SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016 SPORTS Blatter, Platini now free to appeal bans: FIFA

GENEVA: FIFA’s ethics tribunal said yes- In December, the ethics tribunal 2011. The tribunal did not provide fur- angrily vowed to fight the bans, which cating myself to my defence.” FIFA has terday it had provided Sepp Blatter and banned the FIFA president and vice pres- ther details Saturday of the reasoning started immediately. The tribunal deci- since last May be rocked to its core by a Michel Platini with the reasons for its ident from football for eight years, say- behind its decision. Instead it stressed it sion promises to end 79-year-old cascade of corruption charges and decision to ban them from football for ing they had abused their positions over had now “fulfilled its commitment to Blatter’s four decades with FIFA in dis- arrests that culminated with the implica- eight years, clearing the way for them to a $2 million payment made to Platini in provide the grounds for the respective grace. It also dealt a devastating blow to tion of the two long considered world appeal against the decision. 2011 for work carried out between 1999 decisions to Mr Blatter and Mr Platini 60-year-old Platini’s hopes of taking over football’s most powerful men. “The adjudicatory chamber of the and 2002. within the first half of January 2016.” as head of FIFA in an election on The US justice department has independent Ethics Committee ... has Blatter, who has headed FIFA since “After receiving the grounds for the February 26. The UEFA president pulled charged 39 individuals and two compa- notified Mr Joseph S. Blatter and Mr 1998, was also fined 50,000 Swiss francs decisions, both officials may lodge an out of the race earlier this week, saying nies over graft within world football Michel Platini of the grounds for the ($50,000/46,300 euros) while Platini, the appeal with the FIFA Appeal Committee,” the ban has made it impossible for him going back decades, in a sweeping pros- decisions passed in December 2015,” the head of UEFA, Europe’s governing body, the statement said. If that appeal is to put together a campaign to take on ecution that has sparked an unprece- body said in a statement. was fined 80,000 Swiss francs. At the rejected, the two men can appeal fur- the sport’s most powerful job. dented crisis at FIFA. Platini’s lawyer Thibaud d’Ales said time of the verdict, which heightened ther to the Court of Arbitration for Sport He told French sports newspaper A total of nine FIFA officials were the UEFA president had indeed received further the crisis rocking football’s scan- (CAS), the highest tribunal in sports. L’Equipe that he no longer had “the time arrested during two raids at the five-star the reasons behind the ban. “We’ll read dal-plagued world body, the court insist- nor the means to go to the voters, to Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, on May 27 them, analyse them and launch an ed there was “no legal basis” for the pay- VOWED TO FIGHT meet people, to fight against the other and December 3, by Swiss police acting appeal on Monday,” D’Ales said. ment that Blatter authorised for Platini in At the time of the verdict, both men candidates. “In withdrawing, I am dedi- on US warrants.— AFP

Liverpool survive Exeter scare to spare Bogdan’s blushes

EXETER: Liverpool were forced to come from before the half-time whistle, an excellent behind twice to draw 2-2 at fourth tier Exeter cross from Holmes was met by full-back City in the FA Cup third round after an horren- Ribeiro who should have done better than dous error by goalkeeper Adam Bogdan send a bouncing header wide from the penal- almost gifted the minnows a shock victory on ty spot. A goal down on the restart, it took Friday. Tom Nichols opened the scoring for Liverpool just five minutes to finally provide Exeter, seeking a place in the fourth round for service to Benteke, and it almost brought an the first time in 35 years, and after Jerome equaliser as Cameron Brannagan’s left-wing Sinclair’s equaliser, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp centre picked out the Belgian international, saw Bogdan’s blunder allow Lee Holmes’ cor- whose close-range header looked destined ner to go straight into the net. for the back of the net until Olejnik produced Australia international Brad Smith eventu- a stunning reflex block to keep it out. ally ensured Exeter had to settle for the con- After 56 minutes, neat footwork from Alex solation of a lucrative replay at Anfield when Nicholls and Reid almost set up Nichols for he equalised for Liverpool in the closing another shooting chance, while Ribeiro was stages. “It’s obvious what we have to learn in wide with another header, again following an the future. We have to be more robust,” Klopp excellent cross from Holmes. Nichols threat- said. “It was a difficult pitch. Exeter did really ened with a couple more shots and substi- well. Maybe they know which part of the tute Arron Davies just missed the target from pitch you can play football. 20 yards with his first touch before Liverpool “The first goal was unlucky for us, it was equalised for the second time, against the their first attack. I won’t say anything about run of play, after 73 minutes. Substitute the second goal. “It was really difficult for us. Sheyi Oji probed down the left touchline and On one-on-one situations they were more his cross was cleared, poorly, by Jordan robust than our guys.” Moore-Taylor, directly to Smith who drilled The fact that the opening effort came the ball into the back of the net from a dozen from the League Two hosts was not particu- yards. —AFP larly surprising given the starting line-up selected by Klopp, a consequence of his team’s current lengthy injury list and his desire to rest players for forthcoming Premier Matches on TV League and League Cup fixtures. It took just (Local Timings) nine minutes for Exeter to delight the roman- tics keen for a memorable Cup upset as Jamie Spanish League NORWICH: Norwich City’s English defender Andre Wisdom (R) challenges Manchester City’s Serbian defender Aleksandar Kolarov during the FA Reid sped down the right and crossed for Levante v Rayo Vallecano 0:05 Cup third-round football match between Norwich City and Manchester City at Carrow Road in Norwich, eastern England yesterday. Manchester Nichols to sprint ahead of veteran defender beIN SPORTS 7 HD City won the match 3-0. — AFP Jose Enrique and slide home the opening Villarreal v Gijon 14:00 goal. But, despite that poor defensive effort, beIN SPORTS Klopp’s incredibly inexperienced line-up, fea- Real Sociedad v Valencia 18:00 turing three debutants and just two players- beIN SPORTS Enrique and Christian Benteke-with more Las Palmas v Malaga 20:15 Aguero shines as slick than four appearances for the club, had start- beIN SPORTS SD Eibar v RCD Espanyol 20:15 ed relatively confidently and required just beIN SPORTS three minutes to equalise. The goal owed Celta de Vigo v Atletico 22:30 much to poor Exeter defending, notably by beIN SPORTS City dispatch Norwich Jordan Tillson, which failed to deal with Ryan Kent’s pass into the feet of Benteke in the Italian Calcio League NORWICH: Sergio Aguero kept Manchester City ing just twice. Instead, this was Norwich’s fourth defending. Centre-back Ryan Bennett handed home area and, after the loose ball broke Inter v Sassuolo Calcio 14:30 firmly in the hunt for silverware on four fronts third round exit in the last six seasons and they Aguero far too much room from a long ball on kindly for Sinclair, the 19-year-old made no beIN SPORTS Atalanta v Genoa 17:00 with a sparkling strike in their 3-0 victory over could have few complaints. 31 minutes, and the forward coasted to the edge mistake from 10 yards. beIN SPORTS Norwich in the FA Cup third round yesterday. Neil had little to cheer about in the FA Cup of the box before teeing up Iheanacho, who slot- Bologna v Chievo Verona 17:00 Aguero waltzed through the Canaries’ during his modest career as a player in English ted past Ruddy. INEXPLICABLY beIN SPORTS defence to open the scoring at Carrow Road and football, and his first game as a manager in the Those goals appeared to kill the game as a However, in first half stoppage-time, those Torino v Empoli 17:00 then set up City’s second for Kelechi Iheanacho. competition offered little better. Norwich made contest, as well as nullifying Norwich’s five-man errors were forgotten by the home support- beIN SPORTS Kevin de Bruyne added City’s third in the clos- the brighter start but the visitors always looked defensive line-a system that had gone close to ers as Hungarian goalkeeper Bogdan inexpli- Hellas Verona v Citta 17:00 ing stages as Manuel Pellegrini’s side moved into the greater threat. earning a point at Eastlands in the Premier cably allowed Holmes’ right-wing corner kick beIN SPORTS the fourth round draw and maintained their bid Iheanacho forced John Ruddy into the game’s League earlier in the season. to soar over his head and directly into the Frosinone v SSC Napoli 17:00 beIN SPORTS to win a quadruple of the Premier League, first meaningful save following a sloppy error Norwich chased the game sporadically after roof of the goal. Sampdoria v Juventus 22:45 Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. from Sebastien Bassong and they did not have the break and did manage to have the ball in the Exeter, 76 places below their visitors in the beIN SPORTS The last time the two sides met in the FA Cup to wait much longer for their 16th minute break- net through Cameron Jerome after Jonny Football League pyramid, were equal to the was back in 1981, when Norwich lost 6-0 at through. Howson’s good work, only for the offside flag to task, however, and narrowly missed claiming French League Maine Road, and there were times when it end their celebrations. a second goal from the best remaining Nantes v Saint Etienne 16:00 looked like Pellegrini’s men could hand their MOMENT OF MAGIC Only a superb Bennett tackle on the edge of chances of the half. beIN SPORTS hosts a similar thrashing. It was Aguero who picked up the ball 25 the six-yard box denied Iheanacho his second After 29 minutes, Christian Ribeiro’s cross Lille OSC v OGC Nice 19:00 Both sides made seven changes to their start- yards from goal following Raheem Sterling’s goal of the afternoon. found David Noble dead in front of goal who beIN SPORTS Olympique v Guingamp 23:00 ing line-ups and left their current first-choice back-heel, and the Argentine striker burst past Pellegrini even had the luxury of withdrawing hurried over his shot from 10 yards under beIN SPORTS goalkeepers on the bench. But those proved Graham Dorrans and Bassong, jinked away from Aguero 20 minutes from the end, with the inspi- pressure from Liverpool defenders and, just minor details, as Aguero led City to only a sec- Russell Martin and slotted past Ruddy with ease. rational Argentine’s departure drawing applause ond away win in their last eight attempts. It was a moment of magic that said every- from visiting and home fans alike. As for Norwich, there were only occasional thing about Aguero’s importance to City. There was still time for substitute de Bruyne signs of Alex Neil’s in-form Premier League outfit The striker had already forced another save to skip through on goal and slot home between that had won three of their last four games and from Ruddy with a low volley, before making Ruddy’s legs from a tight angle to provide the been unbeaten in five at Carrow Road, conced- City’s second thanks to Norwich’s generous polish to a dominant display. —AFP Richards in heated debate with Villa fans after draw

LONDON: Aston Villa captain Micah Richards visiting fans turning particularly on their struggling Westwood’s clash with Matt Bloomfield and suf- became embroiled in a heated pitchside debate striker Rudy Gestede as he trudged back to the fered more agony when Gestede’s late deflected with disgruntled fans yesterday as the Premier dressing-room. Yet Villa can think themselves a shot struck the bar. League strugglers’ desperate season unravelled mite unfortunate that they did not successfully It could not stop the chants of “We want our further with a 1-1 draw at fourth-tier Wycombe negotiate what had always looked a tricky hurdle. Villa back” from the travelling support nor the Wanderers in the FA Cup. They had a strong claim for a penalty turned chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” Villa’s travelling fans, dismayed to see a 10th down in the first half, saw referee Michael Oliver aimed towards Garde after he substituted the successive winless game under coach Remi Garde, award Wycombe a dubious penalty for Ashley impressive Carles Gil in the second half.—Reuters poured out their growing frustration in an impas- sioned discussion with defender Richards after his substitution in the dying minutes. Richards stepped in to talk to a dozen fans next to the dugout after they expressed their anger about the result against the League Two side which left Villa without a victory in their last 16 matches. One supporter, in the confrontation with Richards filmed by BT Sport, demanded to know LIVERPOOL: Everton’s Spanish goalkeeper Joel Robles attempts to coax a cat off of the where the players’ passion was, leaving the captain pitch during the FA Cup third-round football match between Everton and Dagenham & to protest to him: “We’re trying!”. Redbridge at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England yesterday. — AFP Richards’ interaction with the fans brought praise from his beleaguered manager. “It was brave of him to do that,” Garde told reporters. “As profes- Everton feline fine sionals, we have to face our responsibilities-not only Micah, me and all the players. in FA Cup victory “To be fair, I didn’t see the incident, but I’ve been told about it. “I understand that the fans LIVERPOOL: A four-legged pitch invader After giving Everton goalkeeper Joel could be angry. We have to accept that. “Everybody stole the show in Everton’s 2-0 FA Cup win Robles the runaround, it was picked up by has to keep calm, face their responsibilities, look in over Dagenham and Redbridge yesterday a member of the Goodison Park security the mirror and ask themselves what they can do to when a cat scrambled onto the pitch. staff and taken away, allowing the game to get out of this difficult situation.” Richards had Kevin Mirallas had just scored Everton’s resume. been one of Villa’s better performers before coming HIGH WYCOMBE: Wycombe Wanderers’ Jason McCarthy (L) vies with Aston Villa’s English mid- second goal in the third-round tie with an Asked if it might prove a good omen, off with injury, having scored their 22nd-minute fielder Riccardo Calder during the FA Cup third-round football match between Wycombe 85th-minute penalty when a black and Everton manager Roberto Martinez replied: opener before equalised from the Wanderers and Aston Villa at the stadium in High Wycombe, west of London yes- white cat crept onto the pitch in the ìHopefully. I thought he had great style and penalty spot just after halftime. Other players were terday. — AFP Everton penalty area. movement.’ — AFP let off much less lightly with some of Villa’s 2,500