Former Nebraska football player Shevin Wiggins, part of the play that helped the Cornhuskers defeat Missouri in 1997, was sentenced to 18 months’ probation in Lincoln, Neb., for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Wiggins had been charged with felony sexual assault but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in February.

A disagreement between golfer John Daly and his girlfriend outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Auburn, Ala., escalated into a dispute involving police, the Opelika-Auburn News reported.

An Irish councilor said he had found the skull of the Epsom Derby-winning racehorse Shergar, believed to have been kidnapped by the Irish Republican Army in 1983.

Danny Nee, fired last month at Nebraska, was hired as basketball coach at Robert Morris.

A Senate committee voted to ban betting on college sports--a practice legal only in Nevada--but declined a challenge from a Nevada senator to set a nationwide minimum gambling age of 21. . . . First place in the Big West Conference baseball race will be on the line when 11th-ranked Cal State Fullerton plays host to No. 22 Long Beach State in a three-game weekend series that begins tonight at 7.