Kuwait bags gold, Kohli: India bronze at World wants to be Bodybuilding ‘ruthless’ in championship final test

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 201515 17 Sixers beat Lakers to end losing skid Page 18

MANCHESTER: Manchester City’s David Silva, right, fights for the ball against Hull City’s Isaak Hayden during the English League Cup soccer match between Manchester City and Hull City at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Tuesday. — AP Man City, Stoke, Everton in Cup semis

LONDON: The plucky underdogs were Hull, who grabbed a late consolation That should have signalled the opening stage. We were very solid and we didn’t involved in the cup,” Everton manager brought down to earth as Manchester City, from Andrew Robertson, had knocked out of the floodgates, but Hull stubbornly fend- allow chances for Hull to score.” Roberto Martinez told Sky Sports. “It is a ter- Everton and Stoke City reached the League surprise Premier League contenders ed off the Premier League leaders and their Middlesbrough, who knocked out rific feeling to get through to the semi-final Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, ending the Leicester City in their last League Cup out- rearguard were not breached again until the Manchester United in the fourth round, saw and good memory for our football club.” hopes of second-tier sides who felled fan- ing and City boss Manuel Pellegrini was not 80th minute. their luck run out against Everton while Yesterday made the biggest splash in the cied opponents in the last round. going to take them lightly. Raheem Sterling whipped a cross in from Stoke was the end of the road for Arsenal’s previous round, crushing visitors Arsenal 3- Manchester City were far short of their The City side included a number of fresh the left and Iheanacho tapped in from close conquerors Wednesday. 0, but any hope of a repeat at the Britannia finely-tuned best at home to Hull City, but faces from their league victory over range to give City breathing space before Everton went in front at the Riverside Stadium looked faint when Ibrahim Afellay still managed a comprehensive 4-1 victory Southampton on Saturday, but was still De Bruyne grabbed a poacher’s goal and with a superb piece of individual skill from volleyed into the corner on the half-hour for while Everton won 2-0 at Middlesbrough packed full of talent, including playmaker wrapped up the tie with a curling free kick Gerard Deulofeu after 20 minutes. The his first Stoke goal. and Stoke beat visitors Sheffield Wednesday David Silva who was making his first start in from the edge of the box. Spaniard ran from inside the The tie was wrapped up with 15 minutes by the same scoreline. almost two months following injury. “We only had 72 hours to recover (from Middlesbrough half before beating two to play when Phil Bardsley smashed home a Wilfried Bony’s 12th-minute goal calmed the 3-1 win over Southampton) so it was a defenders and finishing low from the edge low free kick with Stoke reaching their first City’s nerves at the Etihad Stadium, but POACHER’S GOAL very good answer from all the squad,” said of the area. League Cup semi-final since they won the resilient Hull defending ensured it stayed Things looked bleak for the City boss Pellegrini, whose side are also He then set up striker Romelu Lukaku trophy in 1972. close before late efforts from Kelechi Championship side when Bony broke the through to the last 16 of the Champions eight minutes later with a delightful cross Record eight-times League Cup winners Iheanacho and a Kevin De Bruyne double deadlock with only minutes on the clock as League. from the right that the leaping Belgian pow- Liverpool visit Southampton on Wednesday put a more presentable gloss on the score- De Bruyne’s effort struck the post and the “The most important thing is to be erhouse headed superbly into the net. in an all-Premier League clash to decide the line. Ivorian followed up to finish. involved in all the competitions at this “It was a fantastic occasion, to be last place in the semi-finals. — Reuters

Neville named FIFA discusses reforms Valencia coach amid new sponsor attacks MADRID: England assistant coach and Manchester FIFA’s leadership held talks on reforms yester- Seven officials were detained at a FIFA congress in United legend has been named Valencia ZURICH: day as sponsors who provide hundreds of millions of Zurich in May. boss for the rest of the season, the Spanish side dollars demanded independent leadership of changes Sponsors are not the only group to express concern announced yesterday. “Valencia have reached an agree- to football’s scandal-tainted governing body. over the reform measures being undertaken by FIFA. ment with English coach Gary Neville for him to be The FIFA executive committee-with president Sepp “We urge you to embrace positive changes and also coach of the first team until June 30, 2016,” the club said Blatter and vice president Michel Platini both suspend- recognize that this is just one step toward creating a in a statement. ed-is holding two days of talks to discuss reforms pro- credible future for FIFA,” the sponsors said in a letter to “Neville will officially begin his work on Sunday, posed by top sporting official Francois Carrard who was the world body. December 6 ahead of the Champions League match named by the world body. “Transparency, accountability, respect for human against Lyon which will take place at Mestalla on But top sponsors Anheuser-Busch, Adidas, Coca- rights, integrity, leadership and gender equality are Wednesday, December 9.” Neville’s brother Phil has Cola, McDonald’s and Visa said reforms should be “sub- crucial to the future of FIFA. Reforms can set the proper been at the club since the start of the season, working ject to independent oversight”. The multi-nationals are framework for these characteristics, but a cultural as an assistant to Nuno Espirito Santo before he left the reportedly angry that they have not been given places change is also needed.” club after a poor run of results on Sunday. on FIFA’s reform committee. They have in the past A FIFA spokesman said in response that sponsors Gary Neville “I am very excited and feel very proud to have threatened to review their football deals. had already played “an important part” in the FIFA received this great opportunity with Valencia,” Neville However, he has been just as successful as a widely In October, Carrard’s panel proposed limiting presi- reform committee and that they would “continue to told the club’s website. “It is a huge club of immense respected television pundit for Sky Sports since retiring dent terms at 12 years and barring those over 74 from play an important role in the reform process.” prestige and I remember well from my time as a player in 2011. Both Nevilles are well known to Valencia’s serving on the executive. It also suggested the pay Other groups also doubt the Carrard panel, domi- the great passion and loyalty of their fans. “I am really Singaporean owner Peter Lim due to their shared package of top officials be published annually and nated by officials nominated by regional confedera- looking forward to working with the club’s talented investment in non-league English side Salford City independently audited. tions, will be able to press through convincing reforms. “What is actually needed is an independent set of exec- group of players and I am excited about the challenge along with other Manchester United legends Ryan utives that have no ties in world football, walking in ahead.” Neville will be presented at a press conference REFORM DOUBTS Giggs, and . “We are delighted The executive committee will decide whether to and cleaning this place up,” said Declan Hill, author of at 4pm local time today. to have secured Gary so quickly,” said Valencia chair- send the reform package for adoption at a special FIFA “The Fix: soccer and organised crime”. The role is Neville’s first managerial post, but he will woman Layhoon Chan in the club statement. “He com- congress on February 26, when Blatter’s replacement The Transparency International activist group’s chief continue as part of England manager Roy Hodgson’s bines top level coaching experience through his role as will be chosen. Cobus de Swardt predicted Carrard’s committee “will coaching staff ahead of next year’s European a senior coach with the England national team and a The meeting is being held on the fifth anniversary of likely avoid taking some hard decision about changing Championships. world-class playing career with England and the 2010 vote that controversially awarded the 2018 the way FIFA does business”, because doing so could “I’m delighted that Gary has decided to take this Manchester United.” World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. affect the committee members themselves. excellent opportunity. It’s the right moment in time for Valencia sit ninth in , five points off the top That decision set off a cascade of allegations of corrup- Meanwhile, Jack Warner, a central figure in FIFA cor- him and I’m 100 per cent behind his decision to join four, after a hugely disappointing start to the campaign. tion and political skullduggery. ruption accusations, faces a hearing in Trinidad and Valencia as the new head coach,” Hodgson told the Neville will be spared a debut against European cham- Swiss authorities are investigating the 2010 votes Tobago on whether he will be extradited to the United Football Association’s website. pions Barcelona at the Mestalla on Saturday with care- and have also charged Blatter with criminal misman- States to face bribery charges. “As far as I’m concerned, this will be an extra string to taker boss to take charge with . agement at FIFA. Platini is named in the investigation Warner, a businessman, politician and former king- his bow and the experience he will gain working in the However, the 40-year-old’s first game in the hot seat over a two million dollar payment made for FIFA advi- pin in Caribbean football and in the American confed- Spanish league can only be beneficial to our work against Lyon is a huge one for the club with victory sory work for which there was no contract. eration, is accused of taking millions of dollars in together with the England team.” Neville won 20 tro- allied to Gent failing to beat Zenit St Petersburg enough In parallel, US authorities have charged 14 FIFA offi- underhand payments from various sources. A former phies in a 19-year playing career at United as well as to send Valencia into the last 16 of the Champions cials and sports business executives over more than FIFA vice president, he was banned for life by the world winning 85 England caps. League for the first time in three years. — AFP $150 million in bribes paid for marketing contracts. body in September. — AFP