World Cup: FIFA last night provisionally suspended two members of their executive committee from Nigeria and Oceania who are at the centre of an alleged World Cup 2018 vote selling scandal. “We had to take a decision to suspend two members of the executive committee. They are Amos Adamu and Reynald Te-marii,” Claudio Sulser, president of FIFA’s ethics committee, said.
Hercules: Spanish First Division side Hercules Alicante will give ten young Japanese players a trial under a two-year agreement it signed yesterday with Japanese firm Ramzes. The players will take part in training sessions over a 15-day period with the reserve and youth teams. At the end of this trial the club may decide to sign some of the players.
Lippi: Flavio Briatore wants Marcello Lippi to take over at Championship club QPR. Briatore, a former F1 team chief, owns 70 per cent of the London football club along with Bernie Ecclestone. “If we were to reach the Premier, I have a dream: Lippi as manager,” Briatore said. Lippi is currently out of work after Italy’s poor show in the World Cup.
Hickersberger: Josef Hickersberger has resigned as coach of Bahrain national team after just four months in the job, the vice-president of Bahrain FA Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said yesterday. The 63-year-old Austrian only took charge of Bahrain in June.
Atletico fan: The girlfriend of Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas, Sara Carbonero, revealed this week that she is a lifelong supporter of the Spanish giants’ cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid. “I have been an Atletico supporter all my life,” Carbonero, a sports journalist, told popular daytime chat show “Ana Rosa” on Telecinco, the private television station she works for.
Navas: Sevilla’s Spanish international winger Jesus Navas will not be able to resume training for around 10 days due to an ankle injury. Navas injured himself during a recent match and has since been troubled by a fragment of bone in his left ankle.
Coppa Italia: Third round – Genoa vs Grosseto 2-1 aet.
Cricket: Three Pakistani cricketers suspended over allegations of spot-fixing have been barred from practising at the national academy until investigations are complete. Former Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, suspended by the ICC last month during Pakistan’s tour of England, were turned away late on Tuesday.
Tennis: Sweden’s world number five Robin Soderling was named as top seed for January’s Brisbane International, upstaging defending champion Andy Roddick. The two-time French Open finalist heads a men’s line-up also including Marco Baghdatis, Mardy Fish and Richard Gasquet, while Australian favourite Sam Stosur headlines the women’s draw. “Robin is brutal on the tennis court,” said tournament director Steven Ayles. “He has competitive drive, a powerful game and deadly strokes.”
Davis Cup: Australian great Pat Rafter was yesterday named captain of the Davis Cup team, officials said, tasked with guiding the country back into the elite World Group of 16. The former world No.1 and two-time US Open winner and Wimbledon finalist replaces John Fitzgerald, who is retiring after a decade in the job. Tony Roche was appointed coach.
Paralympics: Two wheelchair-bound athletes from Iraq’s Paralympic basketball team absconded during a training tour in Germany to avoid returning home, a sports official said this week. Qahtan Tayeh al-Naeimi, president of Iraq’s Paralympic Committee, said on arrival in Baghdad that the two players’ whereabouts were unknown since they disappeared on Sunday night. This was the second Iraqi incident of its kind since 2006, when two Paralympic volleyball players did the same in the Netherlands.