TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2015 SPORTS German FA boss resigns over 2006 WC scandal

BERLIN: German football association help buy votes for Germany’s World cutor’s office that the president, a President Wolfgang Niersbach Cup bid at the FIFA election in 2000. World Cup 2006 organising committee resigned yesterday over a 2006 World “I was there from the first day of the vice president, and two former com- Cup scandal that has tarnished the rep- bid for the 2006 World Cup until the mittee colleagues did not pay tax on utation of the world’s biggest soccer end....and in all these years I worked the controversial 6.7-million euro pay- federation. not only in a clean way but also with ment. The three are suspected of tax Niersbach, who is being investigat- passion and trust,” Niersbach later said evasion and investigations are ongo- ed for tax evasion in relation to the in a statement issued through the DFB. ing to determine whether they would affair, said he was taking the political He had been at the DFB for a quar- be charged or not. responsibility for a controversial 6.7- ter of a century, climbing up from German magazine Der Spiegel’s million euro ($7.22-million) payment to spokesman to general secretary and report in October had claimed a slush FIFA that was allegedly used to bribe then president in 2012. fund had been set up with Louis- officials of world soccer’s governing “That makes it even more depress- Dreyfus’ financial support to buy votes body to vote for Germany’s World Cup ing and painful to be confronted nine for Germany’s World Cup bid. bid. He again denied any wrongdoing. years later with processes I had noth- Both the DFB and Niersbach, as well “In order to protect the DFB and the ing to do with. I want to make it clear as then organising chief Franz position, I step down as DFB president once more that I was not aware of the Beckenbauer, had rejected the votes- with a heavy heart,” Niersbach told payments in question. That’s what for-cash claims made by Der Spiegel. reporters. “I decided to resign because makes the decision to suffer the politi- But Niersbach admitted an internal I realised I had to take the political cal consequence so much harder.” investigation was underway to find out FRANKFURT: Wolfgang Niersbach (C), President of the German Football responsibility.” At the heart of the Last week more than 50 police and why the amount was paid to FIFA and Federation (DFB) arrives for a statement to announce his resignation next to investigation is the 6.7 million euro tax investigators raided the DFB head- what was it used for. Asked at a press Reinhard Rauball, (R) Vice President of the German Football Federation (DFB) payment from the DFB to FIFA in 2005 quarters as well as Niersbach’s and conference on Oct. 22 why the DFB and President of the German Football League (DFL) and DFB Vice President that Der Spiegel magazine alleged was other officials’ private homes. They had paid FIFA the amount, Niersbach Rainer Koch after a committee meeting at the DFB headquarter in Frankfurt am a return on a loan from the then were searching for evidence to back said: “I don’t know.” FIFA are also inves- Main, central Germany, yesterday. — AFP Adidas CEO Robert-Louis Dreyfus to up suspicions by the Frankfurt prose- tigating the issue. — Reuters

Moyes’s Sociedad reign ends in another sacking

MADRID: Former Manchester United manag- end of the season, but, despite being a per- er David Moyes was sacked by Real Sociedad sonal favourite of president Jokin Aperribay, yesterday after a turbulent year in charge dur- the pressure from fans and local media was ing which he failed to turn around the Basque too much to bear for those in charge of the side’s fortunes. club. “Real Sociedad have decided to cancel the Above all, Moyes was criticised for his fail- contract of first team coach David Moyes,” a ure to adopt to the Spanish style of play and club statement announced. “The club wish to master the language. The 52-year-old regular- thank him ... for all he brought to the club, his ly complained about the way games are refer- professionalism and his dedication in carrying eed in Spain during press conferences he out his duties.” always gave in English. Spanish press reports indicate that former There had been moments of promise early Barcelona reserve team coach Eusebio in Moyes’s reign as he dragged an under-per- Sacristan is favourite to succeed Moyes. forming squad away from the relegation Moyes took charge of the San Sebastian outfit zone. A 1-0 win over a Barcelona that would last November, just seven months after being go on to win the treble a few months later in fired by United after for overseeing a disas- January was undoubtedly the highlight. trous debut campaign following the retire- Yet, a season that began with plenty of ment of club legend Sir Alex Ferguson as optimism after the return of midfielder Asier United finished outside the top four in the Illarramendi to the club from Real Madrid for Premier League for the first time in 24 years. 17.5 million euros ($18.8 million, £12.5 mil- However, Friday’s 2-0 defeat at newly-pro- lion) has been a huge disappointment. moted Las Palmas left Sociedad above the Moyes’s men managed just two victories, relegation zone only on goal difference with against the league’s bottom two sides just nine points from their first 11 games, Granada and Levante, and with the daunting exactly the same situation they were in when task of Sevilla and Barcelona to come after Moyes was hired 364 days ago. the international break, a change at the helm Moyes’s contract was due to run until the became inevitable. —AFP

SEVILLE: Real Madrid’s Jese Rodriguez, right, and Sevilla’s Michael Krohn-Dehli fight for the ball during their La Liga soccer atchm at the Ramon Lacazette leads Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, in Seville, Spain on Sunday.— AP to derby victory Defeated Madrid lacked : Alexandre Lacazette returned to form time when he latched on to Ferri’s pass before in style with a hat-trick as Lyon beat bitter rounding Ruffier to slot home. Scorer of a rivals Saint-Etienne 3-0 in the last derby meet- club record 27 league goals last season, he ing of the teams at the Stade de Gerland on now has six goals in all competitions in this know-how to fight back Sunday. Last season’s player of the campaign and his performance was a timely year Lacazette opened the scoring in the first reminder to coach Didier Deschamps, half and added two more after the break on who left him out of the latest national squad. MADRID: Rafael Benitez lamented his side’s they took advantage of that to score the third a scan on Tuesday, but it will be difficult to go his 150th top-flight appearance as Lyon, who “I felt that Alexandre Lacazette was coming inability to react after going behind for the first goal. “We scored again at the last minute but it with the national team if I couldn’t continue will move to a new 59,000-seat stadium early good in the last few days. And a hat-trick in a time this season as he suffered his first defeat as wasn’t enough.” When Banega finished off a bril- today,” he told Canal Plus. in 2016, claimed the bragging rights in the derby-that does not happen all the time,” said Madrid boss 3-2 at Sevilla on Sunday. Defeat liant team move also involving Immobile and “The priority is to recover because it is anoth- Rhone-Alpes rivalry. The victory, Lyon’s third Fournier who was also happy to have select- leaves Madrid trailing Barcelona by three points Yevhen Konoplyanka on the hour mark it was er relapse. I have played four or five games with in a row in Ligue 1, allows Hubert Fournier’s ed Valbuena. at the top of the table with the two set to face the first time Madrid had even been behind in injections and this is the type of injury that if you side to go clear in second place, although “Despite what has happened to him, he is each other next time out at the Santiago 15 games this season. are not careful can cause a lot more problems.” they remain 10 points adrift of unbeaten happiest on the football pitch. He had already Bernabeu on November 21. And Benitez criticised his side’s failure to The former Sevilla man insisted the league leaders Paris Saint-Germain and also been punished enough by not being selected Real had got off to a flying start in Seville as respond when finally put in an adverse situation. Andalusians deserved credit for their second- lost captain Maxime Gonalons and centre- for the national team.” Sergio Ramos’s spectacular overhead kick fired “We lacked know-how in managing the situa- half display, but recognised Madrid can’t afford back Samuel Umtiti to injury. Saint-Etienne, the visitors into a deserved lead. However, after tion. It seemed a matter of time until the second many more slip-ups if they are to land just their meanwhile, are fifth, behind Angers on goal Monaco, lose Ramos had gone off with the recurrence of a goal in the first half hour. second league title in eight years. “It’s clear we difference, after a disappointing display. Meanwhile, came from behind shoulder problem, Madrid fell apart as Ciro “It wasn’t to be, they regained their confi- didn’t play well in the second-half. This is one of Lyon, who are staring at an early exit from to beat Monaco 3-1, inflicting a first defeat in Immobile levelled before the break. Ever dence with the equaliser and then our errors the hardest places to come due to their fans and the Champions League following a 2-0 home 10 games on the principality side. Banega and Fernando Llorente set the seal on a allowed them to grew further into the game. the quality of Sevilla. You also have to highlight loss to Zenit St Petersburg in midweek, were Portuguese forward Helder Costa put the much needed win for Sevilla after their 3-1 “We found it difficult to react. In the first-half we how well Sevilla played as well as a bad match unlucky not to get the breakthrough late in visitors ahead at the Matmut Atlantique, but thrashing at the hands of Manchester City in should have killed the game off and we didn’t.” on our part. “In the second-half they had control the first half when Stephane Ruffier made a Nicolas Maurice-Belay, Cedric Yambere and midweek before James Rodriguez pulled a goal Ramos had to watch on in anguish as his side of possession and managed to take their double save to deny Jordan Ferri and Mathieu former Monaco midfielder Jaroslav Plasil all back in stoppage time. “I think we played very threw away the lead and could now be a doubt chances. Valbuena. netted for Bordeaux. Monaco are ninth, while well for 30 minutes. We had a lot of control in for the Barca clash after a disrupted two months “It is in games like this that you lose the Valbuena was included in the Lyon line-up Bordeaux move up to 11th, above Marseille, every part of the game,” said Benitez. since he first suffered a dislocated shoulder league and we’ve lost three very important at the end of a week overshadowed by the who were beaten 1-0 at home by “Then we allowed them to score from a set- against Shakhtar Donetsk. The defender admit- points. Now we have to turn the corner, the arrest of his France colleague , Mediterranean rivals Nice earlier on Sunday. piece and that conditioned the game. “In the ted he is almost certain to miss Spain’s friendly Clasico always carries a lot of expectations but who was charged with complicity to black- Valere Germain, who was born in Marseille second-half we started well again, but from the matches against England and Belgium in the above all it is an important game for us to mail and conspiring to commit a criminal act when his father Bruno was playing for OM second goal we started to commit errors and next week. “First I have to recover. I hope to have win.” —AFP in an extortion case involving a sex tape fea- and supported the club as a boy, got the only turing the little playmaker. He put in a lively goal of the game in the 16th minute, collect- performance but Lacazette stole the show, ing a Wallyson Mallmann pass and drilling in opening the scoring four minutes before the a low shot from range that beat Steve break when he spun away from Loic Perrin Mandanda and found the bottom-left corner. Klopp wants end to early and then lifted the ball over Ruffier. It was a welcome win for Nice, who were Lacazette collected a Valbuena pass and recently inspired to a fine run of form by the worked his way into a shooting position brilliance of Hatem Ben Arfa but made the exits after Liverpool loss before stabbing wide early in the second half, trip along France’s south coast after failing to but he did find the net again in the 59th win any of their previous three Ligue 1 out- minute. ings. Claude Puel’s side move up to sixth, but LIVERPOOL: Jurgen Klopp admitted it is the before the final whistle, anything can happen out of Anfield on crutches after twisting his Ruffier saved from a Rafael piledriver but there was more frustration for Marseille, who responsibility of his Liverpool players to keep and that is what we have to show the fans. knee badly in an awkward fall during the first Lacazette followed in to convert the rebound, have never really got going under Spanish and he completed his hat-trick in stoppage coach Michel. —AFP Anfield supporters glued to their seats after We didn’t.” half. tasting defeat for the first time as manager of “That was the worst thing about tonight,” the Premier League club in a 2-1 loss to Sakho setback Klopp said. “I would rather have lost 4-1 and Crystal Palace on Sunday. A late goal from Klopp said fatigue played a part in the keep him in the team but we will have to wait lifelong Liverpool fan Scott Dann gave Palace defeat, after Liverpool played in the Europa and see. Let’s hope it’s not too serious.” a win at Anfield for the second consecutive League at Rubin Kazan on Thursday and Liverpool’s slow slow start saw Yannick season in front of the watching Steven arrived back in England at 3:30am local time Bolasie shoot Palace in front before Philippe Gerrard, whose Liverpool farewell ended in a (0330 GMT) on Friday. Coutinho equalised just before half-time. But defeat by the same opponents in May. But he refused to use the travel itinerary as it was Palace who emerged triumphant, with Dann’s headed winner eight minutes from an excuse. “We have to learn that it is we who manager Alan Pardew masterminding an time also had Liverpool supporters heading decide. We decide how good we are, how Eagles’ victory at Anfield for the second time for the exits “After 82 minutes I saw so many awake we are, how tired we are, nobody else,” in six months that was sealed by Liverpool people leave the stadium, I felt pretty alone said Klopp. “Today we needed a few minutes fanatic Dann. at that moment,” said Klopp. (to start) and by then it was too late. We did “He had about 15 family members here “We decide when it is over. Between 82 many, many good things on the day but not today, he was asking for tickets off every- and 94 minutes, you can score eight goals if enough. Anybody who thinks we gave every- body,” said Pardew of Dann. “The goal you want but you have to work for it,” added thing we had tonight is wrong. summed him up. You could see he was going the German manager, who had previously “Of course we could do more, maybe not to win that ball, nobody was going to stop presided over a six-game unbeaten run made in terms of running, but by being more him. “I really think he has been under-esti- up of three straight draws and three succes- awake from the beginning. Believe me, we mated throughout his career. I wouldn’t have sive wins after replacing the sacked Brendan have to learn this,” added Klopp, who won said that until I managed him but now I have, Rodgers on Merseyside. back-to-back Bundesliga titles when in I understand how good he is. “But the prob- “I’m not disappointed with the fans,” insist- charge of former club Borussia Dortmund in lem with this whole team is it doesn’t trust LYON: Lyon’s Mathieu Valbuena, left, challenges for the ball with Saint-Etienne’s ed Klopp. “We have to learn that we are 2010/11 and 2011/12. how good it could be,” added Pardew, whose Florentin Pogba, center, during their French League One soccer match at Gerland responsible and with 82 minutes gone, To make matters worse for Klopp, eighth-placed side are now two points ahead stadium, in Lyon, central France, Sunday. — AP nobody can leave the stadium. A minute Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho limped of Liverpool. —AFP