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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Bolton sink QPR as technology debate reignited


An 86th-minute winner from substitute Ivan Klasnic bagged a vital three points for Bolton after Djibril Cisse s equaliser looked to have earned a draw for Rangers following Darren Pratley s opener. The win saw Bolton claw their way out of the relegation zone at the expense of Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers, although QPR are guaranteed to be left in the bottom three by the end of the day after the late matches. But the main talking point from an entertaining game was a disallowed goal from QPR centre-back Clint Hill after 20 minutes. Replays showed Hill s powerful header had clearly crossed the goal-line yet despite QPR protests, neither the linesman nor referee Martin Atkinson were inclined to give the goal and Bolton escaped. Fuming Rangers coach Mark Hughes said the incident was further proof of the need for goal-line technology, which world governing body FIFA have said they hope to introduce by the end of this year. "I m really disappointed in the performance of the officials," Hughes told the BBC. "The referee was let down by his assistants. Clearly the ball was over the line. The linesman is there to see that -- that is what his job is. "Laughably the FA have come out almost immediately and said they re in favour of goal-line technology. "What we re finding is that key moments and key decisions in games are going against us. Please just give us an opportunity to play the game and show how well we can play. And do it on our own merits. "Circumstances like today just bring us closer together. Today, it wasn t about football. We just need officials to give us a fair crack of the whip. " Bolton manager Owen Coyle admitted his side had been the beneficiaries of a crucial decision. "There s no doubt we got a big break today, but we scored good goals. With 15 minutes to go, we threw on another striker and scored a terrific goal," Coyle said. "It s a valuable three points, there s no doubt about it. "I said prior to the game that it was going to be two teams going all-out to win, and so it proved. It was incident-packed and that s what s going to happen. Games will be like this until the end of the season. "Nobody s a bigger advocate than myself for goal-line technology. I can totally understand how Mark Hughes will be frustrated." Among the later games on Saturday, Chelsea will aim to get their faltering league campaign back on track against Stoke City at Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool bid to bounce back from last weekend s loss to Arsenal in their trip to Sunderland. League leaders Manchester City are playing Swansea City on Sunday, while second-placed Manchester United entertain West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford.

Israeli air strikes in Gaza


12 Palestinian fighters were killed and at least 20 people wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said on early Saturday.  The Israeli military said the air force launched 13 attacks on a range of targets, including a militant leader. The Israeli raids came as Palestinians fired dozens of rockets and mortar rounds into southern Israel starting Friday morning, injuring four people, one of them seriously, Israeli military sources said. One of the retaliatory Israeli air strikes killed the head of the Popular Resistance Committees, Zohair al-Qaisi, and fellow member Mahmud Hanani, the ultra-hardline militant group said. The PRC threatened reprisals for Qaisi’s death, and around 45 rockets and shells were subsequently fired on southern Israel. The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said that the Israeli air strikes also killed 10 of its members. The statement said that Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted 10 Grad rockets fired at the southern Israeli towns of Beersheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon, which have a combined population of more than half a million people. “Aircraft targeted a terrorist in the central Gaza Strip and six additional terrorist squads who were in the final stages of preparing to fire rockets at Israel from separate locations in the northern and the central Gaza Strip,” it added. The PRC and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement, issued statements claiming to have fired rockets into Israel on Friday. The official Palestinian WAFA news agency quoted a statement by the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority condemning the Israeli retaliation, saying it had created a “negative environment” that would “escalate the circle of violence in the region.”

UN’s special envoy arrives in Syria


U.N. envoy Kofi Annan arrived in Syria on Saturday to push for an end to the country s yearlong conflict and deliver a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad that all violence must stop. But the high-profile international mission to end the crisis stumbled even before it began, as the opposition rejected Annan s calls for dialogue with the regime as pointless and out of touch after a year of bloodshed. The dispute exposes the widening gap between opposition leaders who say only military aid can stop President Bashar Assad s regime, and Western powers who fear more weapons will exacerbate the conflict. Annan s visit marks a new international push for peace nearly a year after protesters took to the streets to demand Assad s ouster, inspired by Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Since then, the regime has dispatched snipers, tanks and civilian gunmen to crush dissent. As the death toll mounted, protests have spread, and some have taken up arms to defend themselves and attack government forces. The conflict is now one of the bloodiest of the Arab Spring, with the U.N. saying more than 7,500 people have been killed. Activists put the number at more than 8,000. So far, Western powers have declined to intervene. Unlike Libya, where a U.N.-sanctioned bombing campaign helped rebels topple Moammar Gadhafi last year, Syria has key allies in Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and shares a border with the region s closest American ally, Israel. Outright war in Syria could spark a regional conflagration. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters Friday that Annan s priority is to immediately halt all fighting by government forces and opposition fighters if not simultaneously, then first by government troops, followed by the opposition. Ban said a cease-fire should be quickly followed by inclusive political talks to resolve the yearlong conflict. Diplomats say this could prove difficult because opposition leaders have already rejected calls for dialogue, saying only more military aid can stop Assad s deadly crackdown. By phone from Paris, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council told The Associated Press on Friday that Annan was overlooking what the opposition considers the root of the problem: the regime s use of overwhelming military force to crush dissent. "Any political solution will not succeed if it is not accompanied by military pressure on the regime," said Burhan Ghalioun. "As an international envoy, we hope (Annan) will have a mechanism for ending the violence." The Syrian National Council has called for foreign military intervention, believing it is the only way to stop Assad s tanks and soldiers from firing on civilian areas. It recently formed a military office to try to coordinate efforts to bring in military aid for armed groups across the country who fight under the name of the Free Syrian Army. Ghalioun said he worried Annan s trip would stall more effective steps to stop the violence. Annan, the former U.N. secretary-general, was appointed last month as the joint special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League. 

Syrian opposition leader rejects call for dialogue


The leader of Syria s main opposition group says he rejects calls by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan for dialogue between the government in Damascus and the opposition. Burhan Ghalioun says calling for dialogue while President Bashar Assad is massacring his own people is "disappointing." Ghalioun says a political settlement without military pressure on Assad is unrealistic. The Paris-based Ghalioun, who heads the Syrian National Council, spoke to The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Friday. Annan, who has been appointed joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, has said his mission was to find a political settlement to the conflict. He is due this weekend in Syria where he will meet with Assad.

Manchester clubs shocked in Europa League


If the Manchester clubs expected things to come much easier after dropping out of the Champions League, they were in for a real shock on Thursday. England's two leading teams face a battle to reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League, the continent s second-tier club competition, after United was outclassed in a 3-2 home loss to Athletic Bilbao and City slumped to a 1-0 loss at Sporting Lisbon in the first legs of their last-16 matches. One of the dominant forces in European club football, England could yet have no representatives in the last eight of either the Champions League or the Europa League this season. Chelsea is its one remaining team left in the Champions League, but is 3-1 down to Napoli heading into the second leg of their last-16 match. United will be thankful it is still alive against Bilbao, which could have won by a bigger margin at Old Trafford after running the English champions ragged for large spells with its fluid movement and passing. After Wayne Rooney put United ahead with the first of his two goals, Fernando Llorente, Oscar de Marcos and Iker Muniain scored for Bilbao, which has been rejuvenated by veteran Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa and the emergence of a golden crop of youngsters. "We were well beaten. They were the better team," said United manager Alex Ferguson, who saw Rooney convert a stoppage-time penalty to give the team hope for the second leg at San Mames next Thursday. An impudent back-heeled goal by Brazilian defender Xandao consigned City to defeat in Lisbon, but the Premier League leaders at least have the return leg at home to come. It was a successful night for Spanish clubs with Valencia beating PSV Eindhoven 4-2 and Atletico Madrid winning 3-1 against Besiktas. But the night belonged to Bilbao, which gave United one of their most difficult evenings at home for years. Bilbao has climbed to fifth place in the Spanish league with its attractive, energetic style of play, yet no one could have expected it to dominate so heavily at Old Trafford. A handful in attack all night, Llorente stooped to head the equalizer in the 44th minute to cancel out Rooney s close-range opener. Bilbao poured forward with wave after wave of attacks, United goalkeeper David De Gea denying Llorente twice and then Muniain. De Marcos, however, finished a classy move full of one-touch passing by volleying home a scooped pass by Ander Herrera. Muniain capitalized on hesitant defending by Rafael to slam home the third from close range, sealing back-to-back home losses for United in Europe for the first time in 16 years. United was defeated 2-1 by Ajax in the last 32. "We can win the game over there," Ferguson said. "We ve shown we can create chances, but we will need to defend better." Like its fierce local rival, City also dropped into the Europa League after finishing third in its Champions league group. But having dispatched reigning champion FC Porto with ease in the last 32, City came unstuck against another Portuguese team. It took a moment of class to settle the game, Xandao pouncing in the 51st minute after City goalkeeper Joe Hart had failed to palm Matias Fernandez s free kick to safety. Mario Balotelli, on as a substitute, hit the crossbar with a header as City rallied late on. "I m not worried. We will go through," City manager Roberto Mancini said. City s misery was compounded by an injury to captain Vincent Kompany, who limped off with a calf injury after seven minutes. Fresh off a hat trick for Spain in a friendly against Venezuela last week, Roberto Soldado scored twice for Valencia. Victor Ruiz and Pablo Piatti helped put the Spaniards 4-0 up at the Mestalla. Goals in the final seven minutes by Ola Toivonen and Georginio Wijnaldum reduced the deficit for PSV, a former European champion. Atletico, winner of the competition in 2010, will take a healthy cushion into the second leg against Besiktas after a superb first-half showing at Vicente Calderon stadium. Argentina winger Eduardo Silvio scored in the 24th and 27th minutes, and Adrian Lopez made it 3-0 with a stunning individual effort eight minutes before halftime. Besiktas will take a glimmer of hope into the return leg thanks to a powerful strike by Portuguese winger Simao Sabrosa, who started the 2010 final for Atletico. Dutch side FC Twente beat 2011 Champions League semifinalist Schalke 1-0 from Luuk de Jong s second-half goal. David Fuster s 50th-minute goal earned Olympiakos a 1-0 win at Metalist Kharkiv, which had Edmar sent off eight minutes from time. Standard Liege drew 2-2 at home to Hannover and AZ Alkmaar scored two second-half goals to beat Udinese 2-0 at home.

"Public debate" Israeli action against Iran


Israel does not need a "public debate" before taking military action against Iran, President Shimon Peres said Thursday, reiterating that all options remain on the table. Speaking in Los Angeles, he said economic sanctions were the first course of action in pressing the Islamic republic to give up its nuclear ambitions and its threat to the Jewish state, but not the only one. "I think we have to try first sanctions, and then we shall see," he said, noting that "in the case of South Africa, sanctions did the job," as they arguably did in Libya and Ukraine. "If we have to choose, let s start with the non-violent ... saying very clearly (that) all other options are on the table," he told an audience in Beverly Hills. Pressed about the threat of military strikes against Iran -- much discussed during a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington this week -- Peres said: "I don t think that we have to make a public debate ahead of time." In Washington last weekend Peres vowed that Israel "shall prevail" if forced to fight Iran, which he referred to as "an evil, cruel and morally corrupt regime" bent on controlling the Middle East. "Iran s ambition is to control the Middle East, so it can control a major part of the world s economy. It must be stopped. And it will be stopped," the Nobel Peace Prize winner told a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group on Sunday. The 88-year-old former Israeli prime minister and foreign minister is ending his week-long US visit on the West Coast, including stops in Silicon Valley where he launched his own Facebook page earlier this week. On Friday he is due to visit the headquarters of Dreamworks Animation in Glendale, outside Los Angeles, while much of the rest of his schedule is private, before he heads home on Sunday.