ITALY
Ten-man Lazio grab a point
Depleted SS Lazio moved up to third place in Serie A to sit six points off leaders Juventus after earning a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw away to Hellas Verona on Thursday. Senad Lulic got the visitors off the mark three minutes before halftime, but Verona were handed a lifeline when defender Luis Cavanda saw red for a second bookable offense after fouling Juanito Gomez in the penalty area. Veteran Verona striker Luca Toni stepped up to beat Federico Marchetti from the penalty spot and level in the 69th minute, but Verona then failed to capitalize on their man advantage. It was Lazio’s first draw of the season, but, following a run of four consecutive wins for Stefano Pioli’s men, it was enough to move them up to third just ahead of AC Milan on goal-difference.
WALES
Fernandez’s red rescinded
Swansea City defender Federico Fernandez had his ban for a red card against Liverpool rescinded on Thursday after a successful appeal by the English Premier League club. Fernandez was sent off by referee Keith Stroud for a tackle on Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho during stoppage-time in the midweek 2-1 League Cup defeat at Anfield. The tackle was deemed as serious foul play and the Argentine centerback faced a three-match ban, starting with today’s Premier League trip to Everton. However, Swansea appealed against the decision with a written statement and video evidence, and a Football Association appeals panel has now overturned the red card. “It clearly wasn’t a sending off,” said Swansea manager Garry Monk, who was due to meet Mike Riley, the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, yesterday to discuss decisions which he says have consistently gone against his side this season.
SCOTLAND
Tonev gets seven-game ban
Celtic’s Bulgarian international winger Aleksandar Tonev was banned for seven matches by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) on Thursday for racially abusing Aberdeen defender Shay Logan in a match in September. There was no immediate reaction from Aberdeen, but a Celtic spokesperson was quoted on their Web site as saying Tonev would appeal the ban. The SFA said on their Web site that the punishment was imposed by the disciplinary tribunal, which established that the complaint against Tonev on Sept. 13 was proven. It ruled that Tonev had broken Disciplinary Rule 202 and was guilty of “excessive misconduct by the use of offensive, insulting and abusive language of a racist nature.” Tonev, 24, moved to Celtic on loan from Aston Villa in August and has played eight times in all competitions for the Scottish champions.
INDONESIA
PSS and PSIS disqualified
PSS Sleman and PSIS Semarang could be relegated from the Indonesia Super League’s premier division after scoring five own-goals in a match to decide their opponents in the playoffs, the nation’s soccer association said. Disciplinary committee chairman Hinca Pandjaitan said the teams had been disqualified from the competition and that they could expect even tougher sanctions if evidence of match-fixing was uncovered. The clubs met in their final Group 1 match on Sunday with the winners set to play Group 2 runners-up Pusamania Borneo in the semi-finals. The newspaper reported that PSS scored the first own-goal in the 78th minute, then another shortly after to give their opponents a 2-0 lead. However, PSSI then scored three own-goals of their own, to leave PSS with a 3-2 win.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Stade Rennais, four days after firing coach Habib Beye, stunned Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Friday, snapping the defending champions’ seven-match winning run in French Ligue 1. Second-placed RC Lens could leapfrog the champions and retake top spot last night after press time if they beat Paris FC in the capital. PSG started brightly, with Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue carving openings to no avail. Rennes fired Beye on Monday and promoted his assistant Sebastien Tambouret, and the same players who had lost four games on the bounce seemed transformed. Jordanian forward Mousa al-Tamari bagged the opener, unleashing a fierce strike
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Manchester City FC halved Arsenal FC’s lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home defeat of Fulham FC, and Aston Villa FC stayed in the frame with a late 1-0 victory at home to Brighton and Hove Albion FC on Wednesday. Nottingham Forest FC squandered a chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom three as they drew 0-0 at home to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Second-from-bottom Burnley FC pulled off a remarkable 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace FC to boost their slender survival hopes. City have little margin for error in their pursuit
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