The Bangladesh batsmen may have had another poor outing in international cricket, but so did a local umpire in the first one-day match against South Africa at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium on Sunday.
   Enamul Haque, the former left-arm spinner standing in only his fifth one-day international, made a series of blunders that rubbed salt in the wounds of the home side, who were struggling to make an impact in the game.
   Enamul was involved in at least three crucial decisions that could have gone either way during the Bangladesh innings, which eventually ended on 178 posing no threat for the visitors.
   The wily umpire gave Mohammad Ashraful lbw from a Albie Morkel yorker that looked like it was going down the legside. The body language of the Bangladesh captain, who was batting on eight, also suggested that and later it was confirmed by TV replay.
   Enamul’s second wicket was Abdur Razzak, who was caught by South African captain Graeme Smith at mid-off at a time when he just started slogging. TV replays showed the catch was not taken cleanly and the umpire in question was too hesitant to give Razzak out initially.
   He raised his finger only after having a chat with colleague Aleem Dar. But many debated had he referred the appeal to the third umpire, Razzak surely would have got the benefit of doubt as replay remained inconclusive.
   Enamul seemingly ate humble pie when he later referred a similar appeal of Bangladesh to the third umpire when Shahadat Hossain caught Graeme Smith at short third man off Sakib. The TV replay confirmed that the ball touched the ground before Shahadat grasped it and Smith survived. He was then on 66.
   Incidentally, Shahadat himself was also a victim of Enmaul’s dubious decision when Bangladesh was batting. Again the ball was going down leg and Enamul gave him lbw.
   The only difference was that it came right at the end of Bangladesh innings.

Cricket Australia have written to their Indian counterparts demanding they discipline outspoken spinner Harbhajan Singh for a recent outburst against Australian cricketers, reports said Sunday.
   Harbahajan reportedly called senior batsman Matthew Hayden ‘a big liar’ and retiring wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist ‘no saint’ during the Indian team’s triumphant homecoming after an acrimonious tour of Australia.
   Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland on Saturday reportedly wrote to the Indian Board of Control for Cricket to express his exasperation at the comments reported in a Delhi-based newspaper.
   ‘Enough is enough,’ Sutherland wrote in his letter to the Indian board’s secretary Niranjan Singhand.
   ‘Despite assurances that you have instructed him not to fuel this issue anymore, Harbhajan continues to say whatever he wants. When will it ever end? Could you please deal with your player in regard to these comments,’ Sutherland was quoted by Sydney’s Sun Herald newspaper as saying.
   The Indian had been in the headlines on the tour of Australia ever since he was banned for three matches for allegedly racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the second Test in Sydney in January.
   The suspension was later overturned following an appeal hearing, but the relations between the two sides deteriorated as Hayden called Harbhajan a ‘little obnoxious weed’ on radio during the subsequent one-day series.
   Australia’s governing body reprimanded Hayden for the comment made in a radio interview, and it believes the controversial spinner has not been held to the same standards by Indian officials.
   The Sun Herald said CA officials spoke privately with the Indian board during the
   volatile series, and
   received assurances that the spinner would be counselled about the difference
   between what they perceived as provocative remarks and personal abuse.
   ‘We believe it is possible to make intelligent, thoughtful and even provocative public comment without descending to personal abuse,’ a CA spokesman said.
   With the tour over, the spinner made his controversial
   comments after India’s triumphant homecoming last week.
   ‘Don’t talk about Hayden’s credibility, he is a big liar,’ Harbhajan told the Mail Today, comments that were carried in Australian newspapers.
   ‘He (Gilchrist) is also not a saint. He, of course, pretends to be a saint—someone who doesn’t say an offensive word on the field.
   ‘But this is completely wrong. There are times when he doesn’t let an opportunity go (to) waste,’ Harbhajan said.

Still unable to come to terms with his omission from the Indian one-day side, Sourav Ganguly has said he doesn’t know ‘what more’ he must do to regain his spot.
   Left out of the side prior to the CB Series in Australia, Ganguly felt he was dropped ‘despite being in good form’ and is unclear whether a good showing in the Indian Premier League would help his case for a recall.
   ‘I was left out despite scoring close to 1,300 runs in a year,’ Ganguly told Cricinfo. ‘I really don’t know what more there is to do. The best bit was I was in good form. So if I was left out then...’
   Did he think a fine showing in the Twenty20 matches in the IPL would strengthen his case? ‘I’m not really sure if there’s a link between Twenty20 and one-day cricket. It’s a completely different format. I’ve not really thought about it that way also.’
   Ganguly is set to play the Deodhar Trophy zonal one-day tournament, starting on March 14, but he didn’t want to read too much into those performances too.
   ‘I am looking at it as practice for the Tests against South Africa,’ he said. ‘I’m not viewing it in any other way. It’s an important series and I’m gearing up for that. We’ve played some good Test cricket recently and it will be nice to do well against a good side like South Africa.’
   Ganguly returned to the one-day side in January last year, marking the end of 15 months in the wilderness. He enjoyed a fine year with the bat, scoring 1240 runs in 32 matches at an average of 44.28, including ten half-centuries. However, his performances in the last ten matches saw the average dipping to 25.66. The team management in Australia had reasoned that Ganguly was overlooked for the sake of blooding youth, with the added emphasis on fielding abilities.
   He was excited about leading the Kolkata franchise, a power-packed line-up that includes star names like Ricky Ponting, Shoaib Akhtar, Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle.
   ‘It’s a new format, a new tournament, new concept, in fact. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a great opportunity for young players to play alongside the greats. They can learn a lot from them.’
   Ganguly spent half a day at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore to undergo routine tests prior to the selection for the South Africa series. He went through a medical examination, bleep test, body strengthening and fielding practice and was passed fit at the end of it.

New Zealand (470 & 177/9 dec) beat England (348 & 110) by 189 runs
   New Zealand thrashed England by 189 runs in the first Test on Sunday when England’s second innings disintegrated after Kyle Mills ripped through the top order.
   Set a tempting target of 300 to win in 81 overs, England were all out for 110 with 26 overs and a full session of play remaining.
   Ian Bell top scored with an unbeaten 54, one of only two batsmen to reach double figures on a slow wicket.
   Mills finished with the remarkable figures of four for 16 off 13 overs while Chris Martin took three for 33 as New Zealand pulled off just their eighth victory over England in 88 Tests.
   It was a performance engineered by New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori, the man-of-the- match, who dictated the terms from the time he won the toss and elected to bat.
   He produced innings of 88 and 35 with the bat, and, bowling in tandem with Jeetan Patel, he reduced England’s scoring to a crawl in the first innings.
   He then lured England into chasing a result with a timely second innings declaration, which he said was made against the wishes of coach John Bracewell.
   ‘Braces (Bracewell) wanted to keep batting but I just yanked them in. It was a good feeling. It sent a nice message that we wanted to be out there and we thought we were on top and by declaring you send that message,’ Vettori said.
   ‘When Kyle stepped up with four wickets, their top four, taking them out of play meant the game was ours.’
   New Zealand added 30 runs to their overnight 147 before Vettori threw down the gauntlet at 177 for nine.
   It was a challenge readily accepted as Alastair Cook reeled off three quick boundaries and England raced to 18 off the first three overs, well ahead of the required 3.7 run rate.
   But four wickets in four overs from Mills put New Zealand firmly in command and the inevitable end for England came just before the tea break.
   ‘The batting from our side was obviously not acceptable but New Zealand put us under a lot of pressure and bowled excellently,’ said England captain Michael Vaughan who believed the declaration had given England a chance.
   ‘We felt 300, if we’d got a good start, if we’d got to 100 for one, then the overs weren’t going to have much relevance because if we kept wickets in hand we could possibly have had a go at that.
   ‘But when you lose four quick wickets to an outstanding new ball spell by Kyle Mills it was always going to be difficult.’
   Cook was first to fall to Mills, chasing a wide delivery and edging the ball to Brendon McCullum behind the stumps to be back in the pavillion for 13.
   Two overs later England captain Michael Vaughan followed for nine, trapped in front of the wickets, and Andrew Strauss scored two before he was caught by McCullum.
   With England’s hopes resting on Kevin Pietersen, the marque player surprisingly failed to offer a shot to a Mills delivery nipping back and the umpire had no option but to give him out for six.
   The capitulation ended England’s hope of pulling off a win, leaving Bell and Paul Collingwood to set up a dogged defence in an attempt to make the innings last through the final two sessions.
   Collingwood survived 50 balls for just two runs before he was bowled by Vettori and then Martin dismissed Tim Ambrose, Ryan Sidebottom and Mathew Hoggard in quick succession to have England at 67 for eight.
   While Bell remained defiant at one end, Steve Harmison added one to the total before falling to Patel and the innings ended with Monty Panesar caught behind for eight off Jacob Oram.
   Panesar at least had the satisfaction of assisting Bell in a 33-run partnership, the biggest stand in the England innings.
   The only New Zealand wicket to fall in the morning was Vettori, caught by Cook off Ryan Sidebottom to give the England new-ball bowler his career best figures of six for 49 including a hat-trick. It was also Sidebottom’s first 10-wicket match haul after taking four for 90 in New Zealand’s first innings of 470.
   The second Test of the three-match series starts at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on Thursday.

Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in their opening Group C match of the AFC Challenge Cup at the Bishkek Central Stadium, Kyrgyzstan, on May 5.
   Bangladesh will meet Laos a day later before taking on the hosts and group favorites Kyrgyzstan in the last match on May 9.
   Only the top team from the group will advance to the second round and Bangladesh have very little hope of achieving that.
   However, the tournament will provide the Bangladesh players a valuable exposure ahead of the SAFF Championship scheduled to be held in June in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Legendary cricket umpire Dickie Bird believes his hometown football club of Barnsley can go all the way and win the FA Cup after the shock 1-0 quarter-final triumph over Chelsea.
   Bird was at Oakwell, along with 18,000 other supporters of the Championship side, to witness the win which followed an equally famous victory over Liverpool at Anfield in the previous round.
   ‘I said before this tie if we beat Chelsea then we would go on and win the Cup, and I still believe it,’ said Bird, a native of the former coal mining town in Yorkshire.
   ‘This puts us in a tremendous position to do it and, to be honest, I’m not surprised at this result. In the first half, we could have been 2-0 or 3-0 up at the break. We had completely outplayed them.
   ‘This is so good for the club, the management, the players, the staff, the directors, the groundsmen, the tea ladies and all the ladies who wash the shirts.
   ‘It was a great day for them and a great day for the town,’ Bird told the British Press Association.
   ‘I’ve been supporting Barnsley since 1938, and I always thought being promoted into the Premier League was the best period for this club.
   ‘But this puts the icing on the cake. This now has really put the club on the map. Everyone now will be talking about us.’

Azimpur Girls’ School and College registered a 60-run victory over Sunbeams on the inaugural day of the 1st School Girls’ Twenty20 Cricket Tournament at the Azimpur Girls’ School and College ground on Sunday.
   Batting first, Azimpur Girls’ School scored 99 for seven in the stipulated 20 overs. Fatematul Zohra contributed 15 and 55 runs came from the extras. Later Sunbeams were bundled out for a paltry 39 runs in 10.5 overs with Zohra and Sanjana grabbing three wickets each.
   Viqarunnissa Noon School and College refused to play their opening match against Ansar.
   Secretary of the National Sports Council Akbar Hossain inaugurated the tournament as the chief guest. The principal of the Azimpur Girls’ School and College, Hosne Ara Begum, and BCB adhoc committee member Ishtiaque Ahmed were also present.

The election of the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh has been deferred by two weeks due to the ongoing Bangladesh-South Africa series.
   The election was scheduled to take place on March 14 and it will now be held on March 28. However, the election venue at the Dhanmondi number-4 cricket ground will remain unchanged.

Sunrise SC drew 1-1 with Jatrabari KC in a ‘Super Six’ match of the Metropolis Senior Division Football league at the Kamalapur stadium on Sunday. Wari Club and City Club split the points in the relegation league drawing 1-1 at the same venue.
   Shariful scored for Jatrabari in the 11th minute while Sajedul Islam netted the equaliser for Sunrise on 31 minutes from a penalty. Sunrise remained in third position securing 24 points and Jatrabari are fifth with 21 points with both the teams playing 13 matches.
   Wari Club earned 13 points from 13 matches while City Club have 10 from the same number of outings.

Rajshahi, Faridpur and Jessore made winning starts in the final round of the Exim Bank 18th National Men’s Handball that began at the outer stadium handball ground on Sunday.
   Rajshahi defeated Kushtia by 33-23 goals, Faridpur outplayed Natore 24-18 and Jessore overpowered Chittagong 20-18. Later Kushtia bounced back to the winning ways defeating Dhaka 21-18.
   Mahfuzur Rahman, the chairman of ATN Bangla, inaugurated the final round as the chief guest. Nurul Fazal Bulbul, the director and chairman (audit) of Exim Bank, handball federation vice-presidents Principal Hamida Ali and Kazi Mahtabuddin Ahmed and general secretary Asaudzaman Kohinoor were also present on the occasion.

Under-performing England fast bowler Stephen Harmison was paid nearly 250,000 pounds (about 500,000 dollars) for just seven Test appearances last year, according to a report in Britain’s Sunday Times.
   The details of Harmison’s salary and other senior England players were published shortly before the team slumped to a crushing 189-run defeat in the first Test against New Zealand at Hamilton.
   Harmison took just one for 97 in the first innings of that match and then, in what seemed a humilating sign that England captain Michael Vaughan had lost confidence in the Durham paceman, was given just four second innings overs.
   Harmison’s explanation for his poor display in Hamilton was that he ‘kept trying to bowl the million-dollar ball’.
   Following speculation that England cricketers were being targeted for lucrative contracts with the newly-created one-day Indian Premier League, which is due to stage a second player auction on Tuesday, the Sunday Times said the England and Wales Cricket Board had released figures to them showing how much players were paid for representing their country.
   Although Harmison has retired from one-day cricket, the Sunday Times said his band B England central contact was worth 145,000 pounds and meant he received more than 12,000 pounds per month without having to take the field.
   On top of that, he received 6,000 pounds for every home Test and 8,440 pounds for each Test overseas.
   When win bonuses were included for the 3-0 victory over the West Indies, Harmison’s England earnings alone amounted to 231,760 pounds last year - which the Sunday Times calculated worked out at 9,656.67 pounds for each of the 24 wickets he took.
   His county contract with Durham, a national newspaper column and personal endorsements meant that Harmison’s total annual income came close to the 350,000 pounds mark.
   Harmison’s England form has been a concern for some time and his initial efforts in New Zealand suggested that, not for the first time since he topped the world Test bowling rankings four years ago, the 29-year-old had come into a series under-prepared.
   England’s best-paid player last year was Paul Collingwood, who appeared in all but one of 53 fixtures and captained the one-day and Twenty20 teams.
   He earned more than 465,000 pounds excluding his county contract and personal endorsements.
   Meanwhile all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who spent much of the year sidelined by injury and is not now in New Zealand, received nearly 317,000 pounds.
   By contrast, the Sunday Times said dynamic New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum earned barely 150,000 pounds from playing international cricket in 2007.
   McCullum, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and all-rounder Jacob Oram are understood to be trying to persuade their board to let them arrive two weeks late for the tour of England later this year so they can play in the first-half of the IPL season.
   That would give each of them the chance to earn some 150,000 pounds for appearing in six IPL matches and still get to England in time for the final warm-up fixture ahead of the first Test at Lord’s starting on May 15.

Fourteen-year-old Usman Qadir makes the expression ‘like father, like son’ seem an understatement. In his bowling he is the spitting image of his father, the legendary leg-spinner Abdul Qadir. Amazing it is for one so young to bowl six accurate deliveries across 22 yards; more so for him to not just bowl an immaculate length but also have all the tricks a leggie can boast of.
   Usman was one of the star attractions in the recently-concluded PCB Under-16 regional competition.
   He took 5 for 37 against Karachi to anchor Lahore’s win in the semi-final, and then two wickets in the win over Islamabad in the final, finishing with 13 wickets - second-best in the competition.
   More than his figures, it was the unmistakable Qadir action that caught the eye. It is not strange for little boys to want to grow up to be like their fathers. And in this case, a whole generation grew up on Qadir’s legendary bowling in the 1980s. But with his peculiar action, Abdul has always been tough to imitate.
   Usman, though, has the bloodlines. At eight he began to copy, frame by frame, his father’s bowling action from videos. He now possesses the sharp look Abdul used to give batsmen, and the same sharp disguise in his bowling.
   ‘People say that I have taken a leaf out of my father’s book, and they are right,’ says Usman, who would sit in front of the television for hours, watching his father’s matches, etching the pictures into his memory. He would even dream of his father bowling.
   ‘The basic lesson I got was to bowl an off-stump line so that I could perfect the googly, which is always dangerous if a leg-spinner maintains the off-stump line,’ he says, giving an imaginary ball a rip.
   Abdul was a hard taskmaster. ‘I invited his wrath whenever I bowled the wrong length,’ says Usman, who is in the seventh grade at the Cathedral School in Lahore. ‘My father helped me develop a bowling action, but he always told me that education came first.’
   Before he took the youngest of his four sons under his wing, Abdul initially tried to dissuade him.
   ‘Yes, I did try to stop him from playing cricket,’ he says. ‘I would call it my bad luck that all my sons took to cricket despite my advice, because cricketers’ sons have never been treated properly in Pakistan.’
   Rehman the eldest, was a better batsman than he was a leg-spinner.
   He played for National Bank but failed to make it to the top. Imran then followed in his father’s footsteps, and almost filled his shoes as a leg-spinner, before a dust allergy impeded his career.
   Both Rehman and Imran feature in league cricket in England regularly and earn their living there.
   Next came Sulaman Qadir. He was different in style and better in achievement. An off-spinner and combative batsman, Sulaman was the vice-captain of the team that won the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004.
   He didn’t get a chance at national level, though, which irks his father no end.
   ‘Sulaman hit a hundred on first-class debut, and despite Shaharyar Khan promising to give him a side match, he was overlooked.’
   More than his sons’ talent or lack of it, it was perhaps Qadir’s propensity for calling a spade a spade and rubbing the
   establishment up the wrong way that damaged the boys’ prospects.
   Usman is yet to reach the stage where his career could be halted in similar fashion, but he is aware of what befell his brothers.
   ‘Dad told me that he would only help me master the art and would never go to anyone to beg for a place for me,’ he says.
   Abdul for his part is full of praise for his youngest. ‘It is not that he was dearer than other sons, but his devotion and ability to pick up a lesson amazed me,’ he says.
   ‘In a short time Usman has learned all the three frames [according to Qadir senior, every batsman has three frames of motion which bowlers identify and exploit] of a right-hand and a left-hand batsman. I don’t exaggerate: in his early days Shane Warne didn’t bowl a
   googly as perfect as Usman does.’
   The boy has progressed in leaps and bounds. His father had him play three games for the family club, Dharampur Gymkhana, where, bowling to batsmen twice his age, Usman bagged five wickets in each match.
   ‘Everyone was amazed at his bowling,’ Abdul says. ‘Without my permission, Usman took the LCCA [Lahore City Cricket Association] trials and was picked for inter-district Under-19 matches. He took five wickets in each of the two zone matches.
   ‘Then he shone in the Under-16 competition, and I felt so proud when some of my Habib Bank colleagues phoned to tell me that they saw the Qadir of the 1970s in Usman.’
   Unlike Abdul, who never paid much attention to his batting, Usman is determined to contribute in both departments. Already he is a bit of a dasher who can slog to good effect, and his batting idol is Adam Gilchrist. Bowling remains his top priority, though.
   Usman’s sights are set on making it to international cricket first.
   After that, the first target is to go past Warne’s tally of wickets and then Muttiah Muralitharan’s world record. His other dream is to bowl at Sachin Tendulkar.
   That would be a sight to behold: memories of a 16-year-old Tendulkar launching Qadir for sixes during his 18-ball 53 on the 1989 tour still remain fresh in the mind. How would the son fare?
   — Cricinfo

New Zealand have retained the same 13-member squad who trounced England by 189
   runs in the first cricket Test
   here Sunday for the second Test starting in Wellington on Thursday.
   Mark Gillespie and Grant Elliott, who were released from the squad for the match, will rejoin the playing 11 on Monday.
   Squad: Daniel Vettori (captain), Matthew Bell, Jamie
   How, Stephen Fleming, Ross Taylor, Mathew Sinclair,
   Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin, Grant Elliott, Mark Gillespie.

Andy Roddick defeated Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to win the Dubai Championships on Saturday. The sixth-seeded American earned his 25th career title and his second of the year after winning in San Jose last month.
   He went through the entire week without dropping his serve, and did not face a break point in the final. Roddick, the first American to reach the final, claimed the scalps of world number two Rafael Nadal and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic en route to the final.

India’s master blaster Sachin Tendulkar scotched rumours about his fitness, saying that he was fit and raring to go against the South Africans, who begin a three-Test series against India from March 26 in Chennai.
   Sachin, who was speaking at the unveiling of the IPL Mumbai team’s logo and name on Sunday, was asked about reports which had appeared in a section of the press about his fitness.
   The reports had stated that Sachin, who had injured his shoulder during the second final of the CB series against Australia in Brisbane on March 4, had been asked to rest for two weeks.

David Beckham pressed his claims for an England recall with an impressive individual
   performance as LA Galaxy crashed on penalties to a South China invitational team here Sunday.
   Beckham slotted a last-gasp spot-kick to level the match 2-2 and converted again during the shoot-out, but could not prevent Galaxy from slumping 5-4 on penalties in their final Asian tour match.
   Beckham has one more chance to impress England coach Fabio Capello, a pre-season match in Dallas next week, before the March 26 friendly against France when he is hoping to win his 100th cap.
   ‘Of course it’s frustrating,
   but at least we’re making chances and we knew we’ve got the quality to put them away,’ he said.
   ‘When you get so many chances, you want to take them.’
   Beckham showed no effects from a minor injury picked up in Shanghai as he lasted the full 90 minutes without mishap, despite being sent sprawling by a clumsy challenge late on.
   In a dominant first-half display, he provided chance after chance from the right only to hold his head in frustration as Greg Vanney glanced one of his trademark crosses wide on 20 minutes.
   Striker Carlos Ruiz and Peter Vagenas also spurned opportunities provided by the former England captain, who had an eventful opening period with a shot saved and a 30-yard free-kick going into the wall.
   But it was South China who went ahead just before half-time as stocky centre-forward Detinho’s toe-poke dribbled over the line.
   Super-sub Alan Gordon pulled Galaxy level on 61 minutes, seconds after he came on, with a simple finish after Michael Gavin’s incisive through-ball.
   South China looked on course for the win when Troy Roberts handled in the box on 90 minutes, with Li Haiqiang converting the penalty.
   But Ely Allen was hacked down deep into injury-time, allowing Beckham to take the game straight into penalties. Defender Greg Vanney blazed over as Galaxy registered the second defeat of their three-stop Asian swing.
   ‘We played some really good football tonight, some good
   possession football,’ Beckham said.
   ‘We kept the ball well. If we’d put our chances away we would have been three or four up.’
   Beckham, 32, has struggled with injuries since his high-profile Galaxy move and he was overlooked by new England coach Capello for his first game in charge last month.
   But Capello has said he may personally visit Beckham in Dallas to check his fitness, adding the midfielder was ‘in contention’ for Paris.
   Galaxy lost in Seoul and won in Shanghai on a mixed tour for new coach Ruud Gullit, who had some sharp words for his team at half-time here.
   ‘It’s a little bit disappointing because we played so well and didn’t win,’ Gullit said.
   ‘But it was overall a good day at the office. I’m glad they responded the way they did.’

Coaches do not have a long lifespan at Real Madrid but Bernd Schuster says he is not worried by talk of Jose Mourinho, or anyone else, taking his job.
   Schuster watched his team defeat Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday to open an eight point lead at the top of the Spanish first division, although Barcelona have a game in hand, but the shock midweek Champions League exit to AS Roma has lowered his stock.
   Media reports about Portuguese manager Mourinho, out of work since leaving Chelsea this season, taking over persuaded Real’s board to give their backing to German Schuster who is in his first season with the club.
   ‘I never felt as if the club didn’t have faith in me,’ said Schuster. ‘I have never noticed any doubts the president might have towards me.
   ‘I am not concerned because all the speculation stems from outside club doors. I’m not worried. We have a lot to do here. We have to put all our energy and effort into wrapping up La Liga. It’s now our only goal.
   ‘Things have to be looked at when all is said and done. That’s when we’ll make decisions.
   ‘It’s not fair to assess the entire season based on being eliminated from the Champions League. I don’t think we’re in a dire situation.’
   Schuster bemoaned injuries after the Roma defeat and admitted Saturday that his team were really missing Dutch forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, the league’s top-scorer last season, who is out with an ankle injury.
   ‘When Ruud is missing you notice how important he is,’ added Schuster.
   ‘He has so much quality and it goes without saying that we are missing him.’
   ‘The psychological factor was really important today especially after Wednesday and we showed a lot of character,’ said Schuster.
   Concentrating on retaining the Spanish title is now the focus but Schuster should remember what happened to his predecessor with Fabio Capello, now England coach, who was sacked despite delivering the league crown last season.

Cristiano Ronaldo claimed that poor refereeing standards in English football have left him ‘scared’ to play his natural game after a controversial performance by referee Martin Atkinson contributed to Manchester United’s shock 1-0 FA Cup exit at the hands of Portsmouth.
   Sulley Muntari’s 77th minute penalty at Old Trafford on Saturday, which led to the dismissal of United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak, was enough to send Harry Redknapp’s team into the semi-finals for the first time in 16 years.
   But Atkinson’s failure to award United a first-half penalty following Sylvain Distin’s foul on Ronaldo left the Portuguese winger furious, especially after he had earlier been on the receiving end of a crude challenge by Lassana Diarra that also went unpunished.
   And the 23-year-old, continually linked with moves to Real Madrid and Barcelona, insisted that a failure by English referees to protect skillful players had left him questioning his approach to the game, raising question marks over his willingness to remain in the Premiership.
   Ronaldo said: ‘Sometimes I say that this is the best league in the world, but sometimes they don’t protect the skillful players.
   ‘After what happened to the Arsenal player (Eduardo da Silva), I am scared to do my skills.
   ‘The referee against Portsmouth was unbelievable. In the first five minutes, there were three fouls and he took no action and then he failed to give a penalty. It’s difficult to play like this.
   ‘Sometimes they just protect the defenders and I am thinking about having to change my game because it is difficult to play like that.
   ‘Diarra did not even try to play the ball when he tackled me and he wasn’t even booked. It’s a joke. So often, there were fouls and the referee did nothing.’
   Atkinson, one of the more inexperienced officials on the Premier League list, was also singled out for criticism by Ferguson, but the United boss reserved his strongest tirade for referees’ supremo Keith Hackett, the man charged with appointing officials to games.
   Ferguson said: ‘Keith Hackett has got a lot to answer for because he is not doing his job properly.
   ‘He has to be assessed. I am assessed as a manager, the players are assessed and the referees should be assessed.
   ‘That kind of performance (by the referee) should not be accepted. The standards are not good enough, but they are much better in Europe.
   ‘It’s so ridiculous that it was not given as a penalty. I can’t explain it, but managers can get sacked as a result of things like that.’
   Away from the controversy, Pompey boss Harry Redknapp was able to celebrate his third FA Cup shock over United having previously guided Bournemouth and West Ham to cup wins against the Old Trafford outfit.
   And he admitted that his team were fortunate to book their place in Monday’s semi-final draw.
   Redknapp said: ‘Sir Alex didn’t exactly rest players, he gave it the Full Monty, but we rode our luck and got the result.’
   The Portsmouth manager, speaking before Premier League giants Chelsea were sensationally dumped out of the Cup by Barnsley, added: ‘I suppose everyone outside of Portsmouth would have been wanting a United-Chelsea Final.
   ‘But this result means 10 times more to our fans than it would have done to the United supporters. Maybe you become a bit blase after so much success.
   ‘I don’t care who we get in the semi-finals now. Whoever we get, it can’t be any harder than this.’

Chelsea are considering a sensational offer to former Real Madrid and Barcelona star Michael Laudrup to become their first team coach next season if Avram Grant is elevated to a more senior administrative role.
   Tentative unofficial inquiries have already been made about whether the 43-year-old former Danish international would be available and interested in moving to Stamford Bridge.
   Laudrup is currently coaching Getafe in Madrid, who scored a spectacular UEFA Cup victory over Benfica in Lisbon on Thursday night and beat Tottenham 2-1 at White Hart Lane earlier in the tournament.
   He took over the club from current Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster and has guided them to the semi-final of the Copa del Rey, where they hold a two-goal advantage over Real Santander going into the second leg.
   After a distinguished playing career with Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid and being voted Denmark’s bestever player, Laudrup had a spell as assistant coach with the
   national team before spending four years coaching
   Brondby, taking the Danish side to a cup and league double in 2005.
   After a fall-out with Brondby over his contract renewal, he was linked with a number of clubs including Real Madrid before he moved to Getafe last July where he has attracted the interest of several top European clubs, including Chelsea.
   He would have a powerful ally at Chelsea in chief talent scout Frank Arnesen — a fellow Dane who, like Laudrup, was born in Copenhagen.
   Laudrup’s name has become associated with Chelsea after manager Grant’s defeat in the Carling Cup Final against Tottenham, which is expected to see another shake-up of the coaching staff this summer.
   Grant and his assistant Henk ten Cate were appointed following the departure of Jose Mourinho earlier in the season, but the Dutch coach is already under scrutiny after his heated argument with captain John Terry the day before the final.
   Ten Cate appears to be succumbing to the pressure after bizarrely blaming the British media for his problems.
   He said: ‘The British decided not to publish the story about me and John Terry the next day. But we lost the Carling Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur and that was what they were waiting for. It was so childish of them and it was not the first incident. When I first arrived here, it was suggested that I was forbidding the players to laugh. I did say something about that to the whole squad.
   ‘I said to the players, there is a time when you can laugh and there is a time when you have to work hard. Those words to the squad were taken out of proportion. ‘What does irritate me is when players from a squad deliberately leak stuff from within the changing room.’
   Speaking to De Telegraaf newspaper in Holland, Ten Cate added: ‘We are doing well yet the pressure here is enormous.
   ‘As a manager you can’t look ahead. You can’t afford to lose a game.’

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called a halt to the development of goal-line technology with the game’s rulers opting to risk human error when it comes to contentious decisions.
   The International FA Board (IFAB) meeting in Gleneagles in Scotland on Saturday decided to push ahead with experiments with two extra assistant referees standing behind each goal-line.
   ‘It is not a change of heart,’ said Blatter.
   ‘We have identified very clearly how complicated both systems are and that for the time being they are not accurate.
   ‘After three years of tests, we have had no conclusive results – so we have decided to stop it and put it on ice.’
   Blatter added that the Adidas system, involving a microchip in a ball, had failed in one of seven trial matches during the World Club Championships in Tokyo in December because of interference on the signal being sent to the referee’s watch device.
   He said the problem of every ball manufacturer needing to insert a chip was also an issue.
   The ‘Hawkeye’ system, meanwhile, uses 12 cameras linked to a computer that combines the images, but Blatter said there were problems with that too.
   ‘You cannot ensure it works when there are a bunch of players inside the goalmouth and you cannot see the ball, or when there is poor visibility,’ said Blatter.
   ‘FIFA is of the opinion that the systems are very costly, would not add anything to the game and would harm the position of the referee.’

Fabio Capello is planning a World Cup qualifying campaign without Michael Owen. The Newcastle striker, 28, is facing a desperate fight to save his international career after it emerged Capello ranks him as fourth choice in the England pecking order.
   Owen will be named in the squad for the friendly against France, but will find himself even lower in Capello’s rankings.
   Having seen Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch play ahead of him, Owen will have to accept that Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor, who missed last month’s Switzerland game through injury, is likely to start up front instead.
   And when the World Cup qualifiers start in September, Owen – fourth on the list of all-time England scorers – could find himself out altogether. A source close to Capello said, ‘Fabio is not convinced Michael can be the force he once was at international level.
   ‘It was even a borderline decision to include him in the last squad. He knows he has a great England record, but he is skeptical about whether Michael can fit into the way he wants England to play.
   ‘He won’t just drop him like a stone and now he appears to be back to full fitness, Fabio will have a close look at him. But Michael will need to start scoring again and impress in training if he is to stay part of the plans.’
   Owen still has faith in his scoring ability and believes he can prove Capello wrong.
   But should his struggling Newcastle side be relegated, there would be no prospect of Capello selecting him for England.
   Although Capello has hinted that David Beckham will get his 100th cap, his treatment of the LA Galaxy star has shown that he is no respecter of reputations.

English football’s big guns were shot down in flames on Saturday as Chelsea and Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup quarter-finals in two of the famous old competition’s most remarkable upsets.
   Between them Chelsea and United have won four of the last five Premier League titles, boast some of the world’s finest players and bank balances and in midweek marched into the Champions League quarter-finals.
   But even those resources weren’t enough to protect them from the FA Cup’s ability to throw up jaw-dropping results.
   Chelsea were the more embarrassed as humble Championship club Barnsley knocked out the FA Cup holders 1-0 at Oakwell.
   But United fared little better, with Portsmouth winning at Old Trafford for the first time in 51 years thanks to Sulley Muntari’s second half penalty.
   Chelsea could have few excuses as Barnsley had served notice of their giant-killing qualities by eliminating Liverpool in the previous round at Anfield.
   But Avram Grant clearly wasn’t paying attention as he left out Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, only to see his gamble backfire in spectacular fashion.
   Grant faces a fight to hold onto his job and he admitted the defeat was the worst of his Chelsea reign.
   ‘It’s the worst since I came here,’ he said. ‘I am very, very disappointed and sad about this. It’s an important competition.
   ‘We had a chance to do something in this competition and we didn’t do it so now we need to look forward for the league and Champions League.’
   Barnsley’s hero was Kayode Odejayi.
   The Nigerian striker’s last goal had come back in September but he was in the right place to head past Carlo Cudicini in the 66th minute and send the Tykes into the semi-finals for the first time since 1912.
   It was a dream come true for Barnsley manager Simon Davey, who said, ‘I can’t believe it.
   ‘We went to Anfield and we put on a show and we came away with the result and everyone thought we couldn’t do it again.
   ‘I believed from the start that we could, especially because we’ve only lost here twice this season.
   ‘We had a game-plan and it’s obviously worked. I’m speechless at the moment,
   ‘I can’t believe we’ve really done it. We’re in the semi-finals.
   ‘I’ve never been to Wembley myself, there’s a lot of players in that dressing room who’ve never gone to Wembley and I just can’t wait now.’
   While Grant was left to sift through the rubble, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson launched a typically furious tirade at the officials after referee Martin Atkinson’s controversial display.
   Atkinson turned down United’s appeals for a spot-kick when Sylvain Distin shoulder-charged Cristiano Ronaldo, then rubbed salt into the wound by giving a penalty and sending off goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak for his foul on Milan Baros.
   ‘It’s absolutely ridiculous. I cannot explain it. Managers get sacked because of things like that and he’s going to referee a game next week,’ Ferguson said.
   ‘Referees’ boss Keith Hackett is not doing his job properly and he needs to be assessed.
   ‘I’m assessed as a manager, players are assessed, referees should be assessed properly by the right people.
   ‘That performance today should not be accepted by our game.’
   Pompey manager Harry Redknapp admitted his side rode their luck and said, ‘Of course we rode our luck.
   ‘You know United are going to get chances as they are a fantastic team.
   ‘It is marvellous for our supporters and the club we are going to Wembley for the semis. It will be their greatest day for years.’

British newspapers hailed more major upsets in the FA Cup Sunday after big fish Chelsea and Manchester United were both knocked out by minnows in what one paper called ‘this hazy, crazy cup year’.
   Chelsea were dispatched by Championship side Barnsley, who beat them 1-0, while United were toppled by Premiership middleweights Portsmouth with same scoreline.
   ‘So this hazy, crazy, cup year careers on,’ the Sunday Times said.
   ‘As if the exit of Manchester United was not enough of an upset, albeit to a Premier League side, Chelsea were humbled by Barnsley on a Yorkshire night made for the underdogs.
   ‘So no member of the big four reaches the last four of the cup and all is right with the world outside the Champions League.’
   The Observer said Portsmouth had lucky breaks in seizing victory.
   ‘To say Portsmouth rode their luck would be understating the case by the length of the Manchester Ship Canal,’ the paper said.
   ‘Never mind Sir Alex Ferguson staying on for another three or four years.
   ‘His blood pressure will not stand another three months of this and he might just have seen his best chance of another treble disappear over the horizon as well.’
   Most papers agreed that Barnsley’s Nigerian striker Kayode Odejayi was the star turn in their victory over west London giants Chelsea.
   The Yorkshire, northern England club—who knocked out Liverpool in the last round—‘produced another massive shock’ and Odejayi’s name ‘will long be remembered in FA Cup history,’ the Sunday Telegraph said.
   ‘The last time Barnsley reached the FA Cup semi-finals was back in 1912, the year the Titanic sank,’ the Mail on Sunday added.
   ‘And 96 years on, the iceberg won again as the Premier League’s blue riband super vessel failed to navigate choppy northern waters.’

Inter Milan kicked off their centenary celebrations with a 2-0 victory over Reggina and followed up with a feast of nostalgia.
   Any chance Reggina had of spoiling the party was quashed by a generously awarded home penalty after just 14 minutes at the San Siro, followed by a string of important saves from Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
   Zlatan Ibrahimovic slid home the spot-kick and centre-back Nicolas Burdisso headed home a Luis Jumenez free-kick just past the half hour mark, taking advantage of some slack marking, to seal the points.
   That meant the party could go ahead as planned with huge flags draped over each of the four sides of the stand.
   On one side was a giant shirt donning the number 100, on another the flags of Italy and the city of Milan, on another the words centenary. The fans would not be allowed to forget what they had turned up for.
   Curiously, though, only 64,000 supporters were there in a stadium that can hold 20,000 more than that and did four days earlier for a Champions League match between AC Milan and Arsenal.
   Those empty seats will likely also be banished for Tuesday’s crucial Champions League tie between Inter and Liverpool with the Italians trailing 2-0 from the first leg of their last-16 clash.
   Even so, those who were present created a fabulous atmosphere.
   At one point a series of taped messages from personalities within the football world were played on big screens around the stadium.
   Big cheers greeted the likes of former players Roberto Baggio, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Alvaro Recoba and Walter Zenga, and even current young star Mario Balotelli.
   Comically though, other messages were not so well received.
   FIFA president Sepp Blatter was roundly jeered but that was nothing compared to the reaction that former Juventus star, and now UEFA president, Michel Platini was given.
   There was music from locally-born Italian great Adriano Celentano, speeches and videos of archive footage showing great victories of Inter Milan’s past, from their two European Cup triumphs in 1964 and 1965 and also from their 15 Serie A title triumphs, five Italian Cups and three UEFA Cups.
   It was a day to remember some past glories as well as revel in the current era of domestic domination.
   Finally came a presentation of scores of former players, including the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann, Guiseppe Bergomi, Baggio and Zenga.
   President Massimo Moratti delighted in the occasion and even managed to sing with Celentano.
   ‘This is wonderful, the fans are happy. I was very happy to sing with Celentano because he’s a big fan, an artist from this community,’ said Moratti, who revealed his favourite Inter player was Eddie Firmani, a South African-born Italy international, who spent only three years at Inter.
   ‘I saw several players but I was impressed by Firmani, a great player who played in the period before our European Cup triumphs but who could make you cry.’
   Moratti also turned his attentions, ominously, to matters at hand and Liverpool.
   ‘We want to worry, we want to concentrate, we want tenacity, we want character, we want everything that is necessary to win that match and progress,’ he said.

Avram Grant faces more showdown talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich this week to discuss his side’s fading season following their humiliating FA Cup exit at Barnsley.
   Kayode Odejayi’s second half goal was enough to dump Chelsea out of the FA Cup at the quarter final stage when Grant’s men looked odds on favourites to win the competition following Manchester United’s earlier defeat at home to Portsmouth.
   But despite fielding a side of internationals from back to front the Premier League giants were second best against a side struggling to avoid relegation from the Championship this season.
   Grant was already treading on thin ice in the wake of Chelsea’s dismal League Cup final defeat to London rivals Tottenham.
   Chelsea’s convincing victory over Olympiakos to reach the last eight of the Champions League was thought to have eased the pressure on Grant, but this defeat will take some explaining by the man who knows his side’s season is now in danger of finishing without a trophy. The Blues are trailing Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and winning the Champions League now appears their best bet when it comes to keeping Grant in a job.
   Abramovich, who has pumped vast amounts of his multi-billion pound fortune into the club, will want to know why leading lights Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were left in London and out of the squad altogether.
   If Grant thought Chelsea could cope without them then he thought wrong and Abramovich will summon the Israeli to his Stamford Bridge office this week to demand answers for what was one of the most humbling defeats in the club’s recent history.
   Grant said: ‘We are all very disappointed because losing in the quarter finals is not acceptable.
   ‘Barnsley played well and showed good spirit. But we created a lot of chances and couldn’t take them.
   ‘We played with a team that was good enough to win this game and it didn’t happen.
   ‘It has happened to all the big teams this season, but since I came to Chelsea this is the most disappointing day I have had.
   ‘There is pressure at Chelsea and we feel it all the time, but we must keep looking to the future.’
   That future might not include Grant, with Abramovich more than capable of funding a costly exercise in compensation should he choose to part company with his manager just seven months after appointing him successor to Jose Mourinho. What will concern Abramovich most is Grant’s inability to be able to change systems and styles when things are not going to plan.
   The party promises to last for days in Barnsley, who can now look forward to a trip to Wembley for the semi-finals, the club’s first since 1912.
   Simon Davey’s players were on a 1,000 pounds-a-man bonus to beat Chelsea and now chairman Gordon Shepherd and multi-millionaire owner Patrick Cryan will offer them ten times this amount to reach May’s final.
   Davey said: ‘I can’t believe it but hopefully I’ll wake up in the morning and it will still be true. To go to Anfield and win and then beat Chelsea here is just magnificent.
   ‘We gave everything. I never went to the old Wembley and haven’t been to the new one either as a player, manager or supporter so it should be really special for everyone connected to the club. To get to the final would be a dream come true.’

A 200th league goal from captain Raul Gonzalez helped Read Madrid overcome Espanyol 2-1 on Saturday as they took the first step towards erasing the painful memory of their Champions League exit.
   Raul’s 72nd-minute penalty moved Real eight points clear at the top of the Spanish first division although second-placed Barcelona can reduce the gap to five points with victory over Villarreal on Sunday.
   ‘Normally you have faith in your players and the team
   as a whole although it was
   difficult for us after we went behind,’ said Real coach Bernd Schuster who was under pressure after the midweek European exit at the hands of Roma.
   ‘The psychological factor was really important today especially after Wednesday and we showed a lot of character.
   ‘I didn’t see the penalty
   incident but they tell me it was one.’
   Three days ago Real
   were dumped out of Europe
   at their fortress Santiago Bernabeu and there was an air
   of tension especially when Real old boy Valdo put Espanyol ahead.
   Gonzalo Higuain equalised shortly before half-time and fittingly Raul, who made his Real debut back in 1994, netted the winner to bring up his double century in the league.
   It was the 13th goal this season for Raul who is having his best season for years and is only 16 goals behind the club’s all-time top-scorer Alfredo Di Stefano.
   The result was also a shot in the arm for Schuster who had to listen to intense speculation about his future following the Roma debacle.
   Espanyol, who defeated Real earlier in the season, stay fifth after the loss but Real’s city neighbours Atletico Madrid could not capitalise losing 2-1 at Real Zaragoza.
   Atletico, who beat Barcelona 4-2 last weekend, went
   ahead through Portuguese winger Simao but a Pablo Tebar own goal and a Diego Milito penalty turned the game on its head.
   Atletico stay fourth but will rue the missed chance to move level on points with third-placed Villarreal.
   For new Zaragoza coach Manolo Villanova it was the perfect debut as he bids to lift the club away from the relegation dogfight.
   Real manager Schuster showed his anger with three changes from the starting line-up against Roma with Michael Salgado, Fabio Cannavaro and Fernando Gago making way for Higuain, Miguel Torres and Marcelo.
   Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas reached another landmark with his 300th league appearance having made his debut back in September 1999 as an 18-year-old.
   In the first minute he was forced into a fine diving save to deny Jonathan.
   Julio Baptista should have put Real ahead on 11 minutes but headed thin air instead of putting the ball in the net.
   Espanyol are not a team frightened by big reputations though and were rewarded for their adventure on 29 minutes when Valdo headed in a free-kick after Real left him completely unmarked.
   It was a sweet moment for Valdo who started his career at Real after coming through the youth system.
   Minutes later Baptista forced Idriss Kameni into a world-class save with the Cameroon international showing why a lot of top sides are monitoring his progress.
   But Kameni was helpless minutes before the interval as Higuain bumbled in the equaliser with his knee after a great cross from Marcelo.
   On 72 minutes Raul was tripped by Jarque, although it seemed to be outside the box, and the skipper picked himself up to dispatch the penalty-kick.

Fernando Torres continued his red hot scoring form as Liverpool added to Newcastle’s deepening relegation worries with a comfortable 3-0 win at Anfield on Saturday.
   Spain striker Torres produced another man-of-the-match display as he made it seven goals in his last three home outings and also set up another as Rafa Benitez’s side moved to within two points of third placed Chelsea in the Premier League table.
   Jermaine Pennant and Steven Gerrard also found the net to put Liverpool in the right frame of mind for Tuesday’s Champions League visit to Inter Milan, where they lead 2-0 and will be vying to become England’s fourth representative in the quarter-finals.
   Liverpool have now won their last five games. In contrast Newcastle look like a team resigned to relegation after slipping to their fourth successive league defeat.
   There was no happy return for Anfield legend Kevin Keegan as he watched his side press the self destruct button.
   Keegan is without a win in seven Premier League games since returning for his second spell in charge in January.
   Having seen off Middlesbrough, Bolton and West Ham, Liverpool were seeking to make it four successive Premier League victories for the first time in 14 months.
   Benitez’s side have not only been clocking up the points but also the goals as well, with Torres hammering back-to-back Anfield hat-tricks.
   And the Spaniard clearly fancied his chances of increasing his tally for the season against a Newcastle side in free fall.
   In front of England manager Fabio Capello, there was little to choose between the two sides until Pennant broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute after a huge slice of luck.
   There looked to be little danger when Jose Enrique cut out Torres’s ball into the Newcastle penalty area, but the Spanish defender’s attempted clearance cannoned off Pennant before looping over keeper Steve Harper into the net.
   But if Newcastle felt hard done by after falling behind they could have no complaints about Liverpool’s second goal two minutes later.
   A defence-splitting pass
   by the impressive Gerrard
   found Torres with time and space to fire home his 25th goal since arriving from Atletico Madrid.
   Newcastle were completely demoralised and within six minutes of the second half they were 3-0 behind.
   Torres was once again involved but this time he turned provider as he teed-up Gerrard to hammer home his 19th of the season and kill the game.