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wednesday, 30 May, 2012
late hazard incurs champagne penalty - report BrUsseLs AFP
Eden Hazard has been fined for missing the team bus taking Belgium's footballers to training and will have to repay his colleagues in champagne, Belgian media reported on Tuesday. The 21-year-old lille playmaker, who announced on Monday that he would be joining Champions league winners Chelsea, missed the departure after arriving late in the hotel lobby, the Belga news agency said. He eventually arrived on time at the training ground where the Red Devils are preparing for a Euro 2012 warm-up match against England at wembley on Saturday, but was told by coach Marc wilmots that he would have to pay them back in bubbly. Hazard has been under pressure to reveal where he is going this summer, after his performances for the ligue 1 side attracted the interest of a number of English Premier league clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. But the young star has said that for contractual reasons, he will only talk about his transfer to the london club on their television channel, sparking criticism in the Belgian media. wilmots has said that Hazard would not be making any comment about his transfer in the coming days. According to reports, Chelsea paid between 36 million to 40 million euros (29 millino pounds, $45.5 million) to secure his services and he will be paid some 550,000 euros a month. Belgium failed to qualify for the European championships in Poland and Ukraine. England have been drawn in Group D against France, Sweden and Ukraine.
Galekovic the hero as Adelaide reach quarters
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Pakistan ready for Sri Lanka, says Hafeez CoLoMBo
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AFP
AKISTAN are hoping to build on their impressive record over the past year when they take the field during the full tour of Sri lanka starting later this week. "The task here is to win, but the longer goal is to take Pakistan high up in the rankings in all three formats," Pakistan coach Dav whatmore said at the series launch in Colombo on Monday night. "It's a simple statement, but it requires a lot of work," he said ahead of the seven-week tour which comprises three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games. The Pakistanis have come a long way since the spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010 led to unprecedented jail terms for Test captain Salman Butt and premier fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. The talented but often unpredictable national team have shown consistent winning form over the last 12 months despite being unable to play at home due to security concerns since an attack on the Sri lankan team in lahore in 2009. Pakistan have won seven of their last nine Test matches, including a 3-0 whitewash of top-ranked England in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year. Their record in limited-overs cricket has been equally impressive, winning 16 of their last 22 one-day games, topped by the Asia Cup title triumph in Bangladesh in March. The two Twenty20 games
in southern Hambantota on Friday and Sunday provide both teams with a useful build-up for the world Twenty20 tournament to be held in Sri lanka in September-october. The Sri lankans have had an inconsistent year in which they managed just two wins in 14 Tests with six defeats, and lost 21 of their last 35 one-day internationals. Sri lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene praised Pakistan's recent record and saw a good challenge ahead for his home team. "If you take their performances in the last six months, they have performed really well in all three formats," he said. "To play them in our conditions is a good challenge."
Australian whatmore, a former Sri lankan coach who guided Arjuna Ranatunga's men to the world Cup title in 1996, said Pakistan were ready for what would be a tough tour on the field. "Although Pakistan is unable to play any international matches at home due to the security concerns, they managed to practice together before coming to Sri lanka," the coach said. "we had a pretty decent two-week camp before we came here." whatmore insisted his insider's knowledge of Sri lankan cricket would not give Pakistan any advantage. "It was a long time ago when I finished with Sri lanka and a lot of water has passed under the bridge," he said. "I maintain some friendships which are always good but the task here is to win." Pakistan's new Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez said victory over Sri lanka in all three formats in the United Arab Emirates last year had boosted his team's morale. "we all know Sri lanka are always good on their own soil, but we have had good success against them in the UAE," said Hafeez, who will be vicecaptain to Misbah-ul-Haq in the Tests and the one-dayers. Sri lanka's chairman of selectors, Ashantha de Mel, said his team needed to be wary of Pakistan's leading spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, who will play a key role in the Test and one-day series. "It is the Pakistani spinners we need to be careful of," he said. "Ajmal and Rehman are of a different class compared to our spinners. only Rangana Herath comes anywhere close to them."
AeLAiDe AFP
Goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic was the hero as Australia's Adelaide United reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions league with a dogged 1-0 win over Japan's Nagoya Grampus in Adelaide on Tuesday. Galekovic made three stunning saves to protect the Reds' lead after defender Jon McKain scrambled the ball over the line in the 41st minute. Adelaide, who were beaten in the 2008 finals by Gamba osaka, will now have a two-leg quarter-final in September with the last eight draw to be made next month. Galekovic was the toast of Adelaide when he brilliantly kept out a header from Nagoya's Australian international striker Josh Kennedy in the 33rd minute. He then pulled off another fabulous onehanded save to prevent Takahiro Masukawa from scoring on 63 minutes and tipped a blazing volley from substitute Mu Kanazaki over the bar 12 minutes later. "The gods were shining on us tonight big-time," Reds' coach John Kosmina said. "we rode our luck a little bit and we weren't on our game but we got out of it what we put in." He added: "These guys have worked their butts off the last couple of months and they got some reward tonight for it." Nagoya, two-time J-league champions, will be cursing their lack of finishing. "They played a great game, they kept their tactics well and had good shape and it paid off," Kennedy said. "our finishing cost us, we had five or six really good chances in front of goal and of course if you don't score those goals it's impossible to win." Adelaide had a couple of late chances to kill off the game with Dutch substitute Sergio van Dijk hitting the bar with a rasping volley and midfielder Fabian Barbiero blazing over the bar from inside the box.
KABul: Disabled Afghan cricketers pray in a circle after participating in a regional cricket tournament. four regional teams are taking part in the tournament for the disabled, where players will be selected for the national cricket team for forthcoming matches in Pakistan. AFP
Court grants stay against Gaddafi stadium wall demolition LAHore STAFF RePoRT
The lahore High Court on Tuesday granted a stay order against demolishing a protective wall being built outside the main entrance of the Gaddafi stadium. Justice Abaidur Rehman on a petition field by Pakistan Cricket Board’s lawyer, Taffazal Rizvi granted the temporary injunction who prayed to the court that Town Municipal officer, Gulberg demolished the outer wall being built for the safety and protection. The court has fixed June 5 for further hearing.
Runners complete gruelling Everest marathon kAtHMAnDU AFP
More than 150 hardy competitors braved the rarified air and bonechilling temperatures of Mount Everest on Tuesday to take part in the world's highest marathon, organisers said. The Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon is part of annual celebrations marking the first conquest of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) summit on May 29, 1953, by Sir Edmund Hillary and his sherpa Tenzing Norgay. The race starts every year at 7:00 am in Gorak Shep, close to Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,356 metres, and finishes around 2,000 metres lower in the town of Namche Bazaar. The atmosphere at base camp contains only half as much oxygen as at sea level, meaning runners find themselves gasping for breath even on the slightest incline along 26.2 miles (42 kilometres) of narrow, rocky mountain paths. organisers describe the route, which passes through Buddhist monasteries, monuments and over suspension bridges, as "probably the most adventurous trail run in the world". The temperature at the start on Tuesday hovered around freezing. "we had 93 foreigners and 62 Nepali runners. This year was our tenth anniversary and when we started we only had two foreigners," organiser Shikhar Pandey told AFP by telephone from the finish line. "The race is a pioneer for adventure tourism in Nepal and it's a new thing. Nepal is such a beautiful country and now more and more people are into trail running and we have really tapped into that market." The winner was Phurba Tamang, a Nepalese runner who completed the race in three hours, 41 minutes and 31 seconds -- just 11 seconds slower than his winning time two years ago.
Euro 2012 organisers hit back over racism fears WArsAW AFP
Euro 2012 organisers on Tuesday hit back at claims that Poland and Ukraine were unsafe for travelling football fans, amid fears from competing nations, current and former players about far-right racism and violence. Both Poland and Ukraine said the claims, made in a BBC television documentary aired this week and in travel advice issued by foreign governments, did not give the true picture of the joint hosts of European football's premier tournament. Former England captain Sol Campbell, who is black, warned fans to "stay home, watch it on TV... don't even risk it" after viewing footage of football fans in Poland and Ukraine making Nazi salutes and taunting black players with monkey chants.
The programme also uncovered antiSemitism and a serious assault on a group of Asian students. In Poland, organisers Pl.2012 said the warnings were "unjust" and had "nothing to do with reality", adding that instances of xenophobia and racism in stadiums were "a problem specific to the whole of Europe and not only to ". They went on to invite former Tottenham Hotspur defender Campbell to Poland to see for himself. "Get to know us as we really are," they added. In neighbouring Ukraine, Euro 2012 organising committee chief Markiyan lubyivskyi told reporters that Campbell was entitled to his own view and was sure it was not reflected widely in England. "But we are hurt by it and fail to see what the point of these comments really is. I do not think it is dangerous for people of
different ethnicity to come to Ukraine," he added. Ukraine is already facing a potential boycott by top European Union leaders over the alleged mistreatment of the opposition leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is in jail on what critics say are trumped-up corruption charges. lubyivskyi said media reporting the tournament should take a more balanced approach. "I call on all media to declare a moratorium on negative information about the Euro. I would like to say that 80 to 90 percent of this information is false," he added. Campbell's warning came after the families of two black England players -Alex oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo walcott -- said they would not risk going to Ukraine to watch England's matches following public warnings from the British
government. "Although the vast majority of visitors experience no difficulties, foreign nationals have been the victims of violent crime in Kiev and other major cities," a Foreign office statement in a fans' guide to the tournament read. "In some cases, attacks have been racially motivated. Travellers of Asian or Afro-Caribbean descent and individuals belonging to religious minorities should take extra care." The foreign ministries of Denmark and France have also issued similar warnings to fans about the risk of racist attacks. In an apparent bid to pre-empt football-related violence, police in Poland on Monday arrested 42 people -- including prominent members of football hooligan gangs -- suspected of being involved in drug trafficking and extortion.