Costa faces 3-match ban for stamping on Liverpool’s Can

LONDON, England (AFP) — Chelsea striker Diego Costa faces a three-game suspension after being charged with violent conduct for appearing to stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can, the Football Association announced yesterday.

Costa seemed to deliberately stand on Can’s ankle in the 12th minute of Tuesday’s League Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge, which Chelsea won 1-0 to complete a 2-1 aggregate victory.

The incident was missed by the match officials and reviewed by a video panel on Wednesday.

Costa will not face a charge over a similar incident involving Martin Skrtel that occurred later in the game.

“Diego Costa has been charged by the FA for violent conduct following an on-field incident which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video,” the FA said in a statement on its website.

“The charge is in relation to an incident involving the Chelsea forward and Liverpool’s Emre Can which occurred in the 12th minute of the Capital One Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge last night (Tuesday, January 27 2015).

“Following a review of an incident during the game involving Costa and Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel, the FA will not be taking any further action.”

Costa has until today to respond to the charge.

If found guilty, he will miss Chelsea’s home game with Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Saturday and subsequent fixtures with Aston Villa and Everton.

Qatar book historic Handball World Cup semi-final spot

DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar’s handball team created history yesterday when they qualified for their first ever world championships semi-final after beating Germany.

In a high quality, dramatic and bad-tempered match, with several controversial moments, the hosts were able to cling on to win 26-24 to make it to the last four.

The win sparked wild celebrations among players and crowd, which included the country’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani.

The result is proof that the tiny Gulf state’s sporting ambitions extend not only to hosting major tournaments but also gaining on-the-pitch success.

They may have achieved this by drafting in several foreign players — and fans — but for a nation that had previously never got any further than the last 16, progression to the semi-finals is still a notable achievement.

The victory also secured qualification for Qatar at the handball event at next year’s Rio Olympics.

Once again it was Qatar’s big game players — Zarko Markovic, Rafael Capote, Danijel Saric and Borja Vidal, all of them foreign-born – who dominated and helped the hosts into the last four.

Markovic is now the tournament’s top scorer with 55 goals. Goalkeeper Saric won the man-of-the match award.

With so much at stake, a tight start to the game was expected and that is exactly what occurred.

Qatar will now play Poland in the semi-final, who beat Croatia 24-22.

World champions Spain and tournament favourites France were scheduled to meet late yesterday. The Spanish take on Denmark — with both sides going into the game unbeaten — and France play Slovenia.

Bubka to challenge Coe for IAAF presidency

KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian pole vault legend Sergei Bubka will challenge Britain’s Sebastian Coe for the presidency of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), he confirmed yesterday.

The two men are the only candidates so for to succeed Lamine Diack, who is due to step down in August.

Bubka, 51, said: “I am seeking the IAAF presidency to give something back to the world of athletics which has given so many opportunities to me throughout my life.”

An IAAF council member since 2001 and vice-president since 2007, Bubka set 35 world pole vault records in a glittering career which brought him an Olympic gold in the colours of the Soviet Union in 1988 and six consecutive world championships from 1983 to 1997, three of them for Ukraine.

Former middle distance star Coe, who headed the London 2012 Olympic organising committee, threw his hat into the ring in November with a pledge to attract more young people to the sport and crack down on the scourge of doping.

Diack, 81, has been president since succeeding Primo Nebiolo in 1999 but will retire this year and the vote for his successor will take place at the IAAF Congress in Beijing.

Global football transfer market hits record high

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AFP) — The global football transfer market hit a record high in 2014, breaking the $4 billion (3.5 billion euros) barrier for the first time, a report published by FIFA yesterday revealed.

England, with its highly lucrative Premier League, provided the biggest investors and, despite their failure at the World Cup, Brazilian players were the most sought-after.

A total of 13,000 players moved clubs, but the combined total of $4.06 billion (3.57 billion euros) in transfer fees does not include the commission paid to players’ agents, which accounted for a further $236 million.

The total was 2.1 per cent up on the 2013 total of $3.98 billion and showed an average annual increase of 3.4 percent since 2011, according to the annual report, Global Transfer Market 2015, by FIFA TMS, which monitors all deals.

A staggering 87 per cent of all the money which changed hands was spent by European clubs and transfers between European clubs represented 78 per cent of the global total.

English clubs were the world’s biggest spenders, accounting for $1.17 billion in 2014, which represents more than a quarter of global spending, according to Mark Goddard, general manager of FIFA TMS.

Spanish clubs received the biggest slice of transfer fees, at $667 million, up from $584 million in 2013. English clubs came next, receiving $523 million, and Portugal third on $435 million.

Brazilian clubs were the most active in the market, recording 646 incoming transfers and 689 outgoing transfers.

For the first time, China broke into the top 10 investing countries, with clubs paying out more than $100 million.

The average age of players transferred during the year was 25 years and six months.

Brazilian players were the leading targets, accounting for 1,493 moves, worth $448 million, ahead of players from Argentina, with 801 transfers, England (596) and France (507).

Brazil’s central defender David Luiz cost Paris Saint-Germain 50 million euros from Chelsea, but it was a Frenchman, Eliaquim Mangala, who became the world’s costliest defender when he moved from Porto to Manchester City for 54 million euros.

McIlroy fully focused on second Dubai Classic title

DUBAI, UAE (AFP) — Rory McIlroy says he’d be focused completely on trying to win a second Dubai Desert Classic title, this week rather than thinking about his upcoming date in a Dublin court.

The world number one has fond memories of recording his first win as a professional in what is the oldest golf tournament in the Middle East, and, having finished second in his last three starts on the European Tour, McIlroy is hoping to go one better and add to his 2009 title in the desert.

Speaking to the media on the eve of the tournament, McIlroy said: “One win here at the Emirates, but seems every time I come here I have a chance and I play well. It’s a great way to start the season.”

On his legal battle with his former management company, which is expected to reach a conclusion in the next couple of weeks, McIlroy said he has consciously tried not to think about it.

“To be honest, I’ve been concentrating on my golf and practice and that stuff is much more important to me than what’s going to happen next week,” said the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland.

“After this tournament’s over, I’ll have to do my homework a little bit but at the same time, I’m fully focused on this event and golf and try and do the best I can this week.

“Of course I will be relieved when this is over. It’s not something that I would want anyone to go through. It’s a very sort of tedious and nasty process at times.”

McIlroy has been paired with former world number one Martin Kaymer and England’s Andy Sullivan for the first two rounds in Dubai.

Favourite Djokovic to face champ Wawrinka in semis

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Raging favourite Novak Djokovic will play defending champion Stan Wawrinka in a blockbuster semi-final at the Australian Open after dominant wins yesterday.

The Serb world number one bossed Canada’s eighth seed Milos Raonic in straight sets to storm into his fifth Australian semi.

Swiss fourth seed Wawrinka frittered five match points but still was an easy winner over Japanese superstar Kei Nishikori, taking it 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) in just over two hours.

Djokovic was in irrepressible form in dominating power-serving Raonic 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-2 in a similar time in the night match on Rod Laver Arena.

The winner will face either Britain’s Andy Murray or Czech Tomas Berdych in Sunday’s final.

Wawrinka upset Djokovic in last year’s quarter-finals on the way to winning the Australian Open for his first major title, but the world number one looks in formidable form going forward.

He was ruthless against Raonic, hitting 33 winners and just 17 unforced errors, with three service breaks and winning 89 per cent of his first serves.

It will be his 25th Grand Slam semi-final tomorrow.

Britain’s Andy Murray and Czech Tomas Berdych play in the other semi-final today.

England’s rugby coach rues team’s failure to deliver

LONDON, England (AFP) — England’s recent failure to win the Six Nations title “does burn inside us”, coach Stuart Lancaster admitted yesterday.

Lancaster’s squad has been beset by a rash of injuries, with fly-half Owen Farrell ruled out of the tournament completely on Tuesday due to knee ligament damage.

But Lancaster refused to use fitness concerns as an excuse for lowering his squad’s sights in a year when England will also host the World Cup.

Since they won the Six Nations title in 2003 — the same year they lifted the World Cup — England have been crowned kings of European rugby just once, in 2011, when Martin Johnson was in charge of the side.

Under Lancaster, England have endured the frustration of three runners-up finishes.

“We are frustrated that we haven’t nailed down that Championship win — it does burn inside us,” said Lancaster at the launch of the 2015 Six Nations in London.

England, however, have a tough start to the tournament away to World Cup pool opponents Wales in Cardiff on February 6.