Leeds United have escaped a points penalty in their quest to be promoted to the Premier League after it was announced Monday they had been fined GBP 200,000 (USD 259,000, 229,000 euros) and reprimanded for spying on their opponents.
Leeds faced an investigation by the English Football League after veteran manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted sending someone to spy on Derby at their training ground ahead of a match last month.
The club formally admitted a breach of Regulation 3.4 which states: "In all matters and transactions relating to the League, each Club shall behave towards each other Club and The League with the utmost good faith."
Many were uncertain, however, whether Bielsa had committed a specific offence and the EFL now plan to clarify the situation by introducing a new rule that bans teams from viewing opposition training in the 72 hours immediately before a match, unless invited to do so.
EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey, announcing the punishments against Leeds, said Monday: ..

'Spygate' Leeds fined 200,000 pounds but no points deduction

PTI Automatic

Inter Milan's Chinese president Steven Zhang on Monday ruled out selling unsettled Argentine forward Mauro Icardi to Serie A rivals Juventus.
It follows comments from Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici that the champions would keep an eye on the striker's situation in the summer after he was stripped of the captain's armband during the week.
"Will Icardi ever join Juventus? No, never," said Zhang after a shareholders' meeting at the San Siro on Monday.
"This has been spoken about a lot in the past week and a lot of confusion has been created. I would like to put an end to this topic because the club has already made a decision and continuing to talk about it doesn't help us to achieve our goals.
"Icardi is a great player, he's a professional and a very important member of our family. We are in negotiations to renew his contract, and he's an important player for this club."
Icardi, who turns 26 on Tuesday, watched from the stands with his wife and agent Wanda Nara as Inter beat .

No chance Icardi going to Juventus, says Inter president Zhang

Portuguese winger Nani, a four-time Premier League champion and 2008 UEFA Champions League winner with Manchester United, signed a three-year contract Monday with Orlando City of Major League Soccer.
The 32-year-old who helped Portugal win the 2016 European crown joined the Florida side on a free transfer from Sporting Lisbon.
"This is an exciting day for our organization," Orlando City executive vice president of soccer operations Luiz Muzzi said.
"Nani brings tremendous experience to our roster. He's a dynamic winger with quality abilities to move and cross the ball, impact games and lead the offensive play."
The Lions need all those things after a miserable 2018 campaign, with only eight wins and four drawn from 32 matches for the second-worst record in MLS, last in the Eastern Conference with 28 points.
Nani had nine goals in 58 appearances with Sporting as a teen star before joining compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007 at Old Trafford, where he would remain through 2014 with 41 ..

Orlando signs Portuguese winger Nani to three-year deal

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic set an exceptional challenge for the upcoming Major League Soccer season on Sunday, vowing to rewrite the league record book this year.
The 37-year-old Swedish superstar unveiled new Galaxy jerseys in a flashy entrance, then told a crowd of fans his ambitious plans for the 2019 campaign.
"This season I will bring something to you. I will break every record in the MLS this season," Ibrahimovic said.
Zlatan scored 22 goals and set up 10 others in 27 MLS contests last season, launching him into the new season with great expectations.
The Galaxy, who host their season opener against Chicago on March 2, went 13-12 with nine drawn last season to miss the MLS playoffs by a single point.
Among the more impressive MLS records Zlatan would be trying to shatter are goals in nine consecutive games, an assist in eight consectuve matches and four goals in one half.
Josef Martinez of Atlanta set the one-season MLS goals record with 31 in 34 games played .

Zlatan vows to 'break every record in MLS this season'

Defenders Aleksandar Kolarov and Federico Fazio both scored in the second half as Roma closed in on the Champions League places with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Bologna on Monday.
Eusebio Di Francesco followed their Champions League last 16, first-leg win over Porto last week by consolidating fifth position and are now just a point behind AC Milan in fourth.
"We couldn't afford to fall behind today. We're happy with the three points, less so with the performance," said Di Francesco.
Champions Juventus are 13 points clear of second-placed Napoli after Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a 3-0 win against Frosinone on Friday.
Napoli lost points after being held to a goalless draw against Torino while Inter Milan are a further seven points behind in third after beating Sampdoria 2-1.
Atalanta and Lazio are three points behind the Romans in sixth after losing to AC Milan (3-1) and Genoa (2-1) respectively at the weekend.
Roma could thank Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen for keeping them in the game ...

Kolarov, Fazio score to edge Roma closer to Champions League berths

Under-fire Maurizio Sarri admitted his Chelsea flops played "confused" football as they crashed out of the FA Cup with a tame 2-0 defeat against Manchester United on Monday.
Sarri was subjected to calls for his sacking from angry Chelsea fans during the troubled team's fifth defeat in their last 10 games.
Booed off at the final whistle, the beleaguered Blues manager felt Chelsea deserved better after the FA Cup holders started the fifth round clash on top.
But he conceded they lacked direction and focus in a tepid second half surrender.
"Tonight we were unlucky because we played a very good first half and at the end of the half the score was 2-0," Sarri said.
"We gave them a few opportunities. We played confusing football in the second half. After the first half it wasn't easy to play with that score."
Toothless Chelsea managed only two shots on target all night and the limp second half display suggested the players are hardly doing everything in their power to save Sarri.
Sarri has ..

'We were confused': Sarri frustrated as Chelsea woes mount

Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund dropped more points in the title race on Monday when they were held to a goalless draw at bottom side Nuremberg.
Dortmund are now just three points ahead of second-placed Bayern Munich, the defending champions who won 3-2 at Augsburg on Friday, with their lead slashed from nine points after drawing their last three league games.
"That was definitely too little from us, we have to pick up points again," said forward Mario Goetze.
"They didn't make it easy for us by standing deep, but we must improve."
Even without injured playmaker Marco Reus, plus defenders Lukasz Piszczek and Manuel Akanji, this was another below-par display from the league leaders.
Nuremberg were hammered 7-0 at Dortmund last September, but this was a vastly improved display from the hosts and the draw was celebrated like a win on the home bench.
It was their first game under caretaker coaches Marek Mintal and Boris Schommers after both head coach Michael Knoeller and director of 

Dortmund drop more points at bottom side Nuremberg

Paul Pogba drove Manchester United into the FA Cup quarter-finals and pushed Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri closer to the sack as the troubled holders crashed to a 2-0 defeat on Monday.
Pogba set up United's opening goal for Ander Herrera with a majestic cross and the France star added the second himself as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side produced a commanding display at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's lacklustre fifth round exit -- their first FA Cup defeat since the 2017 final -- was another painful blow for Sarri, who is facing a fight to save his job following a dismal debut season.
Chelsea suffered their heaviest defeat for 28 years when they were thrashed 6-0 at Manchester City earlier this month, an indignity that came just weeks after a humiliating 4-0 loss at Bournemouth.
Amid claims Sarri has lost the support of his players, the former Napoli boss watched ashen-faced as Chelsea collapsed again for a fifth defeat in their last 10 games.
Sarri was subjected to chants of "you don't know 

Sarri on the brink as Pogba fires United into FA Cup last eight

Having been rejected as an eight-year-old by Schalke 04, Ilkay Gundogan is relishing returning to Gelsenkirchen with Manchester City in what could potentially be a one-sided Champions League clash.
While Pep Guardiola's high-flying City are top the Premier League table, Schalke, Wednesday's opponents in the last 16, first-leg clash, are just above the Bundesliga's relegation places and struggling to score goals down in 14th place.
Like City's Germany winger Leroy Sane, Gundogan, 28, began his career at Schalke's academy, but despite having been rejected as a child after only one season, there will be no element of revenge come kick-off at the Veltins Arena.
"I have (forgiven them), but it wasn't always so," Gundogan told German magazine Kicker with a grin.
"At the time, due to growth spurts, I had physical problems and couldn't play any sports for half a year, so I dropped out. Three or four years later, Schalke attempted to contact me, but I was a bit resentful.
"I just wanted to ...

Gundogan relishing coming home with Man City after Schalke snub

As their Premier League title rivals Liverpool sunned themselves in Marbella last week, Manchester City were getting muddy in Newport on Saturday to keep alive the prospect of a historic clean sweep of four trophies.
City's focus switches from south Wales to Schalke on Wednesday for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie before a Wembley final against Chelsea on Sunday for the right to lift the first silverware of the season in the League Cup.
A decade into the club's Abu Dhabi ownership, the importance for City to win the Champions League for the first time would have made it easy for the English champions to prioritise Europe this season.
However, after romping to the league with a record 100 points last year, it is another piece of history that Pep Guardiola's side now crave by outdoing even Manchester United's treble of league, Champions League and FA Cup in 1998/99.
Two weeks on from smashing Chelsea 6-0, City will be heavy favourites to retain the League Cup this ...

Guardiola relishes quadruple quest as City seek to conquer Europe

The ghost of Rome still haunts Lionel Messi and Barcelona as they find themselves in Lyon for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
The Spanish champions won the domestic double last season in Ernesto Valverde's first campaign as coach at the Camp Nou, but that achievement was marred by the nature of their exit from Europe.
After beating Roma 4-1 at home in the first leg of their quarter-final tie, they collapsed in the return in Italy, going out on away goals after a humiliating 3-0 defeat.
This season they have been driven by a desire to put that behind them and end Real Madrid's recent dominance in the competition that has yielded three successive titles.
Impressive in the group stage, now they arrive at Lyon's 59,000-seat Groupama Stadium seeking a first away win in the knockout phase in six attempts since a 2-0 victory at Arsenal in February 2016.
"That shows that it is a hard competition, but challenges are there to be overcome," said Valverde on Monday 

Barcelona wary of weakened Lyon as they look to exorcise ghost of Rome

Massimiliano Allegri told Juventus not to be afraid of Atletico Madrid but for one of these teams their worst fears in this season's Champions League are about to become a reality.
Crashing out in the last 16 would be unthinkable for two clubs that were among the favourites when the draw for the knock-out stages was made in December.
"Those that have ambition are not afraid," Allegri said, after his side were drawn to play Atletico, with the first leg on Wednesday at the Wanda Metropolitano.
"It's like a final, we cannot put a foot wrong," Atletico boss Diego Simeone said.  Juventus and Atletico Madrid have reached 12 European Cup finals between them, with last season's game in Kiev the first in five years in which neither had featured.
Atletico went on to win the Europa League instead, proving themselves too strong for Europe's second-tier competition, while Juventus were dumped out by eventual winners Real Madrid, undone by a controversial Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in the 98th ...

'It's like a final' - Atletico meet Juve in a clash of high stakes

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday inaugurated the Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance Advanced Medical Rehabilitation Centre, the first high-performance facility of the state, at the Kalinga Stadium here.
The Odisha government has partnered with Olympian and international shooter Bindra's 'Abhinav Bindra Target Performance' (ABTP) to establish the high-performance training centre.
Sportspersons of Odisha and its neighboring states will now get easy access to all world-class equipment, a statement read.
The centre's services would include performance enhancement, injury prevention and management, bio-mechanics, physiology testing and training, recovery as well as strength and conditioning training," it added.

CM Patnaik inaugurates Odisha's first high-performance sports centre

The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) Monday pulled down pictures of Pakistan players from its lobby, protesting against the terrorist attack in Pulwama.
Last Thursday, 40 CRPF paramilitary troopers were killed while several others injured in what is being termed as the deadliest terrorist strike in three decades in Jammu and Kashmir.
"BCCI, RCA and other associations are with the families of martyred soldiers. As a mark of protest, we have removed pictures of Pakistan cricket players. We wish that India takes the revenge for the act," RCA vice president Mohammad Iqbal said.
Pictures of players including Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis and several others were pulled down and kept in a store room.

Rajasthan Cricket Association removes photographs of Pakistan players

FC Goa became the second Hero Indian Super League side to book their place in the play-offs after a convincing 3-0 win over Kerala Blasters FC here Monday.
Quickfire goals in the first half from Ferran Corominas (22') and Edu Bedia (25') and a third by Hugo Boumous (78') helped the hosts do the double over the Kerala outfit in the season.
To make the result all the more sweeter, the Gaurs have leapfrogged Bengaluru FC to go top of the table. Goa has 31 points from 16 games same as Bengaluru FC but with a better goal difference now occupies table top position. On other hand, Kerala Blasters, remain ninth after slumping to their seventh loss of the season.
FC Goa were on the money right from the start as Jackichand Singh threatened the Kerala defence as he twisted and turned the likes of Lalruatthara and Anas Edathodika on a couple of occasions. One of his efforts did beat Dheeraj Singh but came off the woodwork, much to Kerala's relief.
Kerala then found the back of the net through ...

FC Goa seal play-off berth, occupy table-top position

Promising Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach Piyush Kumar Dubey Monday joined the coaching set-up of the Indian men's hockey team in Bengaluru as a goalkeeping instructor.
Sources in the Indian team management told PTI that Dubey joined the national camp at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru, where he will work with the goalkeepers ahead of the season-opening Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia, starting March 23.
The camp, involving the core 34 players, will be held under the supervision of Hockey India's High Performance Director David John and analytical coach Chris Ciriello.
"Yes, he has joined the national camp today and he will be working with the goalkeepers under John and Ciriello. He is being promoted as part of Hockey India's plans to groom young coaches of the country," a team insider said.
But surprisingly, Hockey India is yet to confirm the development.
Reportedly, Dubey is being looked upon as someone who is expected to work with the team's new chief coach following Harendra ...

SAI coach Dubey to assist goalkeepers in hockey national camp

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh doesn't want India to play Pakistan in the upcoming ODI World Cup in the aftermath of the ghastly terror attack in Pulwama.
Harbhajan said India are strong enough to win the World Cup even if they decide to forfeit the match against Pakistan in Manchester on June 16.
Harbhajan's statement came after the terror attack in Pulwama killed 40 personnel CRPF personnel. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad had claimed responsibility for the ghastly act.
"India should not play Pakistan in the world Cup. India are powerful enough to win the World Cup without having to play Pakistan," Harbhajan Singh told 'Aaj Tak' news channel.
"This is a difficult time. The attack that has happened, it was unbelievable and it's very wrong. Strict action will surely be taken by the government. When it comes to cricket, I don't think we should have any relations with them otherwise they will keep treating us like this," he added.
Harbhajan said India doesn't need to .

India shouldn't play Pakistan in WC, says Harbhajan

Miffed at what they feel is "a plan to kill the clubs" amidst "interference" by promoters of ISL, top I-League teams such as Mohun Bagan and East Bengal Monday sought an urgent appointment with All India Football Federation president Praful Patel.
Besides the big two from Kolkata, league leaders Chennai City FC, Churchill Brothers, defending champions Minerva Punjab FC, Neroca FC, Aizawl FC and Gokulam Kerala FC have all jointly written to the AIFF, seeking clarity on their future in Indian football and expressed "our anguish and fear about a plan to kill the clubs".
"Recent news reports suggest that this could be the last season of the I-League, with the ISL all set to be branded the top league of the country," the clubs wrote in the letter.
"Shutdown of the I-League will lead to unfathomable losses not just for I-League clubs but for the entire Indian football ecosystem. As important stakeholders of Indian football, we deserve to be heard so that an amicable and long-term solution ..

Top I-League clubs say ISL promoters interfering, wants clarity on future

JB Holmes handled the windy conditions better as he rallied from a four-shot deficit in the final round here to win the Genesis Open golf tournament, his first victory in three years.
While the top names struggled, Holmes, who started the final round four shots shy of Justin Thomas, shot one-under 70 to claim his fifth PGA Tour win on Sunday.
It was marathon finish on Sunday as players like Thomas and his group played as many as 34 holes.
They played 34 holes due to a seven-hour rain delayed at the start of the week.
It was difficult for the golfers to adjust to the cold temperature and brisk winds.
Even though the high winds usually caused havoc on ball flight, it was the effect on the putting surfaces that brought a lot of grief.
As Holmes carded 70 to get to 14-under, Thomas, who at one stage was 17-under, slipped to 75 and ended second at 13-under.
Thomas even four-putted for a double bogey. The last three putts were inside eight feet and the final miss was from two feet. He had ..

Holmes wins after 3 years, claims Genesis Open title

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Monday cleared spinner Akila Dananjaya to resume bowling in international cricket following the Sri Lankan's remedial work and a subsequent remodelling of suspect action.
According to ICC, Dananjaya's remodelled bowling action was assessed in Chennai on February 2.
It was found that the amount of elbow extension for all his deliveries was within the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations.
"Match Officials are still at liberty to report Dananjaya if they believe he is displaying a suspect action and not reproducing the legal action from the assessment," the ICC media release stated.
To assist the match officials, they will be provided with images and video footage of the bowler's remodeled legal bowling action.
Dananjaya was suspended from bowling after being reported during the first Test against England in Galle from 6-10 November and subsequently underwent an independent assessment of his bowling ...

Dananjaya allowed to resume bowling in Int'l cricket

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) Monday met Amicus Curiae P S Narasimha to discuss the pending legal issues before the next Supreme Court hearing, scheduled on February 21.
One of the key issues that could be taken up by the two-judge bench of Justice S A Bobde and Abhay Manohar Sapre is the appointment of Ombudsman, who could take a call on the KL Rahul-Hardik Pandya controversy.
Rahul and Pandya were provisionally suspended by the BCCI for their sexist comments on a TV chat show 'Koffee With Karan". The suspension was later revoked pending inquiry.
The two cricketers are back in national colours but the final verdict will only be passed once the apex court gives the go-ahead for appointment of Ombudsman.
Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji, the two warring members of the SC-appointed body, have hardly concurred on various policy decisions of late.
However, with the case pending in the apex court, the two members needed to sit for a briefing with the Amicus and update him about the ...

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