BARCELONA: Barcelona earned a record 16th straight win in the Spanish league by beating Atletico Madrid 3-0 with a Lionel Messi hat-trick on Saturday. The historic win provisionally lifted Barcelona 10 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table ahead of its fierce rival's match against Real Sociedad on Sunday. Messi decided the contest with two goals before the half-hour mark and added a third in the second half. Barcelona's streak surpassed the 15 wins by Alfredo Di Stefano's Real Madrid 50 years ago. Pep Guardiola's team has outscored its opponents 60-6 during the winning run that is the 10th longest in European history. Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores left striker Diego Forlan out of the starting 11 and reinforced his midfield with former Barcelona youth academy product Fran Merida. But the move did not pay off, as Barcelona controlled the ball from the opening whistle. Atletico resisted until Messi broke through for the t

SANTIAGO: Eighth-seeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia reached his first ATP final by defeating No. 5 Potito Starace of Italy 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1 in the semifinals of the Movistar Open on Saturday. Giraldo, past the quarterfinals for the third time this season, earned his first win against Starace after losing their first meeting in 2008. In the other semifinal, No. 6 Tommy Robredo of Spain met No. 7 Fabio Fognini of Italy. Robredo was trying to reach his 17th final and Fognini - like Giraldo - was trying to reach his first.

PAKISTANI CRICKETERS got more than what they had bargained for. Aproblematic situation for the cricketing nation was createdwhen International Cricket Council (ICC) handed down the banto three Pakistani cricketers namely Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. Butt was awarded a 10-year ban out of which five years have been suspended whereas, Asif was banned for seven years out of which two were suspended and Amir was banned for five years. As per a statement by the ICCreleased by Michael Beloff QC,the tribunal dismissed a charge under Article 2.1.1 of the ICC's anti-corruption code that Butt had knowingly batted out a maiden over. However, the hearing tribunal found the former Pakistani captain guilty under Article 2.4.2 of the code which said that he had failed to disclose vital information to the ICCs Anti Corruption and Security Unit in which he was approached by the match fixer Mazhar Majeed was proved. Majeed had allegedly asked the captain to bat out a maiden over. Bel

Add to My Stories Cheik Tiote smashed home a superb late volley as Newcastle produced a stunning comeback to deny 10-man Arsenal victory at St James' Park. The Gunners led 4-0 after just 24 minutes after Theo Walcott, John Djourou and a Robin van Persie double left the Magpies reeling. But after Abou Diaby had been sent off with 48 minutes gone, two Joey Barton penalties, a Leon Best striker and Tiote's superb 87th-minute equaliser rescued a point for the home side.MORE TO FOLLOW Unbelievable: Cheik Tiote looks to the heavens after his stunning leveller Quick off the mark: Theo Walcottl scores the first goal for Arsenal x Foursome: Arsenal's Robin Van Persie scores his second goal More... Moyes 'defends his integrity' as Everton boss blasts back at Wenger We've been sold short! Newcastle and Sunderland rue striker departures All the latest Arsenal news, features and opinion All the latest Newcastle news, features and opinion

BANGALORE: Looking down and out for the better part of his semifinal clash against Sri Lanka's N Thangaraja, defending champion S Chikkarangappa dug deep into his reserves on the return journey to move a step closer to adding another feather to his cap. The 17-year-old Bangalorean came up with a birdie on the 14th hole to make it all-square and then saved par on the 17th hole to edge out the Sri Lankan 1-up and make it an all-Bangalore affair in the 110th all-India Amateur Golf Championship at the KGA here. In the 36-hole title clash on Sunday, Chikka takes on Pritam Haridass, who edged out good friend and playing partner Udayan Mane 3 and 2 in the other semifinal. The 17-year-old Chikka, who has been struggling with his game, allowed Thangaraja go 2-up early on, more due to his largesse than anything spectacular on the Lankan's part. He nearly went out of bounds on the third hole and duly lost the hole. On the fourth, he three-putted for another bogey. The Bangalorean di

Sachin Tendulkar says he, too, has sledged, but only once and that as part of team strategy. The batting maestro needled Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath by telling he would go after his bowling and the ploy worked."I have never sledged per se merely for the sake of sledging. I did that only once as a part of team strategy. This was at the Kenya Champions Trophy. We were playing Australia." Tendulkar recollects in a book 'SACH' penned by Gautam Bhattacharya.Tendulkar describes how he irked McGrath with a cheeky line."The match was played under overcast conditions. The wicket was also very damp. I had told Sourav before that I would do something to upset McGrath's rhythm. So, in the very first over, I stepped out to him. The first thing I said to him was: 'Today I will hit you out of the ground.' He got really angry and started spraying the ball around. This was exactly what we wanted. As on that surface, he may have been very dangerous.&quo

NONTHABURI (Thailand): India's campaign at the Fed Cup turned worst as it was relegated to Group II of the Asia/Oceania Zone after losing the play-off tie 1-2 to Chinese Taipei on Saturday. Last year, India had competed in the bottom division but had won all three ties -- against Singapore, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan -- without losing a rubber to gain promotion. However, India failed to keep its place in Group I this time and will strive yet again in 2012 to earn promotion. Sania Mirza, who won two of her three singles matches despite a hamstring problem, did not take field on Saturday and both Ashvarya Srivastava and Poojashree Venkatesha lost their singles matches. Ashvarya lost 3-6, 3-6 Ting-Fei Juan in the opening singles and then Poojashree went down fighting 5-7, 1-6 against Chin-Wei Chan. The pair of Srivastava and Rushmi Chakravathi combined to win the inconsequential doubles rubber 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) against Juan and Yui-Lynn Miao at National Tennis Centre. Ind

British prosecutors have charged Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer with corruption offences and their extradition to the United Kingdom will be sought if they fail to return to this country voluntarily. The three players along with their agent, Mazhar Majeed, are set to face charges of accepting corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat, for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing in the Lord's Test during the team's tour of England last summer. Simon Clements, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Special Crime Division, said: "We have decided that Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt and their agent, Mazhar Majeed, should be charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat." "These charges relate to allegations that Majeed accepted money from a third party to arrange for the players to bowl 'no balls' on 26 and 27 August 2010, during Pakistan's fourt

Add to My Stories KENNY DALGLISH opened up on Fernando Torres's contentious deadline-day move to Chelsea yesterday and admitted he did his utmost to talk him out of it.As Liverpool prepared to face their one-time record signing in the most eagerly anticipated Barclays Premier League game of the season so far, at Stamford Br idge tomorrow, Dalglish described how he pleaded with him to resist Chelsea's overtures.Torres insisted on leaving and duly completed a British record 50million move that prompted Dalglish to recruit Andy Carroll from Newcastle and add him to Luis Suarez in a new-look Anfield strike force. Blue is the colour: Torres rejected Dalglish's appeal in favour of Ancelotti's sideThough Carroll is still nursing a thigh injury, former Ajax marksman Suarez will be involved after announcing his arrival with a goal, just 16 minutes after going on as substitute against Stoke on Wednesday night.Asked if he tried to persuade Torres to continue spearheading a Liverp

Add to My Stories Fernando Torres is braced for a barrage of abuse from Liverpool fans but has promised not to celebrate if he scores on his Chelsea debut against his former club. Torres is expected to play tomorrow for the first time since his transfer request and record-breaking 50million move from Anfield to Stamford Bridge led to accusations of treachery on Merseyside. 'I have big respect for Liverpool fans so I don't think I will celebrate,' said Torres. 'Maybe it's too soon to ask for a good reception. I'm not expecting that but it would be a surprise for meif I get a very bad reception from them. Raring to go: Torres is in line to make his Chelsea debut in the home clash with his ex-Liverpool team-mates'I don't think it's fair to call me atraitor but it's an opinion. I will never talk bad about any ex-Liverpool players or staff. I think "traitor" makes no sense. I played three very good seasons there, left massive money there, lo

BERNE: FIFA has rejected appeals from Reynald Temarii and Amos Adamu, the suspended executive committee members who were at the heart of a corruption scandal which marred the contest to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Soccer's governing body said on Friday that Nigerian Adamu, who was found guilty of bribery, remained banned from all soccer-related activities for three years. A 10,000 Swiss franc ($10,444) fine was maintained. Temarii, head of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) at the time, remains banned for one year following this week's hearing by the appeals committee. A 5,000 Swiss franc fine was unaltered. "The FIFA appeal committee has confirmed the decisions taken on Nov. 17 regarding the bans on Reynald Temarii and Amos Adamu - who were at the time FIFA vice-president and FIFA executive committee member - for a breach of the FIFA code of ethics," said soccer's governing body in a statement. The pair allegedly offered to sell their votes i

Add to My Stories Fernando Torres will not celebrate if he scores for Chelsea against Liverpool on Sunday.The Spanish striker swapped Anfield for Stamford Bridge in a 50million move on deadline day.The paperwork was not completed in time for Torres to play against Sunderland on Tuesday so the 26-year-old's first game will be against his old employers. Raring to go: Torres is in line to make his Chelsea debut in the home clash with his ex-Liverpool team-matesBut he will try to avoid upsetting further the Reds supporters already fuming over his big-money move.Boss Carlo Ancelotti is undecided whether to start his new recruit and Torres said: 'First I have to play, and then I have to score but I have big respect for Liverpool fans so I don't think I will. (celebrate).'Ancelotti is not afraid to leave the most expensive player ever bought by a British club on the bench.'Fernando is fit, okay, and has trained well,' the Italian said. 'I don't know if he will

PHOENIX: Colombian Camilo Villegas withdrew from the US PGA Phoenix Open on Friday because of a back injury as heavy frost delayed the start of the $6.1 million event for the second day in a row. Villegas, who opened with a 78 in round one, was playing alongside two other South American stars, Argentina's Angel Cabrera and Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas, in a feature group. "I first felt some tightness last week, but the colder temperatures here this week have affected it," Villegas said. "It's early in the season and I want to be careful to not do something that could affect me longer term. "I'm disappointed because I got off to a very strong start here in Phoenix last year and was looking forward to building on that, but I obviously have to do the smart thing as it relates to my health for the remainder of the season." Australian Greg Chalmers withdrew on Thursday with a hand injury. Unusual cold conditions and morning frost pushed back resum

Add to My Stories Everton manager David Moyes has hit back at Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger in a row over the conduct of Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas. Wenger said 'it is wrong for Moyes to come out on what he pretends to have heard in the tunnel' after the Everton boss claimed Fabregas made 'disgusting' comments towards officials this week. The Spaniard was alleged to have approached the fourth official at half-time during Arsenal's 2-1 win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to complain about the visitors' goal. Referee, sort this out: Cesc Fabregas informs Lee Mason that his decision to allow Louis Saha's goal might not be the correct oneArsenal were angry Louis Saha had not been flagged offside before opening the scoring in the Barclays Premier League clash. Moyes said: 'I have to defend the integrity of Everton and David Moyes as well. I think it has been said I didn't see it or I didn't hear it. 'Well I was there and I

DOHA: Austrian Markus Brier shot a second-round 66 to take a one-shot lead at the 2.5m dollar Qatar Masters on Friday, while Martin Kaymer kept alive his slim hopes of becoming the new world number one. Brier, the 2007 Volvo China Open winner, overtook overnight leader Retief Goosen with a bogey-free round on a much calmer day after strong winds on Thursday had caused havoc on the desert course. Goosen and Brier were neck and neck over the first nine holes in the second round, but the South African slipped down later with a bogey and a double bogey that saw him shoot a 71 for an aggregate of four-under-par 140, three shots behind the leader. Fellow South African Darren Fichardt was in sole second spot after shooting a 68 for an aggregate of 138, while Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, Sweden's Robert Karlsson and England's Richard Finch were bunched a shot behind on 139. But it was Kaymer's fight to stay in the hunt to become only the second German world number one afte

FORMERINDIAN captains Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly have been honoured with the CEAT Cricket Rating World Cup Awards 2011 during a ceremony at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai on Thursday evening. CEAT honoured the best of the World Cup cricketers based on their performances from 1975 to 2007 World Cup Cricket. Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly were honoured for their performances in 1983 World Cup in England, 1999 World Cup in England and 2003 World Cup in South Africa respectively. Other then these Indian cricketers, New Zealand opener Glenn Turner for 1975 World Cup, West Indian opener Gordon Greenidge for 1979 World Cup, Australian opener Geoffrey Marsh for 1987 World Cup, Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram for 1992 World Cup, Sri lankan batsman Aravinda De Silva for 1996 World Cup and Australian opener Matthew Hayden for 2007 World Cup were honoured with CEAT Cricket Rating World Cup Awards. In addition to the World Cup awards, Australia won

DURINGTHEprevious International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup tournaments, it was noticed that some unknown companies had sent e-mail tofans indicating that they had won cash awards as part of ICC sweepstakes or other prize competitions, which were nothing but fake.Thesee- mailsmost ofteninstructed fansto provide personal details, including bank account information and to wire funds to a third party bank account to facilitate their receipt of the award. Most of these companiesturned out to befake and their objective only is to dupe the gullible fans of their hard earned money. To ensure thatpeople are not caught in this type of fraud, theICC has issued notice to all fans across the world that neither does the ICC conduct nor authorise any such sweepstakes or prize promotions nor does it appoint any third parties to do so. ICC has stated that it never asks anyone to send or confirm personal information via e-mail or to wire funds to a bank account for award eligibili

SCOTTSDALE: Americans Bill Haas, Tom Gillis, Jason Bohn and veteran Tom Lehman were tied for the lead when the frost-delayed first round of the Phoenix Open was suspended in fading light on Thursday. Haas, Gillis, Bohn and Champions Tour player Lehman opened with matching six-under-par 65s on an unseasonably chilly day at TPC Scottsdale, one stroke better than compatriots Chris Couch, Ben Crane and Lucas Glover. World number four Phil Mickelson, who discarded his windbreaker after the turn, bogeyed his first and last holes for a six-birdie 67 to end the day level with fellow Americans Chris Riley, Jeff Overton, Joe Ogilvie and Matt Bettencourt. The start of the tournament was delayed by four hours due to heavy morning frost and none of the afternoon field had completed the opening round when play was halted for the day. Sixty-six players were still out on the course and will have to finish their rounds on Friday when another frost delay is expected. Officials expect

PARIS: Maria Sharapova hopes her first Fed Cup outing in three years will help erase the misery of her latest Grand Slam blow-out. The three-time major winner, and former world number one who has struggled to rediscover her best form since a 2008 shoulder injury, suffered a tame fourth round defeat at the Australian Open. Her straight sets defeat to Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the heat of Melbourne has now given way to the chilly streets of Moscow where Russia open their 2011 Fed Cup World Group campaign against France on Saturday. "Cold, cold, cold," wrote Sharapova on her Facebook page. "Just spent the last week in Munich training and now I am off to Moscow for Fed Cup. I am looking forward to getting on the court and competing, did not like that feeling I had walking off the court last time I played." Sharapova, who will share singles duties with Svetlana Kuznetsova, is making her first Fed Cup appearance since 2008. France have been hit by the

Add to My Stories Ally McCoist has admitted that El-Hadji Diouf is fair game for opposition fans - and players - following his controversial arrival at Ibrox. Rangers are set to pitch the Senegalese striker into Sunday's potentially explosive Scottish Cup fifth-round showdown with Celtic. In the thick of it: Diouf was targeted by Hearts on Wednesday Diouf appeared to be targeted by Hearts on his debut on Wednesday night, with no fewer than three visiting players booked by referee Brian Winter for tackles on the former Liverpool forward, including a crude challenge from Ian Black. Walter Smith's right-hand man, however, accepts that any kind of 'sledging' is a legitimate tactic and will warn Diouf the only way to defeat his detractors is by keeping his temper on the pitch. 'I would imagine the opposition will target him,' said McCoist yesterday. 'Certainly, opposition fans will and, dare I say it, there might be one or two of the teams, as well. They will tr

PENNSYLVANIA: President Barack Obama is hinting on Pennsylvania soil that he might cheer for Pittsburgh's beloved Steelers when they meet the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Obama told a crowd at Penn State University that "I've got some love for the Steelers." But Obama also noted he'd visited a factory town near Green Bay just last week, and he'd come to Pennsylvania "in the spirit of fairness" to wish Steeler fans good luck as well. The president appeared to be trying to straddle two crucial electoral states after supporting his hometown Chicago Bears earlier. Obama previously said he wouldn't take sides in the Super Bowl, after his Bears were knocked out of the playoffs by the Packers.

Add to My Stories Back injury: Lee Cattermole hasn't featured since December 28 Sunderland boss Steve Bruce could be facing up to another month without skipper Lee Cattermole. The 22-year-old has not played since the Black Cats' 2-0 Barclays Premier League home defeat by Blackpool on December 28, an absence of six games, because of a persistent back problem. Cattermole was told to rest for a month by a specialist, and although Bruce hinted in the week running up to the derby clash with Newcastle on January 16 the midfield enforcer could be involved, he has not been seen since. But now he has been told he must sit out for at least three further weeks, and that will come as another blow to Bruce, who has seen his 6million signing from Wigan miss far too much football through a combination of injury and suspension during his 17 months or so on Wearside to date. Cattermole's back condition has had a knock-on effect and caused hamstring and hip problems, and he missed two months

Feb. 3: A maiden century by teenage opener Ahmed Shehzad inspired Pakistan to a 41-run win over New Zealand Thursday to wrap up the six-match one-day series with a game to spare.The 19-year-old cracked 115 off 109 deliveries in a masterful innings in Hamilton as Pakistan posted 268/9 after being sent into bat first in the fifth ODI. New Zealand, who are on a rotten run of form, made the worst possible start to their reply, losing a wicket on the first ball when Jesse Ryder was run out and they never threatened from there.Their innings came to a halt in the 47th over at 227 to give Pakistan an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the series with one match washed out, while New Zealand have now lost 15 of their past 16 ODIs. It was a timely performance from Shehzad, who delivered on the promise he had hinted at in his previous seven international innings, which produced a total of 173 runs.Around him, the other Pakistan batsmen failed to get on top of New Zealand pace attack.Umar Akmals 32 befo

There is something amiss with Indian crickets equivalent of paradise. The Eden Gardens will not get its showpiece game, India versus England, because the arena was not likely to be ready in time for the marque event. What a loss of face this is. When full, as it used to be in the good old days when Test matches were supreme and the cricket came in the magnificent Christmas-New Year period to Kolkata, Eden Gardens would be at its splendid best.When all of India always seems like a work in progress can the CAB be faulted for letting its grand piece of real estate resemble a construction site at inspection time? Like things always fall in place in the eleventh hour, as they always tend to do in big fat Indian weddings, we could have still had a fine contest on the famous baize-like green of the Eden Gardens just across the Maidan from the mighty Victoria Memorial. The ICC would not demur.It is a matter of perception. We Indians know that work will always go on till the last minute

THERE AREstill 15 days to go for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and predictions have alreadystartedabout who is going to winthis cup. Defending champion Australia which has been a strong contender every year has not found favour with experts this year, while India and South Africa are the hot favourites. While Australia may be down but as per the ICCODIranking, Australia is still the top one-day playing side in the world. As far as individual batting and bowling performances are concerned, South African batsman Hashim Amla, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan top the rank as the best ICC batsman, bowler and all-rounder respectively. According to the ICC Cricket ranking Australia is no 1,India is the number 2 team in the ICCODIranking, while Sri Lanka is no 3, South Africa is no 4, England is no 5, Pakistan is no 6, New Zealand is no 7, West Indies is no 8, Bangladesh is no 9, Ireland is no 10,Zimbabwe is no 11, Netherlands is no 12 andKenya at the

Add to My Stories New Tottenham signing Steven Pienaar is in a race against time to be fit for the Champions League clash with AC Milan after being ruled out for two weeks with a head injury.The 28-year-old midfielder clashed heads with fellow South African Bongani Khumalo in training and missed Wednesday night's 1-0 win at Blackburn.Manager Harry Redknapp said: 'Our other South African Bongani thought Steven's head was the ball and knocked him unconscious in training.'Both players are in the South Africa squad for next week's friendly against Kenya in Rustenburg. Down and out: Steven Pienaar was knocked unconscious in trainingLosing his 3m signing is a bitter blow for Redknapp as his injury list lengthens.Already missing skipper Ledley King, Tom Huddlestone, Gareth Bale and Younes Kaboul, Croatia midfielder Luka Modric will miss the first leg of the Champions League clash with Milan on February 15 after emergency surgery on Monday for appendicitis.On top of this,

THE APEX body of cricket, International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed umpires and match referees for the group stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which is going to be held between February 19 to April 2 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The International Cricket Council has appointed Aleem Dar, who was ICC Umpire of the years 2009 and 2010, four-time ICC Umpire of the Year Simon Taufel along with Ian Gould, Billy Doctrove, Daryl Harper, Steve Davis, Marais Erasmus, Tony Hill, Asoka de Silva, Rod Tucker, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Kumar Dharmasena, Bruce Oxenford, Asad Rauf, Amish Saheba and Shahvir Tarapore. ICC also appointed Ranjan Madugalle, Chris Broad, Jeff Crowe, Roshan Mahanama and Andy Pycroft as match referees for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Here is the full list of umpires and match referees for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 until group stage. Saturday 19 Feb Bangladesh vs India (D/N), Dhaka- Steve Davis and Kumar Dharmasena, Billy Do

RIO DE JANEIRO: Over 40,000 Flamengo fans packed the Enganhao stadium on Wednesday to greet Ronaldinho on his debut for the club with a mosaic that said "Welcome R10." In his first match for a Brazilian club for 10 years, Ronaldinho led Brazil's most popular team out as their new captain for a Carioca (Rio) state championship match against Nova Iguacu that Flamengo won 1-0. Ronaldinho, twice FIFA World Player of the Year in his prime at Barcelona in the mid-2000s, brought a save from visiting goalkeeper Diogo Silva with a free kick and was part of some slick moves. Nova Iguacu proved tough opponents, though, and Flamengo had to wait until four minutes from time to score through substitute Wanderley. "After so long without playing, I need to get rhythm, adapt to my team mates whom I have never played with," Ronaldinho told reporters. "I have nothing but thanks for my team mates who received me with open arms and these marvelous fans. "It's

SANTIAGO: Chile's 2010 World Cup coach Marcelo Bielsa is staying on in the job, Chilean FA (ANFP) President Sergio Jadue said on Wednesday. Jadue said Bielsa, who had threatened to quit in November, had not presented his resignation by the Jan. 31 deadline, which the Argentine had set himself to give the ANFP his decision. "Today I met with the national team coach Marcelo Bielsa in a meeting that lasted no more than 15 minutes and in which I reiterated our intention that he remain in charge of the team," Jadue told reporters. "He told me he would reply in writing. Unfortunately he hasn't done this yet, but I interpret his silence in an optimistic manner. Marcelo Bielsa stays. "He's aware of my interpretation and what I was going to communicate to the news media," Jadue said.

SANTIAGO (Chile): Defending champion Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil rallied to defeat Rui Machado of Portugal 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 on Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the Movistar Open. Bellucci has now won seven straight matches in this event and will face Fabio Fognini of Italy in the quarterfinals. Seventh-seeded Fognini reached the quarterfinals by defeating Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. In another second-round match, Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina advanced at the clay-court tournament with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Joao Souza of Brazil.

Add to My Stories Harry Redknapp's crazy week took a turn for the bizarre when defender Ledley King missed an operation in Germany after losing his passport. Tottenham manager Redknapp - who saw his team ride their luck to win 1-0 at Blackburn in the Barclays Premier League - endured a madcap end to the transfer window as he missed out on late bids for Guisseppe Rossi and Charlie Adam. Missed chance: Tottenham defender Ledley King (left) But his patience was tested to the limit on Wednesday when injury-prone defender King failed to keep an appointment with a surgeon in Germany. 'It's a long story but he couldn't find his passport,' bemoaned Redknapp. 'So he hasn't had the operation. 'He didn't have the passport so he couldn't fly.' Madcap: Harry Redknapp on the touchline at Blackburn King is now due to have the operation next week after finally locating his vital documents. Midfielder Luka Modric, meanwhile, has an outside chance of making

KIEV: Ukraine's football federation (FFU) told UEFA on Wednesday it was dropping calls for the departure of its long-time president in line with demands by European soccer's governing body. UEFA had told the FFU it should withdraw calls for Hrigory Surkis to go or it would face suspension from European football, thereby threatening its right to co-host the 2012 European Championship. "A decision has been made to withdraw the demands," Serhiy Storozhenko, a senior FFU official who had led the rebellion against Surkis, told Reuters. A newspaper website carried text of a letter signed by 11 members of the federation's executive committee. "We are withdrawing the written demands...for the holding of an emergency congress and we will not demand a replacement of the management of the FFU before the end of Euro 2012 and before the end of the term of the FFU's president," it said. Ukraine's president Viktor Yanukovich had earlier moved to calm

Add to My Stories Craig Gardner was Birmingham's hero for the second time in a week as he dealt a blow to Manchester City's fading title hopes at St. Andrew's. Gardner had scored the goal which earned Alex McLeish's side victory over West Ham in the Carling Cup semi-final and followed that up with a late equaliser from the penalty spot as his side salvaged a precious point. Pick that out: Tevez shoots past Martin Jiranek of Birmingham (right) to score The visitors twice led through Carlos Tevez and Aleksandar Kolarov but were pegged back by Nikola Zigic and then Gardner's sixth goal of the campaign. It means they are now eight points adrift of Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United and have played a game more. There was no doubting the quality of Roberto Mancini's side and Tevez was a constant threat. But Birmingham's never-say-die attitude surfaced yet again with on-loan David Bentley and veteran Barry Ferguson impressing. Injury blow: Micah

Add to My Stories Gavin Henson looks set to join French big spenders Toulon on Thursday afterthe shock decision of Saracens to release him. The29-year-old has played in only four games since the Watford-based clubhelped relaunch his career after 21 months on the sidelines. He hasn't been there Toulon yet: Henson at the end of a clash between Saracens and London Irish last monthButWales's Grand Slam winner has struggled to make an impact and hadbecome disgruntled at the lack of opportunity to play at eitherfly-half or inside centre. It is expected he could make his debut forToulon in a French Championship game against Brive next Friday. Thecontract is understood to be for two-and-a-half years and Toulon havealso expressed an interest in him remaining at the club for the rest ofhis career. However, nothing has been signed yet and the deal should befinalised this morning. On the move: Henson is set to sign for Toulon A Saracens statement said Henson hadasked to be released from h

Add to My Stories Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain put the disappointment of missing out on a Barclays Premier League move behind him on Wednesday with an England U21 call-up. The Southampton striker, 17, was named in the U19 squad last week but has been promoted for Tuesday's friendly in Italy after a series of excellent displays. Under 21s manager Stuart Pearce said: 'He is showing a lot of promise so we thought we'd bring him into the squad.' On the radar: Despite playing in League One, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (left) has been tracked by many Premier League clubsU21 SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Fielding (Blackburn), Loach (Watford), Steele (Middlesbrough). Defence: Bennett(Middlesbro), Gibbs (Arsenal), Kelly (Liverpool), Mee (Leicester),Richards (Man City), Smalling (Man Utd), Tomkins (West Ham), Walker(Aston Villa). Midfield: Albrighton(Villa), Cork (Burnley), Delph (Villa), Oxlade-Chamberlain(Southampton), Henderson (Sunderland), Lansbury (Norwich), Muamba(Bolton), Rodwell (Everton

Add to My Stories Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is adamant he did not cross the line of respect when talking to referee Lee Mason in the tunnel during Tuesday's win over Everton.According to Toffees` manager David Moyes, the Spain midfielder made unrepeatable comments to Mason at half-time, when Arsenal trailed to a goal that both managers agreed should not have been given due to offside.The Football Association said that Mason had not included the incident in his report, which is sure to incense Moyes even further, with the Scot claiming Fabregas should have been sent off owing to the nature of his comments. Making his point: Fabregas has words with the refereeBut while admitting in a statement on his club`s official website that he did speak to Mason during the interval, Fabregas insists he did not overstep the mark.He said: 'There has been much talk about me saying things to the officials at half-time on Tuesday night. All I can say is that I have respect for all match offi

Add to My Stories Wales star Gavin Henson has been in shock talks with Toulon about a move to France, despite only making his debut for Saracens six weeks ago.The 29-year-old has only played four games for Sarries, after he spent 18 months away from the sport.And French newspaper L'Equipe isreporting that Henson met Toulon head coach Phillipe Saint Andre andmillionaire club owner Mourad Boudjellal for lunch onWednesday. He hasn't been there Toulon yet: Henson at the end of a clash between Saracens and London Irish last monthIt is reported that an announcement could be made as early as Thursday, and Henson could make his debut against Brive on February 11.Toulon are currently in desperate need for a fly-half, with Jonny Wilkinson on Six Nations duty with England, and Argentine star Felipe Contepomi injured. More... Byrne left out of Wales team as Hook starts at full-back for England clash Wales' Halfpenny to miss England opener after injuring ankle in training

MELBOURNE: Australian firms, whose dues were withheld by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee due to "under performance and contractual obligations", have vowed that they would pursue the matter by means including legal. The companies rebutted the CWG OC chief executive Jarnail Singh's claim on Tuesday that the payments were not made due to under performance and said that they have exceeded their contractual obligations. The Australian firms Spectak Production run by Ric Birch, who reportedly threatened a multi-million dollar law suit against the CWG OC, the Swiss-based EKS, owned by an Australian Craig McLatchey, and Greg Bowman's Great Big Events are among those which have not been paid in full, the 'Sydney Morning Herald' reported. Birch said he would pursue full payment and that the matter was in the hands of his lawyers. "At no time during the term of the contract did (Games organisers) mention any dissatisfaction and waited two months