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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP)—Germany’s soccer federation president has called for a review of the vote that gave Qatar the 2022 World Cup to scrutinize corruption allegations.

Theo Zwanziger said the awarding of the tournament to Qatar raised “speculations and corruption allegations” and should be examined “more precisely.”

A picture taken on May 13, 201…
Getty Images - May 27, 5:57 am EDT

Zwanziger is running for a place in FIFA’s executive committee and said he would be willing to look into the matter.

He also said Wednesday’s election for FIFA president should be by secret ballot.

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Labels: Football, German, Review, urges

LONDON (AP)—One is accused of accidentally shooting a young intern with an air rifle. The other is under fire for elbowing an opponent in the head.

Despite the latest incidents that have further tarnished their reputations, Chelsea defender Ashley Cole and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney have been cleared to play Tuesday in one of the most highly anticipated games of the Premier League season.

While Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti accepts Cole “stepped over the line” in accidentally shooting an intern at the team’s training ground eight days ago, a fine is the harshest punishment facing the defender.

FILE - In this Saturday, Feb. …
AP - Feb 27, 5:36 am EST

Rooney can play after The Football Association conceded it was powerless to ban him for elbowing a Wigan player in an off-the-ball incident on Saturday’s league match.

The transgressions have raised fresh questions about players’ conduct on and off the pitch and the lack of desire to ensure they face stricter punishments.

Ancelotti insisted there was “no way” Cole would be fired after the left back played around with a .22 air gun and accidentally left sports sciences student Tom Cowan—who is on a one-year internship at Chelsea—wounded and bleeding .

Chelsea had hoped the incident would never be made public, with the details only emerging in the News of the World tabloid on Sunday exactly a week after the shooting.

Even after the front-page story was published, Chelsea stressed that despite the severity of the incident it wouldn’t comment on an “internal matter,” dismissing it in the same tone as transfer speculation.

Even on Monday, Ancelotti stressed that Cole “always had very good behavior here.”

“Who didn’t make a mistake in his life?” the Italian asked reporters. “The mistake was that the gun was here in Cobham. We didn’t know the gun was here … (the) players aren’t out of control.”

Despite Ancelotti praising Cole, the air rifle incident last Sunday is not the first time Cole has attracted negative publicity.

While few doubt his abilities on the pitch—the 30-year-old Cole is the England national team’s most-capped fullback—he has been criticized for poor conduct on the pitch and cheating on his pop star wife Cheryl Cole.

“Obviously, we are not happy with what happened, but I have spoken with him,” Ancelotti said. “He was very disappointed with this, and said sorry. It was an accident. We have taken proper action but tomorrow he will play.”

Ancelotti can’t afford to drop Cole, with Chelsea in danger of missing out on the Champions League places as it sits in fifth place and 15 points adrift of leader United.

“It is a very important game for the futures of Manchester United and Chelsea,” Ancelotti said. “It will not be easy because Manchester United has until now been the best team in the Premier League. It is very difficult for us to close this gap … and to come back. Manchester United can decide its destiny.”

And as United heads toward a record-breaking 19th English title, a siege mentality exists at Old Trafford.

While Cole accidentally discharged a lead pellet, United manager Alex Ferguson is figuratively shooting the messenger over the Rooney incident.

“As it is Wayne, the press will raise a campaign to get him hung or electrocuted, something like that,” Ferguson told United’s in-house television channel.

Referee Mark Clattenburg didn’t book Rooney on Saturday for taking a swipe at the back of James McCarthy’s head after the Wigan midfielder had appeared set to block his run.

The body that manages referees in England defended Clattenburg’s decision.

“Match officials are trained to prioritize following the ball, as that’s where the greater majority of incidents are going to take place,” Professional Game Match Officials general manager Mike Riley said. “In this incident Mark was following play but caught sight of two players coming together and he awarded a free kick because he believed one player had impeded the other.

“We should be clear that Mark did nothing wrong in officiating this incident as he acted on what he saw on the pitch.”

FIFA rules prevent the FA from retrospectively imposing a stern sanction on Rooney after reviewing video evidence, but that hasn’t stopped the striker’s temperament being condemned—and not for the first time.

It has been a lackluster injury-plagued season for the 25-year-old Rooney on the pitch. And he was kept out of the team after being accused of cheating on his then-pregnant wife with prostitutes.

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Labels: battle, Football, Rooney

CAIRO (AP)—The cash-strapped Egyptian Football Association is reducing the salaries of all of its employees and considering a salary cap for players.

EFA says on Tuesday it will pay employees a maximum of 15 thousand pounds ($24,500) and a minimum of 1,500 pounds.

The association says it will also consult with clubs about implementing a salary cap for players to eliminate what it calls an “exaggeration” in player wages.

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Labels: Egyptian, employees, Football, reduces, wages

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Results from the eighth round of the Mexican Clausurafootball championship:Sunday Pumas 5, Estudiantes 1 Morelia 2, Atlante 1 America 4, Toluca 3Saturday Jaguares 1, Chivas 0 Queretaro 1, Cruz Azul 1 Tigres 3, Puebla 0 Pachuca 0, San Luis 0 Atlas 1, Monterrey 0Friday Necaxa 1, Santos 0


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Labels: Football, Mexican, Results

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)—Police say several people have been injured in overnight clashes between football fans and police after the Sofia derby between archrivals CSKA and Levski.

Sofia police chief Valeri Yordanov said Sunday that 16 police officers were among those injured. Several buses and trolleys have been damaged and many shop and car windows smashed.

Riot police had stormed the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium at halftime of the derby and forced 3,500 CSKA fans to leave after crowd trouble had marred the game. CSKA won 3-1.

Sofia deputy mayor Ivan Sotirov said 27 fans had been detained for hooliganism. He added that city officials were considering scheduling all future football games in daylight to reduce violence.

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Labels: Bulgarian, clash, Football, police

DOHA, Qatar (AP)—Qatar hired Milovan Rajevac of Serbia Sunday to coach its national side, following the firing of Frenchman Bruno Metsu after the team’s quarterfinal exit at the Asian Cup last month.

The 54-year-old Rajevac will take over on March 1 and has signed a contract for an undisclosed amount through the 2014 World Cup. Rajevac coached Ghana until 2010 and most recently was in charge of Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli.

He said Sunday his immediate goal is qualifying for the next World Cup and the 2015 Asian Cup and felt the country had some good, up-and-coming players.

“All coaches dream of managing a national team and I am thrilled to be leading Qatar,” said Rajevac, who also has been an assistant at Qatari club Al Sadd. “I think Qatar can raise its ratings at the Asian level. We saw good performances from Asian teams in the World Cup and Qatar can be one of the teams at the 2014 World Cup.”

Qatar Football Association president Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said Rajevac was chosen over several other unnamed candidates due to his extensive experience in the region.

“Rajevac is very experienced. I think he can take Qatar forward,” Al Thani said. “There were many names but we opted for him because he knows the players in the Middle East.”

The choice of Rajevac, however, may disappoint some Qatari fans who were looking for a bigger name to help rebuild the team ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which the tiny Gulf nation will host. Currently, the team is ranked 90th in the world and considered one of the minnows of Asian football.

Rajevac replaces Metsu, who struggled since taking over in 2008 from Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati. The team missed out on the 2010 World Cup and last year fell in the quarterfinal stage at the Gulf Cup, which sent its ranking tumbling to 114th—its worst ever.

The country improved to 90th after its Asian Cup performance but it was not enough to save the job of Metsu, who guided Senegal to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. Qatar was praised for overcoming an opening loss to Uzbekistan to reach the quarterfinals but Metsu also angered fans after his team squandered a 2-1 lead in a losing effort against 10-man Japan.

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Labels: coach, Football, Qatar, Rajevac, takes

LONDON (AP) -- Upcoming fixtures in English football (home teams listed first):Saturday, Feb. 26Premier League Aston Villa vs. Blackburn Everton vs. Sunderland Newcastle vs. Bolton Wigan vs. Manchester United Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. BlackpoolLeague Championship Swansea vs. Leeds Barnsley vs. Norwich Bristol City vs. Scunthorpe Crystal Palace vs. Reading Doncaster vs. Watford Hull vs. Cardiff Ipswich vs. Portsmouth Leicester vs. Coventry Middlesbrough vs. Queens Park Rangers Millwall vs. Nottingham Forest Preston vs. Burnley Sheffield United vs. DerbySunday, Feb. 27League CupFinal Arsenal vs. BirminghamPremier League West Ham vs. Liverpool Manchester City vs. FulhamMonday, Feb. 28Premier League Stoke vs. West Bromwich AlbionTuesday, March 1Premier League Chelsea vs. Manchester UnitedFA CupFifth Round Everton vs. ReadingLeague Championship Derby vs. Doncaster Middlesbrough vs. Nottingham Forest Portsmouth vs. ScunthorpeWednesday, March 2FA CupFifth Round Manchester City vs. Aston VillaFifth RoundReplay Arsenal vs. Leyton OrientSaturday, March 5Premier League Birmingham vs. West Bromwich Albion Arsenal vs. Sunderland Bolton vs. Aston Villa Fulham vs. Blackburn Newcastle vs. Everton West Ham vs. Stoke Manchester City vs. WiganLeague Championship Burnley vs. Crystal Palace Coventry vs. Bristol City Derby vs. Barnsley Leeds vs. Doncaster Norwich vs. Preston Nottingham Forest vs. Hull Portsmouth vs. Sheffield United Queens Park Rangers vs. Leicester Reading vs. Middlesbrough Scunthorpe vs. Swansea Watford vs. Millwall Cardiff vs. IpswichSunday, March 6Premier League Liverpool vs. Manchester United Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. TottenhamMonday, March 7Premier League Blackpool v ChelseaTuesday, March 8League Championship Barnsley vs. Scunthorpe Bristol City vs. Portsmouth Doncaster vs. Coventry Hull vs. Burnley Ipswich vs. Reading Leicester vs. Norwich Middlesbrough vs. Derby Millwall vs. Queens Park Rangers Preston vs. Leeds Sheffield United vs. Nottingham Forest Swansea vs. Watford Crystal Palace vs. CardiffWednesday, March 9Premier League Everton vs. Birmingham


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Labels: English, fixtures, Football

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Results from the seventh round of the Mexican Clausurachampionship:Sunday's Games Puebla 1, Jaguares 0 Toluca 2, Necaxa 3 America 1, Morelia 2Saturday's Games Cruz Azul 2, Atlas 1 Monterrey 0, Tigres 0 Guadalajara 4, Pachuca 1 Santos 0, Queretaro 2Friday's Games San Luis 0, Pumas 1 Estudiantes 0, Atlante 1


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Tottenham Hotspur FC today released the first image of the proposed 60,000 capacity football stadium that would sit in the heart of the Olympic Island site if Spurs /AEG become the successful bidder with the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur FC said:

“We are proposing one of the most advanced, state-of-the-art stadiums in Europe that will deliver an exceptional spectator experience. Fans will be closer to the pitch than at any other comparable size stadium in the UK, while its acoustic design will ensure that the noise from spectators remains within the stadium.

“Our partner AEG would attract and manage a wide range of events for the stadium and surrounding public realm including world class sport, music, festivals, and exhibitions. Tottenham Hotspur would also commit tens of millions of pounds for local sports and community projects and our Foundation would work with relevant partners to bring these to life. Ensuring the stadium and the surrounding space is sustainable, exciting and viable 365 days a year is crucial to our proposal and to the whole future of the Olympic Park.

“Accusations that we would ‘demolish’ £500m of stadium are hugely inaccurate and highly irresponsible and I want to be very clear on this issue. Our proposal will retain around £420m worth of the Olympic Stadium, and we will re-use or recycle the £80m that will be dismantled with zero landfill. It is also important to remember that two thirds of the Olympic Stadium, under the original legacy plan, was to be dismantled – it was not designed to be a permanent structure. Recent scaremongering conveniently forgets this fact.”

As part of its bid to the OPLC, Tottenham Hotspur FC is also proposing the significant redevelopment of Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium that would see its capacity increase to 25,000, with the ability for it to be increased up to 40,000 for major championships.

Daniel Levy added:

“We would increase the current capacity of Crystal Palace by 9,500 to 25,000 and a new 4 lane warm up track and all weather hockey pitch would also be built. With these proposals, Crystal Palace would become a re-invigorated dedicated facility, bringing more activity to the area and be available to the athletics community every single day of the year.”

To view pictures of how Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium would look, please click the arrows at the top of the page...

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Labels: 60000, capacity, Football, image, Olympic, proposed, releases, stadium, Tottenham

MILAN (AP) -- Results in the Serie A (home teams listed first):Saturday's Games Udinese 2, Sampdoria 0 Cagliari 1, Juventus 3Sunday's Games Bologna 1, Catania 0 Brescia vs. Bari Genoa vs. AC Milan Lazio vs. Chievo Verona Lecce vs. Palermo Napoli vs. Cesena Parma vs. Fiorentina Inter Milan vs. AS Roma (late)Saturday, Feb. 12 AC Milan vs. Parma AS Roma vs. NapoliSunday, Feb. 13 Palermo vs. Fiorentina Bari vs. Genoa Brescia vs. Lazio Cagliari vs. Chievo Verona Catania vs. Lecce Cesena vs. Udinese Sampdoria vs. Bologna Juventus vs. Inter


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Labels: Football, Italian, Results

{ Will Nasri be allowed to wear a snood on the pitch for much longer?Goal-line technology, extra assistants and, of all things, snoods are on the International Football Association Board's agenda for their next meeting.

Snoods have been put under any other business for when football's lawmakers meet on 5 March and, to the horror of some stars, may be banned.

Samir Nasri, Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor are all fans of the winter fashion accessory.

"We want a debate whether it could be dangerous," said a Fifa spokesman.

"There may be a safety issue - if for example a player was running through on goal and an opponent grabbed his snood, that could pose a potential danger to his neck."

Roy Keane on players wearing snoods

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has claimed snoods help prevent injury to his players, while his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson has banned his players from wearing them.

United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has said on social networking website Twitter: "You won't see a Man Utd player wearing a snood."

Former Old Trafford midfielder Roy Keane is also not a fan of snoods.

He said of players wearing the snood: "They've all gone soft. I don't know how they do it and focus on the game, it's weird. That's the way the game's gone."

On the subject of fashion, Fifa also wants to make sure that if a player wears tights then they are the same colour as their shorts.

The introduction of 'vanishing spray' - which allows the referee to mark out a line a defensive wall from a set piece should not cross - is also up for debate.

The spray is used in Brazil and South America and evaporates after a minute.

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Labels: banned, Football, Snoods, Sport

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The Guardian

O'Hara joins Wolves on loan Tottenham Football Club Jamie O'Hara has joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan until the end of the season. The midfielder has made 56 appearances in our colours, scoring seven goals, and spent last season on loan at Portsmouth. Our provides our latest breaking news online ... O'Hara makes Molineux moveSkySports Tottenham's Jamie O'Hara joins Wolves on loanBBC Sport Jamie O'Hara - Wolves loan move sealed.Sportinglife.com The Sun -expressandstar.com -Sunday Mercury all 274 news articles »

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Eurosport.com ASIA

Keane in West Ham loan Tottenham Football Club Robbie Keane has joined West Ham United on loan until the end of the season with the transfer becoming permanent for an undisclosed fee should Avram Grant's side retain its Premier League status. The Republic of Ireland captain has made 62 appearances ... West Ham confirm loan deal for Tottenham's Robbie KeaneBBC News Hammers seal Keane dealSkySports Keane in Hammers switchThe Press Association Goal.com -The Guardian -Football News all 182 news articles »

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Labels: Football, Keane, Tottenham