Members of India’s 1956 Olympics soccer squad have accused the national federation of treating them like “beggars” and have decided to return checks received from the governing body, Indian media reported on Wednesday. Nine surviving members of the team that reached the semi-finals in Melbourne had suggested the federation started a pension scheme for former internationals. However, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) last month sent them checks for 25,000 rupees (US$525). “We are not beggars that the national federation would be doling out a pitiful grant 53 years after our achievement,” an angry Samar Banerjee, captain of the team, told reporters.
■SOCCER
Argentine kickoff on hold
The kickoff to the Argentine soccer season was put on hold indefinitely on Tuesday while the game’s national governing body sought a solution to clubs’ massive debts. “The executive committee of the AFA [Argentina Football Association] resolved unanimously tonight [Tuesday] that the championships in all categories should not start on the scheduled dates,” said a statement posted on the AFA Web site, www.afa.org.ar. It said the AFA needed to search for a proper and well-founded solution to the problem of clubs’ debts.
■SOCCER
Muslims fret over anthem
Bundesliga club Schalke has asked a scholar of Islam to look into complaints sent to the club by Muslims angered by what they see as the lampooning of the Prophet Mohammed in a verse in the club’s decades-old anthem. The verse — which also caused short-lived protests in 1997 — refers to the Prophet Mohammed, who it says knew nothing about soccer but picked the colors blue and white, the Schalke colors. The club has received hundreds of e-mails and letters of complaint and has contacted police and state security, club spokesman Thomas Spiegel told German media.
■RUGBY UNION
Mealamu ruptures muscle
The All Blacks suffered a further setback yesterday when hooker Keven Mealamu was ruled out for the rest of the year with a ruptured chest muscle. The 71-Test veteran was injured after he came on as a replacement in the Tri-Nations Test against the Springboks in Durban last weekend. In a disappointing week for the All Blacks in South Africa they lost both Tests, failed to win even a bonus point, and were toppled from their world No. 1 ranking. They have now suffered three losses from six outings this year and are only halfway through the season. The loss of Mealamu will put further pressure on the already depleted front row ranks with the Chiefs rake Aled de Malmanche likely to deputise for first-string hooker Andrew Hore. All Blacks doctor Deb Robinson said Mealamu had undergone a chest scan after returning from South Africa and it confirmed he had ruptured his pectoralis major tendon on the left side of his chest.
■FORMULA ONE
Brawn accused of speeding
The head of Formula One’s Brawn GP team could be banned from driving after being accused of breaking the speed limit on a public road. Police accuse Ross Brawn of driving his Mercedes on May 30 at 161kph on a road in southwest England where the limit is 70mph (113kph). The 54-year-old Brawn was due to appear in court on Tuesday, but the case was rescheduled for Sept. 4 because he is overseas ahead of his team’s races in Spain and Belgium.
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