Various sports reports: Ferguson, Hoylund, and a biting incident in judo

Alex Ferguson, the former coach of the English football team Manchester United, revealed that he felt “terrified” when he returned to Old Trafford, the team’s stronghold, for the first time after undergoing brain surgery in 2018.

Ferguson (84 years old) suffered a brain hemorrhage when he was 76 years old, and returned to the field after only four months to watch the team’s match against Wolverhampton in the English Premier League.

“Actually, I was terrified,” Ferguson told BBC Breakfast. "I wish I could say I was comfortable, but I wasn't."

Ferguson and his late wife, Cathy, received a standing ovation, and the crowd stood to greet them as they sat in the VIP box.

Ferguson added in his statements, which were reported by the British news agency (PA Media), today (Friday): “My wife was with me, and she was on the verge of crying. When we sat down, she said, “This is wonderful.”

It is noteworthy that Ferguson retired from coaching Manchester United five years before suffering a brain hemorrhage, after achieving 36 major titles during his 26-year career as head of the team’s technical staff.

Ferguson also spoke of his fears after losing the ability to speak in the days following surgery; He said: “I lost my voice and could not speak.” It was a scary moment. “I remember my grandchildren coming to see me while I lost my voice.” He continued: “Then they brought in a therapist, and she started doing some things, like asking me to write the names of birds, animals, and rivers. This is how I got my voice back.”

When asked about his current health condition, Ferguson concluded his speech: “I feel very good, despite some minor health problems.”

Ferguson is preparing to publish a new book entitled “Matches of My Life,” in which he reviews 21 matches that he considers to be defining milestones in his coaching career.

His exceptional tally of titles at Old Trafford included 13 English Premier League titles, two Champions League titles, five FA Cup titles, four League Cup titles, and a European Cup Winners' Cup title.

Danish Rasmus Hojlund caught the attention with two controversial shots during his country's 4-2 loss to its guest, Portugal, in the European Nations League on Thursday.

The young striker celebrated during the match in the distinctive style of veteran Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, then pushed the visiting team's coach, Jorge Jesus, forcefully after the final whistle.

Hoylund scored a goal in the 53rd minute, finishing a Danish counterattack brilliantly, as he was alone with goalkeeper Diogo Costa and played the ball over him, making the score 2-2.

The Italian Napoli striker ran towards the corner flag to celebrate Ronaldo-style, twirling his finger in the air before executing his famous spinning jump, while the fans in the stadium chanted the word “C”.

This appeared to be a tribute to the Portuguese star, especially since Hoylund publicly stated on several occasions that he is a fan of Ronaldo.

Hoylund had previously imitated the Ballon d'Or winner five times on previous occasions. In 2025, for example, he celebrated in the same way after scoring the winning goal against Portugal during the match that ended with Denmark's 1-0 victory.

Ronaldo sparked widespread controversy earlier in the same week, after remaining on the bench throughout the match, which his team lost 1-2 to Norway.

Although he was informed that he would participate in the match, the Portuguese coach decided to change his mind due to the outcome.

After that, Ronaldo commented on his departure from the Portuguese national team camp through his Instagram account, writing: “After the national team’s press conference and a conversation with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp.”

After the match, which was held in the third round of the fourth group in the first level of the continental competition, Hoylund entered into an argument with Jesus and pushed him.

Although the cause of the incident is still unclear, the Portuguese media covered the matter, with the newspaper “Abola” describing the situation as strange, noting that the coach smiled after the incident.

As for the newspaper “Ogogo”, it described the push as “light”, and linked the celebration to Ronaldo’s possible retirement from international football, while the newspaper “Record” described the push as “an unfriendly act”, but it also indicated that Jesus tried to contain the situation with a smile, while Hoylund gave the Portugal coach a sharp and angry look.

Officials at the Japanese Judo Federation said that they had never witnessed a similar incident before, after Japanese player Rin Maeda, who later won gold, appeared as if she had been bitten by her Chinese competitor during the Asian Games.

Maeda got the ticket to the semi-finals of the under-70 kilogram competition in Nagoya, after Chinese Tang Jing was excluded from the match after about a minute and a half of its start.

Tang appeared to bite Maeda on the top of her wrist while the two players clashed on the floor, before Maeda got up from the competition mat and showed the referee clear teeth marks on her arm.

After the judges reviewed the video footage, it was decided to disqualify Tang and award the victory to Maeda.

The Japanese women's judo national team coach, Maki Tsukada, told The Digest Sports website that this incident was the first of its kind that she had witnessed during her long career in this sport.

She added after the incident that took place in the under-70 kg competition on Thursday: “In tournaments such as the Asian Games, there have previously been incidents in which a player was punched in the face, or had swelling in the eye, but I have never seen anything like this before.”

She continued: “I feel remorse because we did not expect something like this to happen.”

Tsukada explained that the bite marks were clearly visible, even though Maeda had put protective tape on that part of her arm.

She said: “It reached a point where we thought she might start bleeding, but it did not develop to the point that required disinfecting the wound, or taking measures of this kind.”

She added: “However, the teeth marks were clear and consistent on her arm.”

Maeda continued her journey in the tournament until she won the gold medal, after defeating Kazakhstani Azhar Askhat in the final.