Swedes, you are not a race of refereeing incompetents – and the stats prove it February 19, 2014 If Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini thinks his team got a raw deal in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona because the referee was Swedish he may want to think again, and consider this: at least the pesky whistler wasn’t Croatian. Or Portuguese. Analysis of all referees in the Champions League’s 22-year history shows [...]
Champions League: Ref accused by Pellegrini of Barcelona favouritism February 18, 2014 MANCHESTER CITY 0 vs FC BARCELONA 2 MANCHESTER CITY manager Manuel Pellegrini launched an astonishing tirade at referee Jonas Eriksson last night, believing the official had favoured Barcelona in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie. Barcelona took the lead early in the second half with a contentious penalty after defender Martin Demichelis was shown [...]
Christie smiling again in Sochi as luck changes February 18, 2014 A SMILE was back on the face of speed skater Elise Christie yesterday after she put a testing week in Sochi behind her to qualify for Friday’s 1,000m quarter-final. Christie was stripped of a silver medal in the 500m final after placing her hand on a Korean rival as she fell, was the subject of [...]
Ford primed to make England bow February 18, 2014 ENGLAND coach Stuart Lancaster has backed George Ford to handle the step up to Test level after handing the young Bath fly-half his Test debut on Saturday against Ireland. Ford, 20, was last night retained in boss Stuart Lancaster’s training party for the Six Nations showdown, meaning he is set to come off the bench [...]
Green light for Exiles switch February 18, 2014 LONDON Welsh have taken a major stride towards relocating to Witney after plans for a 10,000-seater stadium were approved by West Oxfordshire councillors. The Exiles are considering leaving their current home, the Kassam Stadium in Oxford, for the former ground of Witney Town FC next season. The plans – approved despite objections from Sport England [...]
Wenger laughs off battle of wits with Bayern’s Guardiola February 18, 2014 IT’S a collision between two of the most cerebral coaches in world football: Arsene Wenger’s aesthetes-to-a-fault Arsenal hosting the Champions League holders, Pep Guardiola’s perfection-turned-up-to-11 Bayern Munich. But, for all the grey matter populating the two dugouts, Wenger believes tonight’s first leg – a repeat of last season’s last-16 tie – will hinge not on [...]
Robben backs Arsenal to end wait for trophy February 18, 2014 BAYERN Munich winger Arjen Robben believes Arsenal are sufficiently equipped to finally end their nine-year trophy drought this season. Arsenal host Bayern at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their last-16 clash and are also fighting for the Premier League title as well as the FA Cup, having reached the quarter-finals at the [...]
Dasaolu out of World Indoors February 18, 2014 BRITISH sprinter James Dasaolu hopes the hamstring injury which has ruled him out of next month’s World Indoor Championships will not hamper his outdoor season. The 25-year-old was yesterday omitted from the squad of 35 to travel to Poland and, with July’s Commonwealth Games in mind, he said: “I am disappointed, but this is going [...]
Scotland ring changes for Italy trip February 18, 2014 RUGBY UNION: Scotland head coach Scott Johnson has made three changes for Saturday’s Six Nations visit to Italy. Scott Lawson replaces Ross Ford at hooker, Richie Gray replaces Tim Swinson in the second row and Johnnie Beattie is preferred at No8 to David Denton.
Curitiba to remain World Cup host February 18, 2014 FOOTBALL: World governing body Fifa confirmed yesterday that Curitiba will remain a host city for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil, despite concerns over delays to stadium construction. The Arena da Baixada is set to host four fixtures, including holders Spain’s final group match against Australia.