Berlin, June 30
World Cup organiser Franz Beckenbauer has criticised players for trying to get their opponents sent off by playacting, a practice known as “simulation”.

“Players are simulating and doing whatever they can to make it difficult for the referee,” Beckenbauer told a press conference at the World Cup.

“This is something we need to look at after the World Cup.” Beckenbauer, who led West Germany to World Cup glory in 1974 and guided his nation to the 1990 title as coach, also criticised Russian referee Valentin Ivanov’s handling of Portugal’s stormy last 16 game against the Netherlands.

Ivanov handed out 16 yellow cards and four reds, a World Cup record, as Portugal won 1-0 but both teams ended the match in Nuremberg with just nine players on the pitch.

“Clearly he was too quick to blow his whistle and too quick to give yellow cards,” Beckenbauer said.

“That meant that for the next little incident another yellow had to be shown.

“But the players make mistakes so let us allow the referees to make mistakes as well.”

Marienfeld, June 30
Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari admitted that he is sweating on the fitness of key winger Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of tomorrow’s quarterfinal match against England.

Ronaldo resumed light training on Wednesday after picking up a thigh injury in the second round win over the Nethlerlands last weekend.

The Manchester United player caught a boot from Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz early in the ill-tempered 1-0 win and was replaced after 34 minutes.

He was not present during the first quarter-hour of yesterday’s on-field training open to the media and also did not take part in today’s open session.

“We don’t know about Ronaldo,” Scolari told a press conference at the Portuguese training camp. “We’re still awaiting word on his fitness. I’ll decide if he plays just a couple of hours before the match,” said the Brazilian.

Scolari said the team would miss playmaker Deco and influential holding anchorman Costinha, out after being sent off in the win over the Netherlands, but added that he had full confidence in their replacements.

“Costinha and Deco are special players,” said the coach who took Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title and Portugal to the final of Euro 2004.

“All our players are special,” Scolari said. “Those who play in their place are also special players.” — AFP

Berlin, June 30
The head of FIFA’s Referees Committee denied accusations of poor officiating at the World Cup finals today saying the standard had never been higher. There has been widespread condemnation in the global sporting media about the abundance of yellow cards and the record number of red cards shown in these finals.

Both FIFA president Sepp Blatter and German great Franz Beckenbauer, president of the German World Cup organising committee, have also criticised the standard of refereeing this week.

High profile controversies involving English referee Graham Poll and Russian referee Valentin Ivanov have thrust match officials into the spotlight, but Angel Maria Villar, Spanish chairm an of the referees’ panel, denied any serious problems.

“Ninety per cent of the refereeing has been at a very high level at this World Cup, a far cry from Korea and Japan in 2002,” he said.

“We have far less serious injuries. Most of the matches have been played fairly in a great sporting spirit. We want a clean World Cup and we are achieving that.”

“It is the World Cup of the assistant referee. More goals are being scored in situations where before the flag would have gone up and the goal not stood. Of course there have been errors, but we are all human beings and we have the right to make mistakes.”

He backed both Poll, who showed a yellow card to the same player three times before sending him off, and Ivanov, who sent off a record four players in a second round match which Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1-0.

Although both referees have now been released from their World Cup duties he praised both as “outstanding” referees. “Mr Poll is a great referee and a great man,” he said, “who has admitted to a mistake. Mr Valentin is a great referee who showed the cards as he saw fit.”

He said that ideas such as looking again at whether a red card should be awarded after only two yellows were not matters for the referees to consider but for FIFA and the International Football Association Board, the game’s ultimate law-making body, to examine if they saw fit.

Villar is the president of the Spanish FA, a FIFA vice-president and executive committee member and a former Spanish international player.

He was once red carded for punching Johan Cruyff in the face during a match in Spain. — Reuters

Beijing, June 30
A football fan in China broke his toes while trying to score a goal in his dreams.

Li, a resident of Qingdao in Shandong Province, had a dream of scoring goal in a match as an Italian player but his right foot hit the wall in the process, China Daily reported.

His legs became swollen and a medical check up next morning indicated a fractured toe, the daily said.

Li has been an obsessive football fan since the start of the World Cup. — UNI

Kingston, June 30
At 58 for three after 40 overs on this first day of the fourth and final Test against the West Indies, India were still deep in the woods. Indeed, the examination through fire exemplified by the runs in the session resulting at a rate of around one an over. But the good news was, Rahul Dravid had averted greater disaster and was still unbeaten, but VVS Laxman was out. While the assistance to the bowlers had not evaporated, the pitch was unlikely to be as conspiratorial as at start of play.

The only realistic option for India in terms of selection was Yuvraj Singh vacating his place for Irfan Pathan. With the pitch appearing to be slightly soft from residual moisture and likely to evolve into a slow turner — a year ago Danish Kaneria took five wickets here in the second innings to win the match for Pakistan — they decided against an alteration. And the West Indies, too, retained the same combination as in the previous third encounter at St Kitts.

India, thereafter, won the toss and decided to bat, which presented the opportunity of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh obtaining last use of the wicket, which they were denied on the only occasion they operated in tandem in this series — in the previous Test. But the downside of taking first strike was likely to be a testing period for batsmen on the opening morning and so it proved to be.

Virender Sehwag departed off the third ball of the day, nudging to forward short leg off one aimed at his ribs. Then, in the fourth over of the innings, Wasim Jaffer was clean bowled by local man Jerome Taylor, swinging the ball both ways at considerable pace. Thus, with India on three for two, the West Indies were ecstatic. However, in between, Sarwan had retired hurt after being hit by a powerful pull from the Mumbai opener, which made the first 20 minutes even more eventful.

As Laxman and Dravid attempted to weather the storm, Corey Collymore, replacing Taylor, found the outside edge of the former’s bat — as he hung out his blade to an away going ball, but had the mortification to see his captain negotiate the catch with his wrists, rather than his palm to floor the chance. In fact, the first four for India did not surface until nearly 90 minutes of play had elapsed — a meticulous off drive from the Indian skipper bisecting the narrow gap between the bowler, Dwayne Bravo and mid-off. Perhaps, deriving confidence from this, Laxman subsequently chopped this medium pacer down to thirdman for his maiden boundary.

As long as the ball was new and skidding through in the first hour, batting was a challenge. But the track eased to a certain extent in the second hour under a hot sun, aided by a stiff breeze, and the leather also lost its shine. It was to the credit of the two senior wielders of the willow in the Indian side that they straddled this phase with maturity and skill.

Scoreboard

India (1st innings)

Jaffer b Taylor 1

Sehwag c Sarwan b Collins 0

Laxman c sub b Bravo 18

Dravid not out 18

Yuvraj not out 19

Extras (w-1, nb-1) 2

Total (3 wkts, 40 overs) 58

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-3, 3-34.

Chandigarh, June 30
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association led by Anurag Thakur got a shot in the arm when it received the green signal to run cricketing affairs in the state. As per a communication received from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) yesterday, the Anurag Thakur-led HPCA has been recognised by the board and 
authorised to run cricketing activities in the state.

Mr Thakur said here today that Mr Sharad Pawar, BCCI President, gave him a patient hearing at a recent meeting in Mumbai. “I presented all facts and figures before him, telling him how the Himachal team had started to do so well in the Ranji Trophy championship before the infighting broke out as a result of which the state team lost to even lowly teams like Tripura.” He said the BCCI chief assured him of all help in running the game in the state.

Mr Thakur had worked assiduously for about five years as the president of the association before Rajinder Zar formed a parallel body and staked claims to run cricket in the state last year. The state government then enacted a law — the HP State Registration and Recognition Act 2005 — making it mandatory for the state sport associations to get themselves registered on which the state High Court ordered a stay.

“My sole agenda will be the uplift of the game which has suffered a lot during the past year. Now the state players will neither be required to appear in separate trials nor will they be made to appear in parallel tournaments,” he said.

“The focus will be on the completion of inter-district tournaments and selection of teams for zonal meets. The domestic season is round the corner which will also need thorough preparation,” he stated.

He said the completion of the construction work going on at cricket stadium in Dharamsala would be his priority. “Mr Pawar has assured us of financial assistance for the project. We would like to complete work at the stadium before April, 2007, and try for an international match at the venue where a side game against Pakistan last year evoked tremendous interest and enthusiasm among cricket fans in the state,” he added.