Hacham Ovadia vs Sharon

It was reported that Hacham Ovadia Yosef said that Sharon was "cruel" and "evil" and that Hashem should "strike him a fatal blow".

Later, Hacham Ovadia clarified his remarks, and wishes Sharon to have a long life.

I'm reminded of the Gemara (2nd wide line) that says that if you see a Talmid Hacham sin at night, do not suspect him in the morning, because he definitely repented for his actions. This is especially true when we are just hearing about these things from the press, who are all too anxious to belittle our sages.

Update: JTA reports:

Sources within Shas say Yosef’s words did not refer to Sharon’s death but were a call for the death of the disengagement plan, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Exactly.