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THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017 SPORTS

IOC strips more medals Liverpool fined over Guardiola tells players from 2008, 2012 Games approach for Stoke starlet to prove their worth LONDON: Liverpool were hit with an academy transfer ban and AARHUS: Uzbeki wrestler Artur Taymazov was stripped of his freestyle LONDON: Manchester City will make “necessary” changes to the squad ordered to pay £100,000 ($124,000, 117,000 euros) after admitting gold medal from the Beijing 2008 Olympics 96-120kg category following a when the transfer window opens in July and it is up to the players to their part in the ‘tapping up’ of a promising Stoke youngster. The positive doping sample in re-testing, the International Olympic prove the club cannot do without them, manager Pep Guardiola has Premier League club won’t be able to sign any academy players who Committee said yesterday. Fellow wrestler Vasyl Fedoryshyn of Ukraine, said. “Every club wants to improve and the changes are necessary but have been registered with a Premier League or Football League team who won silver in the men’s 55-60kg freestyle event at the we are going to discuss it at the end of the season,” the former same Games, was also disqualified along with Russian in the last 18 months. Although the ban is for two years, the second Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager told Svetlana Tzarukaeva, who won silver in the London 2012 12 months has been suspended for a three-year period and will only British media. “The players decide for them- women’s 63kg weightlifting event. All three tested posi- be activated in the event of any further similar breach by the club. A selves through their performances.” Third- tive for the anabolic steroid turinabol. More than 100 ath- brief statement from Liverpool said: “The club accepts the sanction.” placed City travel to face leaders Chelsea in letes have had positive results in re-tests of samples taken The case involves forbidden inducements offered to a 12-year-old at the Premier League. Chelsea saw their lead during the London and Beijing 2008 Olympics conduct- Stoke and whom Liverpool accept they spoke to before they should over Tottenham Hotspur trimmed to seven ed by the IOC. The re-testing programme is part of have and also paid for him and some of his family to attend a game at points after a stunning 2-1 home defeat to the IOC’s efforts to catch cheats using newer Anfield. Liverpool also offered to pay the player’s school fees, which Crystal Palace at the weekend and City mid- testing methods or looking for substances were being paid by Stoke at this time, but this was a breach of newly- fielder Kevin de Bruyne said nerves could that were not known at the time of past introduced regulations which state a benefit can only be offered if it is creep in at Stamford Bridge should City Olympics, and to prevent them from com- applicable to all youngsters across the club’s academy and this was emerge with a win. City trail Chelsea by 11 peting in future Games. —Reuters not the case.—AFP points. —Reuters

Nissan and NISMO announce global motorsport program for 2017

DUBAI: The 2017 motorsport season is about Yasuda. For the first time in seven years, Jo?o Team Principal: Masahiko Kondo to start, and on behalf of , Takao Paulo de Oliveira will return to KONDO Racing, Forum Engineering ADVAN GT-R / Yokohama Katagiri, CEO and president of NISMO, has now which took two victories last year, and will #46 - MOLA - / officially announced Nissan/NISMO’s motor- team up with Daiki Sasaki. MOLA will continue KatsumasaChiyo sport activities for 2017. These are as follows: with the same strong driver combination from Team Principal: ToshiomiOeki last year, with veteran Satoshi Motoyama chal- S Road CRAFTSPORTS GT-R / Michelin SUPER GT GT500 lenging the series alongside young gun Nissan’s new GT500 racer, which incorpo- With sights firmly set on reclaiming the KatsumasaChiyo. rates the distinctive design of the standard GT500 championship title, Nissan/NISMO will Toshikazu Tanaka, corporate vice president 2017 Nissan GT-R NISMO, was developed in field four newly developed Nissan GT-R NISMO of NISMO, remains as Nissan’s team executive compliance with the 2017 SUPER GT technical GT500 entries in 2017. director. The complete roster: regulations and inherits the competitive and Having won the SUPER GT GT500 hard-charging spirit of previous incarnations Championship two years in a row in 2014 and #23 - NISMO - / Ronnie of the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500. 2015, but missing out on a third consecutive Quintarelli Officially revealed last November, the car title after leading the championship until the Team Principal: Yutaka Suzuki has undergone testing in as well as in last event in 2016, NISMO will be back at the MOTUL AUTECH GT-R / Michelin Sepang, Malaysia. The updates will be made track with the driver pairing of Tsugio Matsuda #12 - TEAM - / just before the opening round and are expect- and in Nissan’s ace car #23. JannMardenborough ed to result in an even stronger, more compet- Fresh from the GT300 class, GT Academy Team Principal: Kazuyoshi Hoshino itive GT-R that will build upon the previous graduate JannMardenborough will step up to Calsonic IMPUL GT-R / championship winning car’s legacy of domi- GT500, making his GT500 debut with TEAM #24 - KONDO Racing - Daiki Sasaki / Jo?o Paulo nance within the history of motorsports. IMPUL together with teammate Hironobu de Oliveira

OLYMPICS RUGBY LA blames Paris over Facebook ‘likes’ story Waratahs’ Foley returns from

AARHUS: Los Angeles yesterday accused rival Paris of being behind reports that the US city bought concussion to face Facebook “likes” to artificially boost it’s bid to secure the 2024 Games. Campaigning by the two cities is reaching a peak : Wallabies flyhalf Bernard Foley has over- ahead of an International Olympic Committee decision come concussion symptoms and been cleared to play for on September 13 on which of the two will host the the New South Wales Waratahs tomorrow as they try to get 2024 Olympics. their season back on track against the Wellington Hurricanes. French radio station RTL said on Monday that the Foley missed the Waratahs’ first four games before LA 2024 bid had used fringe internet companies to returning to face the Melbourne Rebels two weeks ago. buy “likes”, so it could announce that it had become However, the symptoms reappeared and he missed last the first Olympic bidder to attract more than one mil- Sunday’s 41-22 loss to the Canterbury Crusaders. lion Facebook fans. “Bernard has been given the clearance after further Companies based in Pakistan, Bangladesh and expert reviews, including a review with neurologist, and Nepal are known to be used to buy social media “likes”. treatment over the course of the last week,” Waratahs “All Facebook advertising has been purchased coach Daryl Gibson said in a statement on Wednesday. directly through Facebook. It’s no surprise that this Foley’s fellow Wallabies back Rob Horne has been with- story originated from Paris,” LA 2024 spokesman Jeff drawn from the side due to a hamstring injury after initially Millman told AFP in a statement. being named to start in the centres. Israel Folau, therefore, “LA 2024 is a global campaign as the Olympic returns to the number 13 jersey with Bryce Hegarty in at movement is global. There are Olympic stakeholders in fullback. Hulking winger has also every country. “Bids advertise on traditional and social earned his first start of the season after a barnstorming media, and all Facebook advertising has been pur- performance against the Crusaders when he ran over the chased directly on Facebook.” top of George Bridge to score. A report picked up by several media documented a There will be no clash of giants on the wing, however, as sudden boost in fans on the LA 2024 Facebook page, the Hurricanes’ has been rested for tomorrw’s PARIS: Former All Blacks rugby player Alexander “Ali” Williams arrives at the Paris courthouse, yesterday. Williams increasing from just over 200,000 at the end of 2016 to match at Wellington Regional Stadium. and former Wallabies back James O’Connor were arrested last month outside a Paris nightclub. O’Connor was more than a million in April. , the competition’s top try-scorer with seven, fined for cocaine use by the Paris prosecutor’s office while Williams will face a hearing with the prosecutor for buy- At the start of the year most of the LA “likes” had has also been rested, allowing Cory Jane to make his first ing the equivalent of 2.4 grams of the drug. — AP come from the United States but since then fans from appearance this season while gets his first developing countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh start. “If you look at Julian and Vince, they’ve both started and Nepal have dramatically increased. all five matches so far, so its a chance for them to freshen Millman said there was a logical explanation to the up, but equally it gives Cory and Wes an opportunity,” Surfing and canoe bodies in sudden spike in “likes” from far off countries. “Facebook Hurricanes’ coach said. advertising is more efficient in countries where there is “At the end of the day we have faith in the depth in our less competition from other brands,” he said. squad, so whoever runs out there were confident they’ll do stand-up row over paddling the job. It’s a long season and you need to utilize your “Since the IOC’s international promotion period AARHUS: The rapidly growing popularity of stand up its organisation. “Up until last year there was no whole squad.” The Hurricanes will again be without All began on February 3, 2017, permitting bids to pro- paddleboarding (SUP) has led to an unlikely battle for interest from the ICF,” ISA President Fernando Blacks hooker , who has failed to recover from a mote internationally, our promotion has been directed control, with surfing and canoeing both claiming it as Aguerre told reporters yesterday. “The interest arose knee injury. Loose forward was not considered primarily internationally, including Facebook advertis- an off-shoot of their own sport against a backdrop of when we were to bring SUP to the (2018) Youth after he sustained a calf injury in their 34-15 win over the ing around the world.” Over the same period, Paris also possible Olympic inclusion. Olympics in Buenos Aires.” saw its fans grow threefold but 80 percent of its new Queensland Reds. The Hurricanes, last year’s winners, are looming again as one of the competition favourites and The International Surfing Association (ISA) has “We have a track record of doing this. At the ICF Facebook “likes” came from France, with many of the organised competitions for years in SUP, a sport where now there is an interest of how they can be part of the rest from francophone countries such as Algeria and have 20 points from five matches. The Waratahs have just eight points after six games athletes stand on a board and move forward using a popularity of the sport.” Tunisia. Reports of the spike in LA’s social media popu- long paddle. Surfing is one of five new sports to be included in larity came as Los Angeles and Paris lobbied interna- but have the benefit of playing in a poorly-performing Australian conference and remain in the playoff hunt, But the International Canoe Federation (ICF) says the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and Aguerre said the ISA tional sports leaders at the SportAccord convention in the use of the paddle automatically makes SUP, had unsuccessfully tried to include SUP in those Denmark.—AFP though they must start picking up points to stay in con- tention.—Reuters spreading quickly across the world’s beaches, part of Games as a surfing discipline.— Reuters