Real Madrid, Sevilla into Spanish Cup semis
MADRID, Spain ● Real Madrid advanced to the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup on Wednesday after a 1-1 draw at Valencia saw Jose Mourinho’s side progress 3-1 on aggregate. Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Madrid, Karim Benzema gave Real the lead a minute before half-time but Tino Costa levelled for the home side [...]
Napoli’s gets 2 points back after appeal
NAPOLI, Italy ● Italy’s football federation has rescinded a two-point penalty given to Napoli for match-fixing and lifted bans imposed on captain and defender Gianluca Grava. Following an appeal, the federation’s internal court decided on Thursday to overturn the punishments handed out by its disciplinary commission. Napoli was penalized in December after its former goalkeeper, [...]
Schedule quarter finals CONCACAF Champions League
NEW YORK, NY ● The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today the quarterfinal schedule for the 2012/13 Champions League. The round is contested over two legs and opens on Tuesday, March 5 with the Houston Dynamo hosting Santos, last season’s runner-up, at BBVA Compass Stadium. Xelaju will be at [...]
Goal technology debuts in Club World Cup opener
YOKOHAMA, Japan ● Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat part-timers Auckland City 1-0 in the opening game of the Club World Cup on Thursday when FIFA used goal-line technology for the first time. Toshihiro Aoyama’s dipping drive in the 66th minute lit up a pedestrian encounter and sent the J-League champions into the quarter-finals where [...]
Red Bulls are out!
HARRISON, N.J. ● If the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls was wild, the second was absolute pandemonium. A day after the Red Bulls and D.C. saw their match postponed due to a heavy snowstorm, United beat their Atlantic Cup rivals, 1-0, at Red Bull [...]
Lazio faces UEFA action over fans’ racist abuse
LAZIO, Italy ● Lazio is facing disciplinary action for racist behavior by its fans in a Europa League at Tottenham after UEFA opened a case against the Italian club on Friday. Monkey chants were reportedly directed at Tottenham players Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend during the 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane on [...]
Earthquakes win lottery for rights to Marcus Tracy
SAN JOSE, Calif. ● The San Jose Earthquakes have won a lottery for Major League Soccer’s rights to oft-injured forward Marcus Tracy. The 26-year-old from Chesnut Hill, Pa., won the 2008 Hermann Trophy as the top college soccer player after helping Wake Forest win the 2007 NCAA title. He spent 2009-11 with Aalborg in Denmark, [...]
UEFA punishes PAOK, Rapid Vienna over fan violence
NYON, Switzerland ● UEFA has fined Europa League clubs PAOK Thessaloniki and Rapid Vienna following violence at a match in Greece last week. UEFA threatened both clubs with a two-year competition ban Tuesday, and ordered PAOK to pay a €150,000 ($188,000) fine and play the next three European matches behind closed doors. Rapid was fined [...]
Fulham not happy with Liverpool’s Dempsey pursuit
LONDON, England ● Fulham has complained about Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to the Premier League over the club’s pursuit of striker Clint Dempsey. The U.S. international has been linked with a move to Liverpool throughout the offseason, and Rodgers was quoted as saying “Clint is a player we’ve inquired about” on the website of Liverpool’s [...]
