China jails football referees in graft scandal

A Chinese court on Thursday jailed four referees and an official for their roles in a corruption scandal that brought the country's football league to its knees, the state Xinhua news agency said.

Lu Jun (R) at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. A Chinese court on Thursday jailed four referees, including Lu, and an official for their roles in a corruption scandal that brought the country's football league to its knees, the state Xinhua news agency said.

The four defendants, among them Lu Jun, who officiated at the 2000 Olympic Games and the 2002 World Cup, were the first to be sentenced over the match-fixing and gambling scandal since it was exposed two years ago.

Lu's crimes were linked to domestic league matches, state media has reported.

Gambling, match-fixing, crooked referees and poor performances by the national team have made the sport the laughing stock of increasingly indifferent Chinese fans, and a matter of state concern.

The scandal brought down top Chinese Football Association (CFA) heads Nan Yong and his successor Xie Yalong and several vice heads, including Yang Yimun, who will be sentenced on Saturday.

The court in northeast China's Liaoning province sentenced Lu, China's best-known referee and once dubbed "golden whistle", to five and a half years in jail and confiscated property valued at 100,000 yuan (about $16,000), Xinhua said.

Former referees Huang Junjie, Wan Daxue and Zhou Weixin were jailed for seven years, six years and three and a half years respectively.

The court also sentenced the former head of the China Superleague's commercial arm Lu Feng to six years and a half years in prison. The cases of Nan and Xie have yet to go to trial.

According to state media, CFA officials routinely fixed matches, including national team and league games, by allegedly buying off the teams and referees involved.

Calls to the Dongdong court and to lawyers went unanswered Thursday.

According to state media, up to 24 league and club officials will be sentenced by a court in Liaoning on Saturday.

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Sundowns hope for continued dedication

After a lengthy recess, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Johan Neeskens wants last year's dedication from his charges as they resume the 2011/12 league campaign against AmaZulu in Durban on Wednesday.

"If it was up to me I would have preferred that we didn't take the break because of how the team was playing," Neeskens said.

"The friendly matches we've played won't count because we are now starting from scratch – but so does everyone, so it's not just us.

"We have to continue from where we left off last year by getting a good start. This is important."

Sundowns top the standings with 31 points after 15 matches, and have targeted a winning start over Usuthu to lay the foundation to their ambitions of a Premiership podium finish in May.

"I know AmaZulu and how they play," said Neeskens.

"Especially playing them at their home, they won't make it easy for us.

"They will also be aiming to please their supporters in the first match of the year."

Neeskens had brought out the best in midfielder Teko Modise, who fitted in to the side's flowing game and was magnificent in helping the club top the table in December.

"I knew he was a special player when I saw him at the start of the season and I showed him mutual respect," Neeskens said.

"But it's not just Teko – respect is the same with all the players in the squad.

"It's important to remind players of their abilities and give them the confidence."

Also on display will be SA Under-23 midfield gem Themba Zwane and the league's leading scorer, striker Katlego Mphela.

Second-placed Pretoria neighbours SuperSport United have a crunch home fixture against plucky Free State Stars in Atteridgeville.

United are three points adrift of Sundowns, having endured a slump two months ago, and have now lost a key player in forward Anthony Laffor, who moved to Sundowns in the transfer window.

Stars have been a well-oiled machine under Steve Komphela this season and will look to improve their current sixth place on the log.

Third in the standings with 28 points are Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs, who travel to Port Elizabeth to meet Jomo Cosmos without injured midfielders Siphiwe Tshabalala and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.

New captain Itumeleng Khune will lead the side for the first time, having recovered from assorted ailments.

Cosmos, on the other hand, are desperate for points in an effort to lift themselves from the bottom of the table where they have just nine points at the halfway stage.

While coach Jomo Sono's outfit showed patches of good football last year, they were poor in front of goal, with their defence prone to conceding unforced errors and goals.

Defending league champions Orlando Pirates have had a mixed season, with erratic form, despite lifting both the cup trophies.

They take on struggling Black Leopards at Orlando Stadium, aiming to close the gap at the top of the standings.

They are fifth on 24 points, with a quality squad but many championship distractions, like the Caf Champions League competition starting this weekend.

The selection policy, player management and strategic approach of their Brazilian coach, Julio Leal, will be crucial in the next three months in their title defence.

"To be in contention for the league we have to push ourselves harder than the rest because we will be playing the most games," Leal said.

"The strategy in any game, whether it's the Champions League or PSL, is that we want to field the best possible team."

In other games on Wednesday, fourth-placed Moroka Swallows host Santos in Dobsonville, while Bloemfontein Celtic tackle Golden Arrows at Seisa Ramabodu Stadium.

In Cape Town, Ajax Cape Town take on Platinum Stars, with Bidvest Wits facing Maritzburg United in Johannesburg.

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Carew should leave West Ham - Olsen

Norway coach Egil Olsen has said experienced striker John Carew should switch clubs if he is to win back his place in the national side.

Olsen's comments about the striker, currently with West Ham United in England's championship, came in a statement as he named his squad to meet Northern Ireland in a friendly in Belfast on February 29.

"Carew has played very little over the past year and it seems that he probably needs to change club again if he wants to get back in the national team," Olsen said on Tuesday.

Capped 91 times and with 24 goals for his country, Carew has represented clubs in Norway, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey and England. The powerful forward has had limited playing time since moving to West Ham in August.

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Richie out until April

New Zealand's Rugby World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw has begun running again following foot surgery but does not expect to be available for the Crusaders' Super Rugby campaign until at least April.

McCaw battled through immense pain in his right foot during last year's World Cup as a screw inserted to fix a fracture before last year's Super Rugby competition only served to aggravate him.

The 31-year-old openside flank had surgery after the World Cup to remove the screw and told reporters in Auckland on Tuesday that he doubted he would play again before April.

"The foot is really good. I've just started back running," the All Blacks captain told reporters at the New Zealand launch of the Super Rugby competition.

"I'll progress over the next few weeks to hopefully get back out on the field soon, but hopefully it's all behind me.

"By March, I should be pretty close to knowing when I'll be back, but I'd say some time in April.

"But I don't want to put too tight a time frame on it."

The Crusaders head to South Africa for two matches against the Lions in Johannesburg on March 31 and Bulls in Pretoria on April 7, before they host the Stormers on April 14.

The Crusaders will also be without the services of star flyhalf Dan Carter during the opening Super Rugby rounds after he suffered a groin injury during the World Cup.

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Donald tops WGC field, Els sneaks in

Defending champion Luke Donald topped the qualifiers list released on Monday for next week's WGC Match Play Championship while Ernie Els will just sneak into the 64-man field.

World No 1 Donald, who won the US and European money titles last year, led the field by virtue of his ranking with fellow Englishman Lee Westwood second, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy third and Germany's Martin Kaymer fourth.

If the European foursome hold their spots for another week they will be the top seeds in the four brackets to be released next Monday based upon next week's rankings.

While the entry list is pulled from this week's rankings, players have until Friday to confirm their spot in the field or drop out.

World No 11 Phil Mickelson, coming off a victory at Pebble Beach on Sunday, plans to play this week at Riviera and skip the WGC event, opening the way for the 65th-ranked player in the world, South Africa's Els, to make the line-up.

Els was just ahead of 66th-ranked compatriot George Coetzee, who might also find his way into the line-up if England's Paul Casey, ranked 23rd, skips the Dove Mountain event. He is recovering from a shoulder injury.

Alternates waiting behind Coetzee for a spot in the line-up include American Ryan Moore, Australia's Robert Allenby and Dutchman Joost Luiten.

Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello won the Dubai Desert Classic to jump from 119th in the rankings to 60th to qualify for his WGC debut while Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts shared ninth to jump from 69th to 64th to make the field, knocking Allenby onto the alternates list.

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United fan aims to block City expansion

A Manchester United fan aims to block rival Manchester City's "goals of football domination" by selling off thousands of parcels of a site earmarked by the world's richest club for a £100-million training complex.

Businessman Shaun O'Brien has divided the land at his vehicle recovery company, OB Trucks, near City's Etihad Stadium, into 18,500 square-foot plots for sale in a bid to disrupt a proposed council order to make him sell it.

He was selling the plots for 250 pounds each through website, Unite Against the City, to "ardent Reds and anybody else that feels strongly about our David & Goliath situation," in order to make the club negotiate individually and fairly for each plot, the website said.

The sale had attracted buyers from around the world, including the United States and Spain, since the website went live on February 6, O'Brien told Reuters, declining to reveal the sales figures. "We're very close to fulfilling the 5,000 minimum."

The campaign was "to prevent Manchester City's attempts to acquire our land in Eastlands, Manchester, in order to further their goals of football domination", O'Brien wrote on the website.

Local newspaper Manchester Evening News said O'Brien had refused a one-million-pound offer from City to leave the site, stalling the club's bid to redevelop a run-down, 80-acre plot near their stadium.

O'Brien said City had offered him 200,000 pounds for the land for the past two years, though they had said they would pay another 750 000 pounds for moving and expenses.

"But it's just not enough," he said. "I've been here for 15 years, I had no intention to sell (the land)... As a business who want my land to further their business they should come and sit down, negotiate and we'll hack out a figure, whereas all along they've said we'll give you 200,000 pounds or we'll get the council to CPO you," he said.

A compulsory purchase order has now been issued by Manchester City Council and the club to try to force O'Brien to sell at market value.

Manchester City hold the title of the world's richest club, gained after they were bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi three years ago.

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