■ENGLAND
Fabianski ruled out
Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was ruled out for three weeks on Thursday after sustaining a thigh injury in his first match of the season following knee surgery. The Poland international had made a solid comeback in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool as Arsenal advanced to the quarter-finals of the League Cup. “He will be out for three weeks,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “Of course it is [a] big disappointment because he has just come back from injury.” Wenger said he would decide after yesterday’s training sessions whether to start with Vito Mannone or Manuel Almunia in goal in today’s derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
■SPAIN
Betis players hit by swine flu
Thirteen players from Spanish outfit Real Betis have contracted the A(H1N1) flu virus, prompting the second division side’s medical staff to request on Thursday the postponement of tomorrow’s meeting with Villarreal B. “Almost the whole team is affected,” official Tomas Calero said. Calero said the medical staff were requesting that training be suspended for at least three days. Betis are the first Spanish side known to be afflicted by the swine flu virus, but concerns have increasingly been raised about its possible latent presence in other leagues in recent days. English Premiership side Blackburn Rovers have been affected by a bout of swine flu, with three players, as well as staff members, diagnosed. Nearby rivals Bolton Wanderers also revealed several of their players have contracted the illness.
■CHINA
Police out in force for game
Up to 6,000 police will be on duty for Beijing Guoan’s Chinese Super League (CSL) match today, where they could seal their first title, after fans rioted on Thursday after failing to get tickets for the game. Police detained 12 fans after dozens blocked roads, surrounded police cars and threw objects outside the Beijing Workers’ Stadium when they failed to get tickets to the match, the Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday. Beijing Guoan, who top the table on goal difference ahead of Henan Construction, need only a win today over second-bottom Hangzhou Greentown to win the title.
■POLAND
Loo patrols ahead of Euros
Patrols of two, wearing white overalls, are boldly entering toilets across Poland to check whether the country is loo-ready for the 2012 Euro soccer championships. Lots of toilets pass the test, they say, but others — particularly those that date back to the pre-1989 Communist days — are less enticing. The Toaleta2012.pl project, organized by a company manufacturing toilet equipment, aims to encourage ordinary Poles to join the patrols. The project is looking ahead to 2012 when thousands of fans will travel to Poland and Ukraine for the European Soccer Championships.
■ENGLAND
United appeal da Silva card
Manchester United have asked the Football Association to overturn the yellow card shown to Fabio da Silva against Barnsley because his twin brother should have been booked instead. Referee Chris Foy cautioned da Silva for a challenge on Barnsley’s Jamal Campbell-Ryce during the course of United’s 2-0 League Cup win at Oakwell on Tuesday when the offender was the Brazilian’s twin brother Rafael. United’s submission, delivered on Thursday, is due to be heard by a regulatory commission on Tuesday.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
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