In an extraordinary piece of football theatre, which ended amid farcical scenes, Sepp Blatter last night denied that FIFA was in crisis. During a fractious press conference in Zurich, Blatter said, “Crisis? What is a crisis? Football is not in a crisis. We are not in a crisis, we are only in some difficulties.”

The conference, which followed a meeting of FIFA’s executive committee, broke up with an angry Blatter exiting the room as a German journalist shouted questions after him. The 75-year-old Swiss refused to comment on a leaked email from his general secretary, Jerome Valcke, that Qatar had “bought” the 2022 World Cup and claimed there was no evidence that the Qatar bid was “touched” by corruption claims and so FIFA would do “nothing”.

Blatter, who is set to be handed a fourth term as FIFA president in Wednesday’s uncontested election, also ruled out any prospect of a re-vote on the 2022 result. He said, “There is no issue with the World Cup 2022.” He became more irritated as the 30-minute conference progressed. At one point, when asked why he had allowed FIFA’s reputation to be “damaged on his watch”, he pointedly looked at his wristwatch. Later he snapped: “Please respect me. We are not in a bazaar here we are in FIFA House.”

He insisted: “FIFA is strong enough that we can deal with our problems. We can solve our problems.” But those problems are mounting rapidly, whatever Blatter may claim. Throughout yesterday, claim and counter-claim swept around the lobbies of Zurich’s high-end hotels. It leaves FIFA in a state of turmoil ahead of the opening of their two-day annual congress tonight, at which the presidential election will take place.

Jack Warner had promised that a “tsunami” would hit football following the suspensions of him and Mohamed bin Hammam over bribery allegations and has since hit out at Blatter and Valcke. The most damaging is his publication of an email sent to him by Valcke in which the Frenchman, a key ally of Blatter, wrote that Qatar had “bought” the 2022 World Cup finals.

That prompted a furious reaction from Qatar, the small Emirate state that emerged as the shock hosts of the finals after a controversial vote in Zurich last December. They threatened legal action and have denied any wrongdoing.

But Valcke, in another of the day’s surreal moments, also denied acting out of turn. Yesterday morning he acknowledged that the email was genuine and said: “we will discuss it later.” Later he issued a statement which said: “I’d like to clarify that I may use in an email - a ‘lighter’ way of expression by nature - a much less formal tone than in any form of correspondence. What I wanted to say is [Qatar] used their financial strength to lobby for support. They were a candidate with a very important budget and have used it to heavily promote their bid around the world in a very efficient manner. I have at no time made any reference to any purchase of votes or similar ethical behaviour.”

In the meantime, Bin Hammam announced he was to appeal against his suspension and wants FIFA’s appeals committee to reach a decision before today’s congress opens. He said he expected the investigation into his actions to be “influenced and manipulated”.

Bin Hammam said: “The way these proceedings have been conducted is absolutely not compliant with any principles of justice. I am punished before I am found guilty. I get the impression that the outcome of these proceedings has been defined from the very start. This is not acceptable as the FIFA ethics committee is supposed to be a fully independent body.

Therefore, I also expect the further investigation to be influenced and manipulated."

The details of what allegedly went on in the Port-of-Spain hotel earlier this month - actions which led to the suspension of Mr Bin Hammam and Mr Warner - continue to emerge. Yesterday the Press Association obtained a photograph taken by a member of the Bahamas FA of four bundles of $100 bills and the large brown envelope they were handed to him in. Fred Lunn, a vice-president of the Bahamas FA, said in an affidavit delivered to the FIFA ethics committee during Sunday's hearing: “stacks of $100 fell out [when he opened it] and on to the table. I was stunned to see this cash.”

— By arrangement with The Independent

Zurich, May 31
Top-tier sponsors Visa Inc and Emirates Airlines added to pressure on FIFA to undertake sweeping reform on Tuesday, as England urged the postponement of president Sepp Blatter's unopposed re-election.

The two companies joined fellow FIFA partners Coca-Cola and Adidas in expressing disquiet at the recent wave of corruption allegations, which have included claims of bribery in the presidential election campaign and in last year's World Cup vote.

"The current situation is not good for the game and we ask that FIFA take all necessary steps to resolve the concerns that have been raised," Visa Europe said in a statement that means four of FIFA's six major sponsors have now expressed worries about the current situation.

English soccer's governing body, the FA, responded to that appearance by asking other nations to join it in seeking to delay the vote and provide an opportunity for another candidate to stand against the incumbent.

Scotland backed up the English stance but many federations asked for their response, including the United States, declined to comment. The only way Blatter will not be re-elected on Wednesday is if the FIFA Congress proposes and passes a motion to call off the vote with the support of 75 percent of voting delegates.

That is unlikely to happen as while Blatter may not be able to connect with fans, he is highly skilled at talking to the only audience that really matters to his future - the voting delegates at the Congress.

Emirates airline expressed its concern saying it was "disappointed with the issues that are currently surrounding the administration of the sport". Earlier, Coca-Cola said the allegations of corruption were "distressing and bad for the sport". German sportswear maker Adidas also said the controversy had hurt soccer.

Visa's call for FIFA to take "all necessary steps" stopped short of calling for any specific action.

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said FIFA should allow an external inquiry. "They should postpone the election and really clear up everything, take some time and then hold a new election," Sylvia Schenk, sports advisor for the Berlin-based watchdog said. — Reuters

Karachi, May 31
Angry at being removed as Pakistan's ODI captain, temperamental all-rounder Shahid Afridi has retired from international cricket, insisting he would return only if "disgraceful" administrators of the PCB quit. "The people have given me lot of respect and love and I don't want to waste that working with this board, who don't know how to respect players," Afridi fumed.

In a scathing attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board, the 31-year-old described the current set of administrators as "disgraceful people". The experienced all-rounder said he will not play international cricket till the time the present PCB, under the chairmanship of Ijaz Butt, is in place.

"I want to make it clear that till this board is there, I will not play international cricket. When it goes and if people want me to play on, I will consider a comeback," he said.

However, Afridi said he will continue to play in domestic matches. "I will continue to play domestic and league cricket, but not international cricket... It is not worth my while under this board, which gave me no reason nor did it bother to hear me out before sacking me as captain," he said.

"I don't want to work with such disgraceful people. I don't know on what grounds they sacked me as a captain. I worked hard on building up a broken team and turned it into a fighting combination. We played in the World Cup semi-final and yet they sacked me without hearing me out," he added.

The retirement follows Afridi's sacking as ODI captain despite Pakistan's 3-2 series win over the West Indies. Though the board did not give any official reason for the removal, it was believed to be a result of growing differences that Afridi had with coach Waqar Younis, in particular over matters of selection.

Afridi also claimed that there was a group of people belonging to the Punjab province in Lahore, who had always been against him.

He said, “This group has always kept on working against me. They are the ones who keep on filling the Chairman's ears against me. Maybe they don't want me to play because I get in the way of their plans." — PTI

Paris, May 31
Men's hopeful Andy Murray and women's holder Francesca Schiavone clawed their way back from the brink to progress at the French Open with gritty performances on a chilly Tuesday at Roland Garros.

Both were two points away from defeat, but Schiavone reached the semi-finals with a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and British fourth seed Murray floored Serbian Viktor Troicki 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the last eight against Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela.

Schiavone struggled to cope with windy conditions on court Philippe Chatrier as Moscow-based Pavlyuchenkova wore long sleeves and hit long balls to unsettle the Italian fifth seed, who next faces Russian former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova or local favourite Marion Bartoli.

It worked perfectly for Pavlyuchenkova, who knocked out world number three Vera Zvonareva in the previous round and she raced into a 6-1, 4-2 lead. But with her back to the wall in the second set, Schiavone bounced back, grunting as her game gradually fell into place and her opponent's started to unravel as she won six games in a row.

Murray, who twisted his ankle in the previous round, is not the kind to give up easily despite his seemingly nonchalant attitude, as he showed in a thrilling match against Troicki. The Briton, yet to win a grand slam title, fell 5-0 behind on Monday in just 18 minutes, as he looked in pain and on the brink of pulling out, before fighting back to level at two sets all.

The match resumed on Tuesday with an unusual incident. A ball boy inexplicably ran on to the court in front of Troicki during a rally as the Serb moved to the net for a smash in the sixth game. Because of "movement during the exchange", umpire Pascal Maria had the point replayed as Troicki boiled over, but the Serb broke for 4-2.

He came within two points of victory when he led 5-3, 30-0 on his serve, but made a string of unforced errors to let Murray back into the contest. — Reuters

London, May 31
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes today announced his retirement from football with immediate effect and will join the club's coaching staff.

The 36-year-old made 676 appearances for the club, with his last coming as a second-half substitute, as United lost 3-1 to Barcelona in Saturday's Champions League final at Wembley.

The midfielder won 10 Premier League titles as well as two Champions Leagues and the FA Cup three times in a career spent entirely at United. There had been growing speculation about his future in the recent weeks as he grew dissatisfied with his increasingly bit-part role at Old Trafford.

Announcing his retirement, he said, "This was not a decision I have taken lightly, but I feel now is the right time for me to stop playing. I am not a man of many words but I can honestly say that playing football is all I have ever wanted to do. And, to have had such a long and successful career at Manchester United has been a real honour.” — AFP

Jalandhar, May 31
If you want to be an excellent hockey player, you are required to strengthen your shoulder, back, upper leg and lower leg muscles.

This basic knowledge and other related valuable information regarding various games is on display at the country’s first gallery on Science of Sports recently opened at the Pushpa Gujral Science City (PGSC) in Kapurthala.

The gallery has been divided into various sections for cricket, volleyball, badminton, lawn tennis, basketball, football, hockey and rural sports, boxing, gymnastic, judo, shooting, hammer throw, shot put, fencing, javelin, pole vault, equestrian, sailing and rock climbing.

Several models at the gallery provide information about history of various sports, ground dimensions, possible injuries and safeguards. This is a virtual learning centre to understand science and sports through a playful and informal approach, PGSC Director-General Dr. R.S. Khandpur said while talking to The Tribune.

Khandpur said the motive behind setting up the gallery at the cost of rupees one crore was to familiarise visitors with applications of scientific principles in sports - role of gravity, projectile motion, momentum, force, energy, impulse, Newton’s Law of Motion, materials used in equipment etc. and understanding and improving performance in sports.

Abhishek, a student of MGN School Jalandhar, said after visiting the gallery that it provided valuable information about different sports.

Moves in sports are governed by scientific principles and material used has scientific basis. Sportspersons, umpires and coaches often use science and technology knowingly or inadvertently. The gallery makes an attempt to bring science closer to the sports-loving people’s hearts and mind, Khandpur added.

As far as the cricket World Cup 2011 is concerned, it left no chance for perceptions, assumptions or doubts about the decisions against run-outs, stumpings, LBWs, catches and boundaries. Players and umpires nowadays use reviews for decisions, based on science and technology.

New Delhi, May 31
Twelve top club teams will participate in the 35th Lala Raghubir Singh Hot Weather Prize Money Cricket Tournament to be held at the Modern School ground here from June 1 to June 13.

The teams in the fray are: Collage Sports, Himachal Cricket Association, Food Corporation of India, Malik Sports, Air-India, Vidya Jain, Rajnigandha, Gush Club, Hargopal Club, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Rajasthan Cricket Association and R.R. Gymkhana.

Modern School principal Lata Vaidyanathan said that considering the ever-growing popularity of the tournament, the organising committee has decided to enhance the winners’ prize money from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The runners-up will receive Rs 1 lakh, instead of Rs 75,000. Prize money will also be awarded to the losing semi-finalists, man of the match, best bowler and best batsman.

Vaidyanathan also said the tournament has helped popularise cricket among Modern School students and as a result the school has, over the years, produced some outstanding cricketers, including Kirti Azad and Gautam Gambhir.