The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Japan lodge complaint over Korean banner Posted: 29 Jul 2013 01:10 AM PDT South Korea's strained soccer relations with Japan have been damaged further after a banner unfurled by the home team's fans in Seoul yesterday during a regional tournament stoked political tensions between the two. Fans at the East Asian Cup game at Jamsil Stadium unfurled a massive banner that read: "A nation that forgets its history has no future" in an apparent reference to what many South Koreans see as Japan's unwillingness to acknowledge its wartime and colonial excesses. The two countries were also at the centre of a diplomatic row at the 2012 London Olympics when footballer Park Jong-woo held up a sign referring to a territorial dispute while celebrating South Korea's 2-0 win over Japan in the bronze medal game in August. "I was hoping something like this would not occur this time, so it's unfortunate," Japan's Kyodo News quoted Japan Football Association president Kuniya Daini as saying today. "We ask the East Asian federation to thoroughly investigate the matter and act in the appropriate fashion." Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the incident was "extremely regrettable" and the Japanese government "will respond appropriately based on FIFA rules when the facts are revealed". The Korean Football Association (KFA) said: "We are still investigating the matter. We have no official statement now". Local media reported that staff at the stadium tried to prevent South Korea's hardcore fans group, the Red Devils, from unfurling the banner, which stretched across several sections of the upper deck behind one of the goals. The banner was then removed by stadium officials, which prompted a second-half "cheering boycott" by the Red Devils, who remained silent for the rest of the game. Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee issued a warning to Korea's Olympic Committee over the incident in London. The player, who was handed a sign that read "Dokdo is our territory" by a fan, was forced to skip the medal ceremony and was later banned by soccer's governing body FIFA for two games and fined 3,500 Swiss francs (about RM12,000). - Reuters, July 29, 2013 |
| Indian Grand Prix faces axe in 2014 Posted: 29 Jul 2013 12:29 AM PDT The Indian Grand Prix is likely to be dropped from next year's Formula One calendar as Russia prepares for its debut, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said. "Is India going to happen next year? Probably not," he said at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Asked what the problem was with the race at Greater Noida, near New Delhi, the 82-year-old British billionaire replied: "Very political." Ecclestone, who has run Formula One for decades, draws up the calendar and usually presents it to the governing International Automobile Federation to be rubber-stamped in September. He currently has a possible 22 races jostling for space on the calendar with teams expressing a strong preference for a maximum of 20. Russia, with a debut race pencilled in for the Black Sea resort of Sochi towards the end of next year, and a grand prix in New Jersey are the two novelties planned for 2014 with Austria also due to make a comeback after an 11-year absence. India first hosted a grand prix in 2011 to positive reviews from the Formula One community and this year's is scheduled for Oct 27 as the 16th round of the 19-race championship. The two races to date in India have both been won by Red Bull's triple world champion Sebastian Vettel. There have been bureaucratic hurdles to overcome, however, as well as concern about finances and the sport's exposure to high local taxation. Promoters Jaypee Sports International issued a statement last month attacking "totally baseless and malicious" media speculation about next year's race. "Our agreement with Formula One Management is to hold F1 races at Buddh International Circuit (BIC) till 2015 and we are fully committed to do that," said Jaypee spokesman Askari Zaidi in that statement. "There is no reason for us to give up hosting F1 races." Next year's Indian Grand Prix was the subject of much discussion in Hungary, with teams recognising it faced problems but hoping they could be resolved. "It would be a pity if for these (tax) reasons we don't go there," Sauber's Indian-born principal Monisha Kaltenborn said. "India is an important market for partners who are already in Formula One or who could get into Formula One because of that market so it really would be a pity if we do not manage to sort out these problems." - Reuters, July 29, 2013 |
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