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IOC chief urges total review of world anti-doping system
Olympics chief Thomas Bach called for a complete overhaul of the global anti-doping system on Tuesday (Aug 2) after revelations of state-backed cheating by Russia rocked preparations for the Rio Games.
In a surprise broadside, Bach said the uncovering of widespread Russian doping had shown up deficiencies in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“Recent developments have shown that we need a full review of the WADA anti-doping system,” Bach told an International Olympic Committee (IOC) session, three days before the Rio Games open on Friday.
“The IOC is calling for a more robust and efficient anti-doping system,” he added. “This requires clear responsibilities, more transparency, more independence and better worldwide harmonisation.”
Bach’s condemnation of WADA escalates a feud between the Olympics and anti-doping bodies which broke out in the runup to Rio.
WADA led calls for Russia to be kicked out of the Rio Olympics after it published a report which found the sports ministry and secret services duped drug testers by switching samples at laboratories.
But the IOC stopped short of a total Russian ban and instead delegated individual sports to take action against athletes from the country, drawing accusations it was passing the buck.
‘NUCLEAR OPTION’
However, Bach blasted the prospect of an outright Russian ban in graphic terms. “Let us just for a moment consider the consequences of a ‘nuclear option’. The result is death and devastation. This is not what the Olympic movement stands for.”
He added: “We want to keep the cheaters away from the Olympic Games. There is no place to hide for cheats and dopers can never feel safe anywhere.”
Several IOC members also criticised WADA during Tuesday’s talks, before the body voted 84-1 to implement last month’s executive board decision not to exclude Russia.
WADA president Craig Reedie largely took the comments in his stride but he insisted the anti-doping body wasn’t in as bad a shape as some delegates had suggested.
“I heard a view this morning that the system is broken,” Reedie told the IOC delegates. “I would like to say that all of it is not broken, part of it is broken and we should start identifying those parts that need attention.”
Russia’s athletics team has already been barred in a separate doping scandal, and at least 117 of Russia’s original Olympic contingent of 387 have also been excluded over drugs concerns.
Many have taken their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, including 17 rowers and the Russian weightlifting federation, with the country’s eventual contingent still unclear.
Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov blasted “discrimination” against athletes who have been banned as a result of the McLaren report, despite not failing drugs tests.
“To those who crave collective disqualification for Russia, taking into account ruined fates and broke lives of innocent athletes, I fully agree with the position of president Bach that each individual must have at least the opportunity to prove their innocence,” he said.
Argentina’s Gerardo Werthein also hit out at WADA’s “failure to investigate serious and credible allegations more swiftly” as IOC members rounded on the anti-doping body.
“It saddens me to say this, but at times WADA has seemed to be more interested in publicity and self-promotion rather than doing its job as a regulator,” Werthein said.
Reedie later said he was “personally offended” by Werthein’s comments and revealed that he confronted the Argentine during a break in the meeting. “He assured me he wasn’t speaking about me and he maybe overstated his case. We remain friends,” said the Scot.
Man City sign Sane from Schalke
German winger Leroy Sane has agreed to a five-year deal to join Manchester City from Bundesliga side Schalke 04, the Premier League club said on Tuesday (Aug 2).
No financial details of the contract were disclosed but British media reported that City had paid 37 million pounds ($48.96 million) for the 20-year-old, who is the club’s fifth signing of the close season.
Sane scored eight goals and made six assists for Schalke last season as the club finished fifth in the standings.
“I feel really good, I’m happy to be here and happy that it has all worked out. Now I can settle here in Manchester and play for City,” Sane told the club’s website. (www.mancity.com)
Manager Pep Guardiola, who spent the last three seasons at German champions Bayern Munich before taking over at Manchester City in July, says Sane is a welcome addition to the squad.
“He is a special talent, and an exciting player that I think our supporters will enjoy watching. He has great technical ability, is comfortable on the ball and there is much to admire about the way he plays football,” Guardiola said.
“He is fast, enjoys creating chances for others, works hard for the team and scores goals, too. He also has a very positive attitude and will fit in well with our squad.”
Sane was also part of Joachim Loew’s Germany team for the 2016 European Championship, where he made a late substitute appearance in their 2-0 semi-final defeat to France last month.
City kick off their 2016-17 campaign against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on Aug. 13.
($1 = 0.7557 pounds) (Reporting by Ian Rodricks in Bengaluru; Editing by John O’Brien).
Source AFP / Reuters
Vietnam’s women enter finals of SE Asian football tournament
Vietnam’s female football team have earned themselves a ticket to the finals of the ongoing Southeast Asian women’s championship following a close win over Myanmar.
The Vietnamese women pulled off a 5-4 victory over the Myanmarese hosts during a penalty shoot-out after a 3-3 draw in the semifinal of the 2016 AFF Women’s Championship on Tuesday night.
Scheduled for July 26-August 4 in Mandalay, Myanmar, the tournament is joined by eight teams from Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Australia U-20s, and Vietnam.
The Vietnamese players gave an excellent performance in the first 45 minutes of the game, despite being under pressure from some 30,000 fans cheering for the hosts at Mandalarthiri Stadium.
Vietnam played an attacking game that threatened the Myanmarese goal on multiple occasions.
Good work between midfielder Tuyet Dung and striker Huynh Nhu helped Vietnam score their first goal in the 15th minute before the midfielder scored another two minutes later.
The score could have been 3-0 for Vietnam if Dung had not failed to hit the target with a header in the 26th minute.
Pressure appeared to affect the Vietnamese women in the second half however, resulting in Win Theingi Tun narrowing the margin to one goal for Myanmar with her own headed goal in the 59th minute.
The Myanmarese women then managed to equalize following a mistake by Vietnamese goalie Kieu Trinh.
In injury time, Myanmar went 3-2 ahead thanks to a successful penalty granted when the ball touched a Vietnamese defender’s hand inside the penalty area.
All but over, a minor miracle seemed to unfold for Vietnam three minutes later when Nhu was knocked down inside the box, resulting in her teammate converting the equalizing third goal from the penalty spot.
A long interval followed before the whistle blew for extra time as Myanmarese fans threw objects onto the field in protest.
Following a goalless extra time, a penalty shoot-out was required to separate the teams, with Vietnam taking out the dramatic match 5-4 on penalties.
Coach Mai Duc Chung’s team are set to face Thailand in the competition’s final on Thursday night.
Source TTN
Hai Phong drop to 2nd in V-League after loss to Quang Ninh
Hai Phong lost 1-3 to Quang Ninh Sunday and dropped to 2nd place for the first time after 18 rounds as Da Nang took over the lead in Vietnam’s topflight V-League.
It ended an impressive run by the team from the northern port city that had gone eight matches undefeated and notched an early first leg championship title in June.
Host Quang Ninh, who were toying with the idea of delaying the match due to fears of flooding by Typhoon Mirinae, scored a precious win to narrow the gap with the leaders by three points.
In the 27th minute Nghiem Xuan Tu scored the first goal for Quang Ninh before Russian striker Sergei Dyachenko make it 2-0 early in the second half.
Hai Phong played with 10 men from the 68th minute after Jamaican striker Errol Stevens got a second yellow card.
Two more goals were scored in the second time, one by Hai Phong’s Le Van Thang and the other by Quang Ninh’s Bui Van Hieu.
After the match Hai Phong fans gathered outside the stadium and set off fireworks to condemn referee Vo Minh Tri’s decision to send Stevens off.
The 18th round was also marked by referee Phung Dinh Dung’s wrong decision in the match between Khanh Hoa and Quang Nam.
The FIFA-approved referee later admitted he was wrong to disallow a goal by Khanh Hoa’s Nigerian striker Iheroume Uche in the dying minutes.
Dung said he made the decision since Khanh Hoa did not play fair. Two Quang Nam players were injured and a teammate kicked the ball out of play. But, as is common, Khanh Hoa did not throw in the ball to Quang Nam and began an attack instead.
Nguyen Van Mui, head of the national soccer referees board, said Dung should have allowed the goal. The board is considering measures against him, he added.
Trúc Phương
HCM City jump to V.League
HCM City FC were promoted to the V.League next season following their 0-0 draw in the 15th round of the First Division match on Saturday in Hà Nội.
HCM City scored 36 points to ensure a berth in the national premier tournament, although there are three rounds remaining.
“It is due to our great effort during this hard season, although we cannot deny that we sometimes had luck,” said coach Lư Đình Tuấn.
“V.League is a much more difficult tournament, as all we have known. We need more support from the city’s fans to help us overcome challenges,” noted Tuấn.
In the next round, HCM City will host Đồng Nai at home on August 6.
Source VNS
Việt Nam beat Thailand to top Group A at regional champs
Việt Nam defeated their arch-rival Thailand 2-0 in the final Group A round match of the Southeast Asian Women’s Football Championship on Saturday in Myanmar.
Since both teams had earlier qualified for the semi-finals, they played without their best athletes.
Việt Nam saved six key players, including goalkeeper Đặng Thị Kiều Trinh, striker Nguyễn Thị Minh Nguyệt and midfielder Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Dung. The Thais, meanwhile, played without four regular players, including strikers Thanatta Chawong and Tneekarn Dangda, who are playing in Europe.
Việt Nam and their rivals took on a cautious approach, particularly in the first half. The urgency seen in earlier matches was missing, as the teams took their time moving forward in their attacks.
The slower pace was understandable, considering that both teams had already qualified and were saving themselves for the crucial semis battle.
Both sides had a fair share of attempts in the first half. Huỳnh Như and Phạm Hải Yến had whiffs at goal, but nothing really threatening.
Thai strikers Kanjana Sung-Ngoen and Rattikan Thongsombut had their chances, too, but failed to convert them.
The pace, however, picked up after the break, and this significantly improved the quality of the game. As the game progressed, Việt Nam pushed forward and began to get some of their shots into the net.
Nguyễn Thị Nguyệt had at least two close calls. Her team’s persistence finally paid off in the 85th minute as Như pulled right and slammed Việt Nam ahead.
In the final seconds, Nguyệt managed to sneak in a second goal.
In the earlier match, the Philippines scored once in each half against Singapore, to wrest their first win here.
For the record, Việt Nam, which scored 20 goals and conceded nothing, topped Group A with a maximum nine points in three matches.
Defending champions Thailand finished second with six points, while the Philippines and Singapore placed third and fourth, respectively.
Việt Nam will play hosts Myanmar in the semi-finals while Thailand will face Australian U20 squad.
Players have the day off today, before returning to action tomorrow.
Source VNS
PSG sink Leicester in clash of Anglo-French champions
French title winners Paris Saint-Germain brought English champions Leicester City down to earth with a comfortable 4-0 win in the exhibition International Champions Cup in Los Angeles on Saturday (Jul 30).
A sell-out 25,667 crowd at the StubHub Centre was treated to passages of sumptuous midfield interplay as PSG gave the naive Foxes a taste of what to expect at Europe’s top table as they head into their first Champions League campaign.
PSG attacked relentlessly, playing neat triangles in midfield and looking to play mercurial Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani in through the channels while Javier Pastore whipped in dangerous crosses from the left.
The threat was largely cancelled out early on by captain Wes Morgan and his center back partner Robert Huth, with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel having little to do.
But PSG got the breakthrough in the 26th minute when Daniel Amartey clumsily brought down Jonathan Ikone in the area and Cavani sent Schmeichel the wrong way from the spot.
Leicester clawed their way back into the play with several promising attacks, including a stinging free kick from Algerian star midfielder Riyad Mahrez which PSG keeper Alphonse Areola just kept out.
But “les Rouge et Bleu” doubled their lead seconds before half-time when Thomas Meunier, who scored twice in the last ICC fixture against Real Madrid in Ohio, surged into Leicester’s box on the counter.
The 24-year-old Belgian international, who moved in the close season from FC Bruges, played a neat assist to Ikone, who slotted the ball in off the bar and beyond Schmeichel.
Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri and his opposite number Unai Emery made 17 substitutions between them, largely taking the tempo and purpose out of the second half.
It was over as a contest just after the hour when Maxwell sent in a cross from the left, which Lucas Moura was able to nod in after peeling away at the far post.
CLINICAL
Substitute striker Odsonne Edouard rounded off the rout moments before the final whistle when he found himself one on one with Schmeichel, and slotted the ball clinically into the back of the net.
Emery took over Qatar-backed PSG last month from Laurent Blanc, who won the domestic treble twice in a row but failed to make substantial progress in Europe.
He has since spent big on Poland international midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak, French flare player Hatem Ben Arfa, and Belgium’s right back Thomas Meunier.
Emery indicated earlier on Saturday that a swoop for 23-year-old Real Madrid forward Jese Rodriguez was “a possibility” before the end of the transfer window.
Asked if he was looking to bolster the squad further, the Spaniard said he was “very happy with the team – with the experienced players but also the young players.” “To be able to perform, to have a good season, we do have a big team capable of doing that,” he added.
He didn’t mention Jese by name, but said that “other players could join in attack perhaps – that is a possibility.”
Ranieri said that although the result didn’t go Leicester’s way, the team had gained valuable experience ahead of its first European campaign, although the priority was the Premier League.
“The focus is to be safe and then, if it’s possible, to get experience. It’s the first time in Leicester City Football Club’s life that it is in the Champions League,” he said. “It’s amazing. With a lot of respect, we will try to do our best.”
Source AFP
What a penalty! | Jeff Panenkas Ospina in training
HCM City jump to V.League
HCM City FC were promoted to the V.League next season following their 0-0 draw in the 15th round of the First Division match on Saturday in Hà Nội.
H
HCM City scored 36 points to ensure a berth in the national premier tournament, although there are three rounds remaining.
“It is due to our great effort during this hard season, although we cannot deny that we sometimes had luck,” said coach Lư Đình Tuấn.
“V.League is a much more difficult tournament, as all we have known. We need more support from the city’s fans to help us overcome challenges,” noted Tuấn.
In the next round, HCM City will host Đồng Nai at home on August 6.
