csconstantine.com

{ Last updated: 19th February 2011  

Ancelotti: Copenhagen test

SKY SPORTS ON SKY
There's more live football on Sky Sports than ever before, including the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, England away Euro 2012 qualifiers and La Liga. With four live Sky Sports channels, as well as Sky Sports News, you'll never miss a moment on Sky. Click here for more.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti insists there is no extra pressure on his side in Europe following the recent heroics of Arsenal and Tottenham.

The Blues are way off the pace in the Premier League and crashed out of the FA Cup on penalties to Everton on Saturday.

It means the UEFA Champions League now represents their most realistic opportunity to get their hands on silverware this season and they face an upcoming last 16 clash with FC Copenhagen.

North London sides Arsenal and Tottenham produced fine wins against Barcelona and AC Milan in their respective first-leg ties, but Ancelotti claims there is no extra pressure on Chelsea.

He said: "Not extra pressure but we know Copenhagen very well.

"They are a good team, with fantastic organisation, a dynamic team, they use a lot of speed.

"It's important to know this to prepare well for the game, and to have courage to play."

He added: "Tottenham and Arsenal played a fantastic game. They reached a fantastic result against Barcelona, against Milan.

"The Champions League is difficult to play and every team has an opportunity to win and to do the best."

The Blues travel to Denmark for their match on Tuesday having been handed arguably the easiest possible draw, with Copenhagen rookies in the knockout stage of the Champions League.

However, Copenhagen are unbeaten at home in Europe this term and will prove no pushovers against a side out of touch.

Barclays Premier League Top 4 Finish 10/11. Click here to bet.


Agences de presses

Labels: Carlo, extra, pressure, SkySports

{ Wales embraced pressure - Jones(UKPA) – 19 minutes ago

Alun-Wyn Jones has revealed how Wales relished being put under a piercing spotlight that accompanied them all the way to Edinburgh for their make-or-break clash against Scotland.

Wales' 24-6 victory - only their fourth at Murrayfield since 1985 - has kept them in the RBS 6 Nations title shake-up. Defeat in the Scottish capital, though, would have seen a trip to Italy on February 26 gripped by a fear of potential wooden spoon status for the losers.

Jones said: "Usually, you are told to avoid pressure and not think about it. There was a bit of a mentality this week, though, of knowing we were under pressure and then embracing it."

He added: "We seem to play better rugby the more under pressure we are, especially later on in games, so we said let's embrace it from the start, and we did.

"Flippin' heck, we play great rugby under pressure - we have done against the likes of South Africa and New Zealand.

"If you look at some of our performances, we have been guilty of not getting into games as early as we should do. We were very conscious we were under pressure, but we embraced that pressure from the off.

"Yes, international rugby is a results-based game, but it was only a matter of time (before Wales won).

"It is nice to see some smiles on faces. It was one of our best defensive performances - we shut them out - and we had that composure under pressure."

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Agences de presses

Labels: Association, embraced, Jones, Press, pressure, Wales

{ Mohammad Amir's lawyer, Sharid Karim, is to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on behalf of his client over his five-year ban. Photograph: Saurabh Das/AP

The International Cricket Council is pressing World Cup organisers on the subcontinent to provide proof that they will impose the toughest anti-corruption measures in history after imposing lengthy bans on three Pakistan players for spot-fixing in the Lord's Test against England last summer.

ICC officials are convinced the punishment imposed by their anti-corruption tribunal on the former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and the fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir proves that the fight against corruption can be won – but only if the World Cup, which takes place in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh over the next two months, escapes allegations of malpractice.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive, responded today to the sentences imposed by the tribunal in Doha by saying: "I commend the decision to deliver lengthy bans to all three players. Corruption in our game will never be tolerated and once again I reiterate our zero-tolerance approach.

"I hope this investigation, and the verdicts delivered, makes that message crystal clear. We are reviewing the measures that are in place for players and officials at all World Cup venues. We will ensure that all players are aware of their obligations. We will do everything to ensure that the World Cup is clean."

Some prominent cricket officials are privately uneasy about the routinely last-minute arrangements for a World Cup that begins in 13 days. England's group match against India in Kolkata was shifted to Bangalore last week, sending the travel plans for hundreds of England fans into chaos without the hint of an apology. When several new or rebuilt stadiums are still full of cranes and diggers, then the establishment of proven no-go zones around the dressing rooms is bound to be low down the list of priorities.

Butt, Asif and Amir are the first players to be banned for involvement in spot-fixing – the pre-planning of individual events in a cricket match for the purpose of illegal betting scams, events that superficially are so insignificant they are virtually impossible to spot on the field of play.

Butt, an intelligent and urbane captain, had been regarded as a potential saviour for Pakistan cricket before allegations of spot-fixing were made by the News of the World five months ago. He was banned for 10 years, five of them suspended, for failing to disclose an approach by his agent, Mazhar Majeed, to bat out a maiden over in the Oval Test as part of an illegal betting coup. He was also said to be party to the bowling of the deliberate no-balls by Asif and Amir.

Asif was banned for seven years, two of them suspended if, like Butt, he undergoes anti-corruption education. He would be 33 by the time his ban expired. It is possible that his career, like that of Butt, is over.

Amir's lawyer, Sharid Karim, has indicated that an appeal will be lodged with the court of arbitration for sport on behalf of his client, whose five-year ban, if fully served, would allow him to make a comeback at 23. It was Amir, a brilliantly talented 18-year-old, who was most shocked. "I was not expecting that much of a ban," he said as he left the Qatar Financial Centre. "Cricket has given me everything. If I don't play cricket, I have nothing."

Amir will be hopeful of a reduced sentence because of remarks by Michael Beloff, the tribunal chairman. "The tribunal has recommended to the ICC certain changes to the code with a view to providing flexibility in relation to minimum sentences in exceptional circumstances," Beloff said. The ICC has refused to comment until Beloff's full report is produced.

Pakistan has, strikingly, fallen into line with the ICC judgment. Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani, the sports minister, who had reacted angrily when the story first surfaced, said: "If players are involved, there should be a punishment as other players would learn. We accept the decision. It will be good for the game of cricket."

On Friday the three players were separately charged by the Crown Prosecution Service with offences that carry maximum prison sentences of seven years and two years. They will now be forced to return to England next month to face charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat. The players deny any wrongdoing.

Agences de presses

Labels: clean, Guardian, increase, matchfixing, pressure, World