The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Newcastle threaten deplorable ‘fans’ with lifetime bans Posted: 15 Apr 2013 07:27 AM PDT
A statement on the Newcastle website (http://www.nufc.co.uk) said the club were "embarrassed and appalled" by the violence that followed the 3-0 home defeat. "Newcastle United have been working with Northumbria Police, and will continue to do so, in order to identify all of the individuals concerned," the statement added. "The Club will take the strongest possible action against those involved in the disturbances and will impose immediate lifetime bans on all those found guilty. "These deplorable individuals have no place at Newcastle United and bring shame on the Club and the vast majority of its proper, law-abiding fans." Four police officers were injured when trouble broke out, with bottles thrown and rubbish bins set on fire as mounted officers tried to move crowds back to allow visiting fans to be escorted to stations. Northumbria Police said 29 arrests were made during the game which ended in Sunderland's biggest top flight win at Newcastle since 1966 and their first there in nearly 13 years. A police spokesman said officers were studying CCTV footage of the city centre to identify the troublemakers. British newspapers condemned the violence in both Newcastle and at Wembley Stadium on Saturday when Millwall fans fought with each other and the police during their team's FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic. The Daily Telegraph headline ran "English Disease Returns" and the Daily Mail feared a "Return to the Dark Ages". The violence at Wembley started before halftime but escalated during the second half and observers said many fans were either drunk or taking drugs before the fighting began. Fourteen people were arrested at Wembley on Saturday, 12 of them Millwall fans, for offences including affray, possession of an offensive weapon, possession of Class A drugs, ticket touting and assaults on police. Millwall have also threatened life bans against any fans convicted for their actions on Saturday. – Reuters |
| Motor racing: Wolff to sell stake in Williams Posted: 15 Apr 2013 02:45 AM PDT
The 41-year-old Austrian left former world champions Williams in January when he was appointed head of motorsport activities at Mercedes, where he will have a 30 per cent shareholding in their F1 team. At the time, Williams said Wolff would retain his shareholding in the team where his Scottish wife Susie is a development driver. Wolff said at the Chinese Grand Prix, before travelling to Bahrain for this weekend's race, that he had given a commitment to Mercedes to dispose of the shares thereby avoiding any conflict of interest. "Even if operationally it is not a conflict, because here (at Mercedes) I am a director and I'm not there (at Williams) any more, it doesn't give a good light," he said. "But I owe Frank (Williams) and the family and the whole team there to do it with responsibility. I cannot just go into the market and say 'who wants to buy these shares?' and that's it," added Wolff. "If I sell, I have to find somebody who is responsible enough, who is coming in for the sport, who understands how the team functions, hopefully a sponsor. And it is not so easy to find somebody who is suitable." Wolff said he was under no time pressure from Mercedes. British-based Williams Grand Prix Holdings, which includes the Formula One team, was listed on the Entry Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in a March 2011 public offering of 21 per cent of existing shares. Wolff has been a shareholder since 2009. The team currently have no title sponsor but their major backer is Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, who arrived with Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado in 2011. "Toto is a big shareholder and he's a great shareholder," Williams deputy principal Claire Williams, team founder Frank's daughter, said. "He worked really hard last year to help with the team. "If he feels there's conflict then he has to make the decision in the best interests of his position and we would respect that. But we'll wait and see what happens. "I think if Toto does sell, he would be responsible as to the buyer he sells it to," she added. "I have conversations with him regularly and I know he wouldn't do anything to harm the team." Williams said the team was still open to a title sponsor, even though PDVSA have enough branding on the car and make a big enough contribution to be seen as one, and was always looking for more budget. "We are doing a good job on the commercial front," she said. "We are financially stable and have a good healthy budget to go racing with. We're not complaining about that and there aren't concerns that we aren't going to be here next year." – Reuters |
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