Mohun Bagan top bosses quit after Fed Cup exit
Kolkata: City football giants Mohun Bagan’s early exit from the Federation Cup after losing out to Salgaocar 1-4 prompted top officials of the club to resign from their posts. Club president Swapan Sadhan Bose, general secretary Anjan Mitra and finance secretary Debashis Dutta put in their papers soon after the game, a Mohun Bagan release said. The trio also quit as directors of United Mohun Bagan Football Team Private Ltd. The resignations are with immediate effect, the release said. Recently the club has been under a lot of turmoil following the arrest of Swapan Sadhan Bose’s son, Srinjoy Bose – Mohun Bagan assistant general secretary by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) for his alleged link-ups with the multi-crore Sarada scam. The club is also believed to be in financial crisis, with footballers not getting their regular payments. (IANS)
Griezmann double keeps Atletico on Real’s shoulders
Madrid: La Liga champions Atletico Madrid remained in the race to retain their title with a comfortable 3-1 win over Levante thanks to two goals from Antoine Griezmann. With Fernando Torres watching on from the stands before his move back to his boyhood club is concluded on Monday, Griezmann was under pressure to continue his fine form after scoring a hat-trick as Atletico closed 2014 with a 4-1 win away to Athletic Bilbao two weeks ago. And he duly obliged with two headed finishes from close range early in each half before Diego Godin nodded in Atletico’s third after Nabil El Zhar’s deflected effort had given Levante hope yesterday. Atletico are now level with Barcelona in second place and one point behind leaders Real Madrid, with the latter two sides in action against Real Sociedad and Valencia respectively on Sunday. Torres was the star attraction before kick-off as he took his seat in the directors’ box to much acclaim. (PTI)
South Korea beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Asian Cup warm-up match
Sydney: South Korea beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup warm-up friendly match here Sunday. Saudi Arabian defender Osama Hawsawi deflected a South Korean free kick into his own net in the 67th minute and South Korea’s debutant forward Lee Jeong-hyeop scored his first international goal in injury time to establish a 2-0 win at the Pirtek Stadium here. The 2015 Asian Cup, with 16 nations divided into four groups, will kick off Friday with a Group A match between the hosts Australia and Kuwait in Melbourne. South Korea, ranked 69th, is also in Group A and will open its tournament Saturday against Oman in Canberra. South Korea will face Kuwait Jan 13 and close out their group stage engagements against Australia in Brisbane Jan 17. Saudi Arabia, ranked 102nd, is in Group B with Uzbekistan, China and North Korea. South Korea and Saudi Arabia could clash again in the quarter-finals should both countries survive the group stage. (IANS)