Barcelona asks fans to respect Spanish national anthem
Barcelona: Barcelona vice-president Carles Vilarrubi said that his Spanish football club, as an ‘institution’, calls on everyone to “respect formal entities and anthems”, but added that at the same time, fans “cannot be punished” for their behaviour. Vilarrubi revealed that the Catalan club received a letter signed by the Spanish secretary of state for security, “urging” that “there should not be disorders that could affect the state symbols” in reference to the possibility that fans may hiss during the Spanish national anthem when Barcelona plays Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final at Camp Nou here on Saturday, reports Efe. Yet he posited that Barcelona is the hosting club, not the organiser of the match, pondering “how the club could be responsible for the behaviour of 37,000 people”. (IANS)
Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand retires from football
London: Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand retired from football after 18 years of playing the game at the top level, a statement from the player said on Saturday. “After 18 years as a professional footballer, I now feel it’s the right time for me to retire from the game that I love,” the statement said. Ferdinand’s decision came four weeks after his 34-year-old wife Rebecca died from cancer earlier this month. “As a 12-year-old boy, kicking around a football on the Friary Estate in Peckham, I never dreamt that I would play for my boyhood club West Ham, captain Leeds United, win the Champions League with Manchester United, or re-join my first manager Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers. “I will always regard the 81 times that I played for England, with immense pride. These are all treasured memories that will last a lifetime,” the statement on BT sport added. Reflecting on his days with Premier League giants Manchester United, Ferdinand said in the statement: “Winning trophies over my 13 years at Manchester United allowed me to achieve everything that I desired in football. From a young child to today, that was all I cared about.” He thanked his family and fans for the continuous support he has had over the span of his career. (IANS)
Shooter Gurpreet finishes fourth, misses Olympic quota
Munich: Armyman Gurpreet Singh on Saturday missed sealing India’s fifth 2016 Rio Olympics quota place by the narrowest of margins when he finished fourth in the Men’s 25-metre Rapid Fire Pistol event at the World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) here. At one stage of the final, the 28-year-old Gurpreet looked set to take the silver before being relegated to fourth post a three-way tie and a shoot-off in the second stage of the final. American Keith Sanderson and Alexi Klimov of Russia finished in silver and bronze medal positions, denying Gurpreet. There were two quota places up for grabs in the event. German gold medal winner Christian Reitz had already sealed his quota earlier and therefore was not eligible here. That meant Gurpreet had to finish among the top-3 to bag the quota. Earlier, Gurpreet had shot 581 in the qualification round to enter the final as the fourth best shooter, ahead of Sanderson, who qualified in sixth position. (IANS)
Andrea Iannone takes pole for Italian MotoGP
LUCO DI MUGELLO (Italy): Italian rider Andrea Iannone will start from pole position for the first time in his MotoGP career when he lines up for the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. The 25-year-old Ducati rider — who rode with a dislocated shoulder in the previous race in France a fortnight ago — posted the fastest time in qualifying at Mugello on Saturday to record his ninth career pole spot in all categories. Spain’s two-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo — bidding for a third successive win this season — will start second on the grid and Iannone’s team-mate and compatriot Andrea Dovizioso third. Another Italian, legend Valentino Rossi leads the overall standings after five races — he will start in eighth spot. Lorenzo — who has eaten into team-mate Rossi’s lead in the championship with his victories in Spain and then France — had set the track alight in the morning practice session. The 28-year-old Spaniard broke the track record for one lap with a scorching effort of 1min 46.617sec, bettering the previous mark set in 2013 by Honda’s Dani Pedrosa by more than half a second. (AFP)
Emirates sponsor FA Cup for the next three years
LONDON: Dubai’s Emirates airline will sponsor the FA Cup for the next three years until 2018, the English Football Association announced on Saturday. The FA had been looking for a new sponsor for football’s oldest knockout competition after Budweiser’s three-year deal came to an end last year. The FA, which will rebrand the competition as The Emirates FA Cup, did not release any financial details. However, British media estimated the deal was worth a total of at least 30 million pounds (45.87 million dollar). “Emirates’ commitment to our sport is evident and securing such an iconic and forward-thinking lead partner for The FA Cup is great news for us, the fans and for the whole game,” FA chairman Greg Dyke said in a statement. “The partnership will help take the tournament to new audiences, inspire interest in football from across the globe and allow us to continue our investment into the game at all levels.” Arsenal face Aston Villa in the final at Wembley later on Saturday aiming to lift the trophy for a record 12th time. (Reuters)
Bond describes Indian heat as ‘oven’
Christchurch: Former New Zealand fast bowler and bowling coach of Mumbai Indians Shane Bond says he feels nice to be back in his country amidst favourable weather after spending a lot of time in the sweltering heat in India during the Indian Premier League (IPL). “In Kolkata it was like 42-43 degrees leading in the days into the final and 90 per cent humidity, so it was like an oven and then you return home to a frost. It is nice to have a sweatshirt on because I haven’t had one on for two months,” Bond was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz on Saturday. Bond said he has not got anything to do for the next few months until September when he will return to coach Mumbai. (IANS)
