SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2014 SPORTS Ozil absent after penalty woe River fear stadium ban Plushenko to have surgery LONDON: Mesut Ozil was missing from Arsenal’s squad for the clash against BUENOS AIRES: River Plate could face a Monumental Stadium ban after a SOCHI: Four-time Olympic medalist Evgeni Plushenko will have back sur- Sunderland yesterday just days after his penalty blunder in the Champions fan threw a piece of wood and hit Godoy Cruz defender Leandro Grimi as gery on March 2. Plushenko, 31, withdrew from the men’s figure skating League loss to Bayern Munich. he celebrated scoring the equaliser in his team’s 2-1 upset win on short program at the Sochi Games just days after helping Russia win the Ozil’s poor penalty was saved by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the Wednesday. Godoy Cruz claimed three valuable points in their fight team gold. He warmed up for the event on Feb. 13 and then dropped out, early stages of the last 16 first leg tie at the Emirates Stadium on against relegation with a winning goal in added time from Julio Rodriguez leaving the host nation with no competitor. Wednesday and Arsenal never recovered as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat. when River were down to 10-men after the 68th-minute dismissal for two The 2006 gold medalist has a history of injuries and fought several physi- The Germany midfielder’s performance against Bayern was as tame as bookings of Colombian defender Eder Balanta. cal problems throughout his career. He says he has had 12 surgeries. The upcoming operation will repair a screw in his back that snapped. The screw his spot-kick and, after several weeks of lacklustre displays from Ozil, even River issued a statement on Thursday condemning the incident and said supported a disk. Plushenko competed sporadically Gunners manager Arsene Wenger concedes his £42.5 million they were working with state and private security bodies to find the culprit and ensure he was banned from the club. after winning a silver medal at the 2010 Olympics. He club record signing is lacking confidence at present. won three national titles and a European champi- “Is he over it now? Certainly not, because 48 hours is a “You can’t punish 50,000 fans because of one idiot who causes damage. He evidently broke off a part of the stand because he didn’t get in (to the onship, but did not go to worlds in any of those sea- short time to get over that, but it is part of the job as well stadium) with that (wood),” said club president Rodolfo D’Onofrio. sons. He remained steadfast in his goal of skating at to deal with disappointment and to show that you can “We’re searching for him on the cameras to identify him and apply the the Sochi Games, however, but when he finished respond to it,” Wenger said on Friday. “What is important is maximum sanction... to expel him. We don’t want people like that coming behind Maxim Kovtun at the Russian champi- always the team and you never want to hurt any player, but into a football ground ever again,” he told TyC Sports. Grimi, who had spells onships, that objective became a long shot. Then you don’t want to give him any favor. You have to pick with AC Milan, Portuguese club Sporting and Genk between 2007 and Kovtun struggled at the Europeans champi- the team who can win the next game.” 2013, was unhurt and made light of the incident. onships, and Plushenko was given a private With Ozil absent, Wenger restored French “Unfortunately here in Argentina because of (the actions of) a few test session by the Russian federation to striker Olivier Giroud to the starting line-up, everyone has to pay. They were probably 10 (hooligans) and then all River’s prove he was fit. The federation was con- while Lukas Podolski, Mikel Arteta and Tomas fans can’t come to the ground,” the defender told reporters anticipating a vinced and Plushenko was added to the Rosicky also returned to the team.—AFP stadium ban. —Reuters team.—AP McDowell outlasts Mahan MARANA: Graeme McDowell made a stun- after the American’s triumph at Riviera, his George Coetzee 3 and 1. The Aussie, who ning comeback for the third day in a row first since taking the green jacket at Augusta finished third at last year’s Match Play, never Friday, beating Hunter Mahan in 21 holes to National. trailed and birdied four of the last seven reach the World Golf Championships Match “We didn’t play very well, both of us, but I holes to advance. Play Championship quarter-finals. managed to save some great pars to win,” Americans Jim Furyk and Rickie Fowler McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion the Frenchman said. South African Ernie Els booked a quarter-final matchup with 1-up from Northern Ireland, won the 17th and hit a wedge shot two feet from the cup at triumphs, 2003 US Open winner Furyk dis- 18th holes to square the match, sank a 19- the 18th and made the putt to defeat 2013 patching countryman Harris English and foot par putt on the 20th hole and then sank PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner 1 Fowler ousting Spanish star Sergio Garcia. a 14-foot birdie putt on the last hole to up and book a last-eight match against ris- After Garcia felt guilty about the long pause advance. ing US star Jordan Spieth, a 2 and 1 winner before a putt dropped at the sixth hole, he “I genuinely thought I was done this over countryman Matt Kuchar. conceded Fowler a difficult 17-foot par putt time. I didn’t think there was any way back,” “I’m glad to go through,” Els said. “The at the seventh. McDowell said. “Nine lives have been used first couple of holes I made some mistakes “I don’t regret it at all,” Garcia said. “This is up and then some.” McDowell has played 58 and then he made a couple of mistakes on a gentleman’s game and lately it hasn’t felt holes and never led in any match until the five and six to give me two holes. And then like it has been that. This is the way I was final hole. we played a little bit better.” brought up.” Garcia led all the way until the “I’m not embarrassed, but I just feel like South African Louis Oosthuizen beat 16th as Fowler birdied that and sank a four- I’m robbing these guys,” McDowell said. American Webb Simpson 5 and 4 in a third- foot birdie at 18 for the victory. Furyk, who Mahan, the 2012 Match Play winner and round matchup of major winners to book at 43 is 18 years older than Fowler, was 3- 2013 runner-up, staged a rematch of his his quarter-final spot. down after six holes but squared his match epic 2010 Ryder Cup singles showdown “I made quite a few birdies coming in,” with a nine-foot birdie putt at 12 and took with McDowell, who beat the American 3 said Oosthuizen. “He put himself in a few his first lead with English made bogey at 14. and 1 at Celtic Manor to clinch the trophy tough spots to make bogeys and pars and I English leveled with a birdie at 15 but Furyk for Europe. McDowell advanced to a quar- just for some reason made a few putts and chipped in from 30 feet at 16 and held on ter-final matchup against France’s Victor hit a lot of birdies.” for his first trip to the Match Play last eight. “I MARANA: Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland plays a shot on the 17th hole during the third Dubuisson who upset 2012 Masters winner Next up for Oosthuizen will be Australian had been in this position before,” Furyk said. round of the World Golf Championships — Accenture Match Play Championship. —AFP Bubba Watson 1 up, downing him five days Jason Day, who ousted South African “I was able to dig my way out.” —AFP Nordqvist leads at LPGA Thailand CHONBURI: Swede Anna Nordqvist shot birdied the opening two holes and Nos. a 5-under 67 at the LPGA Thailand yes- 10-13, with a lone bogey on the eighth. terday for a 4-stroke lead over top- “I hit a lot of great irons shots out ranked Inbee Park and American there today, I think I still left four birdies Michelle Wie. out there,” the four-time Major champi- The 27th-ranked Nordqvist sprinkled on said. The 2010 runner-up Wie had an her third round at the Siam Country Club error-free round. with four birdies and an eagle on the “Couple hard pins, couple easy pins. 10th against a bogey on No. 5. Didn’t really take advantage of the par Leading since the first round, the 26- 5s like I wanted to, but I can’t really com- year-old Nordqvist has an overall 11- plain about it. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll under 205. She is chasing her first win on just have a lot more birdies,” Wie said. “I the US LPGA Tour since 2009. Park shot really want that win, but I’m not going to 67 and Wie 69. “I think the great players put the added pressure on myself.” out there, Inbee, Stacy (Lewis), they’ve Paraguay’s Julieta Granada (71) was a been up there so many times, so they further stroke behind in fourth.