City hit Tevez with £800,000 fine and find him guilty of refusing to play October 25, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY last night threw the book at Carlos Tevez, fining the striker £800,000 after finding him guilty of refusing to play in last month’s match against Bayern Munich. City chiefs concluded a month of investigations into the unsettled Argentinian’s conduct in the Champions League fixture by finding him guilty of five separate breaches of [...]
Cool hand Luke’s double triumph would cap an extraordinary year, and Sergio is back on the rise October 25, 2011 LUKE DONALD summed it up perfectly after his scintillating final round swept him to the Disney Classic, and first place in the PGA Tour money list, on Sunday. He called it one of the most satisfying wins of his career, and he has every reason to feel delighted with what he has achieved this season [...]
Whitewashed: India humiliate England October 25, 2011 ENGLAND captain Alastair Cook admitted he was shell-shocked after an almighty batting collapse saw India complete a 5-0 series whitewash with a 95-run victory in Kolkata. After winning the toss and opting to field first, England’s bowlers repaid Cook’s faith by restricting the hosts to 162-5, but a late onslaught led by MS Dhoni, who [...]
SPORT | IN BRIEF October 25, 2011 France fined for Haka response RUGBY UNION: France have been fined £2,500 for advancing towards the All Blacks’ haka in the build-up to Sunday’s World Cup final. The International Rugby Board imposed the punishment after Les Bleus encroached within the required distance behind the 10-metre line in their own half. Gresini Honda sit out Valencia GP [...]
It’s a cracker: Balotelli face of firework safety drive October 24, 2011 MANCHESTER CITY have delighted in confounding expectations this season but last night sprung a surprise equal even to their 6-1 demolition of Manchester United when they unveiled Mario Balotelli as the face of a firework safety campaign. Striker Balotelli, no stranger to controversy throughout his short career, was forced to flee his Cheshire home in [...]
Super Mario is unpredictable, just like Rooney October 24, 2011 YOU don’t have to cast your mind back far to recall a time when top talents choosing to join Manchester City raised eyebrows and prompted mutterings about money. Even in the summer when they signed Sergio Aguero, one of the most recent of their high-profile acquisitions, people were surprised. In a few months all that [...]
Auckland salutes heroes as All Blacks parade cup October 24, 2011 NEW ZEALAND captain Richie McCaw admitted to being “blown away” yesterday after an estimated quarter of a million people lined the streets of Auckland to toast the World Cup winners. McCaw, head coach Graham Henry and the rest of the All Blacks paraded through the city with the Webb Ellis Cup less than 24 hours [...]
Major disappointments are dazzling Donald’s only regret October 24, 2011 WORLD No1 Luke Donald admits his performances in Majors have been the only blots on a landmark year that has been comfortably the best of the Englishman’s career – and promises to get even better. Donald, 33, completed the first part of a potential historic double by securing top spot in the PGA Tour money [...]
Al Fayed in ‘strange man’ blast at Hughes October 24, 2011 FULHAM owner Mohamed Al Fayed has launched a stinging attack on the club’s former manager Mark Hughes, calling him a “strange man” and insisting he was not their first choice appointment. Al Fayed penned an open letter on the Cottagers’ website in response to comments Hughes made at the weekend in which the Welshman said [...]
Sotherton U-turn for heptathlon October 24, 2011 BRITISH former Olympic bronze medal-winning heptathlete Kelly Sotherton has played down her London 2012 chances after announcing a shock return to the event. Sotherton, 34, abandoned the heptathlon to focus on the 400m 11 months ago but yesterday performed a dramatic U-turn to boost her hopes of making next summer’s Games at all. Yet she [...]