The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Platini quizzed by Swiss court officials Posted: 19 Oct 2011 08:05 AM PDT  Uefa President Michel Platini (right) and Uefa Communication Director Alexandre Fourtoy leave the office of Eric Cottier, Public Prosecutor of the Swiss Canton of Vaud in Renens near Lausanne on October 19, 2011. — Reuters pic Platini, the president of European football's governing body, spent around two hours at the prosecutor's office in the canton of Vaud. He was followed by general secretary Gianni Infantino. "The president is really happy to have answered questions from the prosecutor as a witness," Uefa spokesman Alexandre Fourtoy told reporters. "We will not further comment so that justice can gather all the information and draw its conclusion." Sion were kicked out of the Europa League by Uefa for fielding ineligible players in their playoff tie against Scottish side Celtic in August. They lost an appeal to Uefa against the decision but, defying Fifa and Uefa rules which ban clubs from taking their cases outside sporting tribunals, won an injunction in their favour at a Swiss court. Uefa has so failed to reinstate Sion and been ordered to pay 1,000 Swiss francs (RM3,470) for each day that the court order is not carried out. It has argued that its own statutes prevent it from overturning a decision made by its independent disciplinary tribunal. Monday, Uefa sent the court a document suggesting ways in which Sion could be integrated into Group I of the competition, where Celtic took Sion's place alongside Atletico Madrid, Rennes and Udinese. All of them would involve disruption to the tournament with extra fixtures for the clubs in the group as Celtic would keep their place in the tournament. One possibility would involve cancelling all the matches played so far in the group, which could seriously discredit the competition and inconvenience the other teams involved. Uefa wants the case to be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and said it would reintegrate Sion if the Swiss club won the case there. It added that the other clubs in the group should be considered as interested parties. "Uefa has already organised a meeting with the four clubs involved Friday to discuss the various scenarios ... should FC Sion win the case on the merits at the CAS," said Uefa. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Mourinho second-season syndrome kicking in at Real Posted: 19 Oct 2011 03:07 AM PDT  Real Madrid's coach Jose Mourinho is seen before the start of their Champions League match against Olympique Lyon at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on October 18, 2011. — Reuters pic Real were utterly dominant against an unambitious Lyon team at the Bernabeu yesterday, running out 4-0 winners with goals from Karim Benzema, Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil and Sergio Ramos. Three wins from three games without conceding a goal left the Spaniards top of Group D, five points ahead of Ajax Amsterdam and Lyon, in their quest to improve on last season's semi-final appearance. Real are pursuing a record 10th European Cup, and Mourinho his third all with different clubs, and it seems to be coming together even without Cristiano Ronaldo getting on the scoresheet. The world's most expensive player notched an incredible 53 goals in all competitions last year but this season he has been a more creative influence and he provided yet another assist to set up the opening goal for Benzema. "Ronaldo seems fine to me. I'm delighted with him," former Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan coach Mourinho told reporters. "It would be a problem if he didn't score and the team also didn't win. It happened against Levante and Racing Santander. He hasn't scored in the last few games but the team has so it's not a problem. "I also liked seeing him giving an intelligent and selfless performance tonight. He won the Golden Boot and the La Liga top scorer award last year and he wants to win things that are more important this season," Mourinho added. Growing maturity Real have turned the rapid counter-attack into an art form of late but sometimes struggle when teams defend deep and deny them space to run into. In dismantling Lyon, who set out to do just that, they showcased their growing ability to adapt against a team that have caused them plenty of heartache in recent European campaigns. "The game was more about control, more about possession and patience," Real midfielder Xabi Alonso said. "It was about creating chances with less haste and we achieved that. It´s a good sign because it proved we can do it and that we can win that way." Real have scored 21 goals and conceded three in their last five matches and could even afford to start with Gonzalo Higuain on the bench. The Argentina striker had scored three hat-tricks in the previous two weeks. "I like many things about my team but we have to improve. That said, we're having a positive run," Mourinho added. — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan