SPORTSWednesday, October 28, 201530

Shaikh Salman furious at ‘nasty lies’

Roger Federer shines Sports in Shorts

London

Asian football chief and FIFA presidential

contender Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa yesterday hit out at “nasty lies” which he said were damaging his campaign.

Bahrain human rights groups have accused Shaikh Salman of involvement in the arrest and torture of footballers when he was head of the Bahrain Football Association.

“These are false, nasty lies that have been repeated again and again in the past and the

present,” the Asian Football Confederation president told the BBC in an interview.

“I cannot deny something that I haven’t done,” the 49-year-old added.

“Such accusations are not just damaging, it’s really hurting. Some people have agenda on their table.”

“It’s not just damaging me, it’s damaging the people and the country,” Shaikh Salman added.

Shaikh Salman was among the late candidates who entered the race to succeed Sepp Blatter as president of

FIFA on Monday in the hours before the deadline to submit bids passed.

With the numerical power of the Asian confederation

he will be one of the leading contenders among the eight registered for the vote on February 26.

Shaikh Salman said he

would not take a salary if elected and vowed to clean up scandal-tainted FIFA.

“With the support I’m going to get we’re going to turn it around very quick,” he promised.

“We have big examples of football organisations around the world - the Premier League, the Bundesliga, even UEFA who have from a football side and a revenue side, it is not even greater than FIFA, but it is handled in a very professional way. And this is what we want to bring to Fifa.”

Basel

Roger Federer charged past his first hurdle in

the quest for a lucky seventh title at the Swiss Indoors yesterday, with the top seed delivering a crushing 6-1, 6-2 lesson to Mikhail Kukushkin.

T h e f i r s t - r o u n d demolition in front of an appreciative home public at the event where the 17-time Grand Slam winner got his start in the game as a ballboy took only 54 minutes.

2014 finalist David Goffin of Belgium, hammered by Federer in less than an hour a year ago in the title match, won his opening match as he beat Italian Andreas

Seppi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.The fourth-ranked

Federer was rock solid in his first match since an opening loss a fortnight ago in Shanghai.

The Swiss is seeking his 10th straight finals appearance at Basel. He last beat his 64th-ranked Kazakh opponent in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Geneva a year ago.

Federer said he knew that he would be facing a tough customer in Kukushkin.

“I was seeing the ball as big as a melon,” said the 34-year-old, who has five titles this season. “I knew that I had to stay with him in the first set as he would

be looking for a fast start.“That was my main

strategy, to keep him under control. I knew the second set would go easier. “I’m very happy with this performance, especially to advance so well here at home. He was trying to give me a game I don’t like but I was able to counter that.

“This was a very good start for me, an enjoyable match.”

Grigor Dimitrov began erasing a run of recent poor form as the Bulgarian beat Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round. German Philipp Kohlschreiber put out Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Nagelsmann to become youngest coach BerlinJulian Nagelsmann will become the youngest coach in Bundesliga history when the 28-year-old takes charge of Hoffenheim next season, the club announced yesterday, providing they avoid relegation.With Hoffenheim second from bottom, Markus Gisdol was relieved of his duties as head coach on Monday and has been replaced by renowned German club saviour Huub Stevens for the rest of this season.

Warne wants to train with ShahDubaiLegendary Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne yesterday said he would like to train with fast-rising Pakistan spinner Yasir Shah in the nets, a wish Pakistan management welcomed.Warne, on a promotional tour to United Arab Emirates (UAE), said he believes Shah is a world class bowler.

Rooney granted testimonial LondonManchester United captain Wayne Rooney will have a testimonial next season after a campaign by supporters to honour the England striker’s long service to the club.Rooney will play in a testimonial match for a Manchester United XI against a yet-to-be-named opponent at Old Trafford on August 3, 2016.Details of the players and managers who will be involved on the day are expected to be revealed over the next few weeks.

Shaikh Salman was among the late candidates who entered the race to succeed Sepp Blatter as president of

FIFA on Monday in the hours before the deadline to submit bids passed

© GRAPHIC NEWSSources: IRB, Scrum.com Pictures: Getty Images

October 31, Twickenham Stadium, London, England

NEW ZEALAND AUSTRALIACoachSteve HansenCaptain: Richie McCawWorld Cup record

Best finishWinner 1987, 2011Aiming to be first teamto win back-to-backtitles – 48 wins in 53matches since victoryover France in 2011 final

CoachMichael Cheika

Captain: Stephen MooreWorld Cup record

Best finishWinner 1991, 1999

Arguably tougher routeto final, beating England

and Wales beforecontroversial win over

Scotland in quarter-final

Key men:Savea v

Ashley-CooperIn-form wingers

on oppositesides of pitch

Keybattle:McCaw vPocockTurnover balls atbreakdown will be crucial

W43 L6 W39 L8HEAD-TO-HEAD

(All-time meetings)N. Zealand 105

Draws 7

Australia 42

ROAD TO FINALFijiUruguayEnglandWalesScotlandArgentina

28-1365-3

33-1315-6

35-3429-15

ArgentinaNamibiaGeorgiaTongaFranceS. Africa

26-1658-1443-10

47-962-1320-18

Match 1Match 2Match 3Match 4Q-finalS-final

TEAM STATISTICS

EXCITING ENCOUNTERS: An Antipodean rivalry

2568036455513464

53

205842642

7262379

35

Points scoredPoints against

TriesTurnoversTackles

Metres gainedOffloads

910

1213

11

23

4

78

6 5 1

14

15

1 5 687

3

10

1113

12

14 15

24

9

Dan CarterRecord points scorer,set for first WorldCup final aftermissing2011withinjury

Bernard FoleyAustralia will need

fly-half to be athis kicking best

to competewith Carter

MoodyColesFranksRetallickWhitelockKainoMcCaw (c)Read

12345678

A. SmithCarterSaveaNonuC. SmithMilner-SkudderB. Smith

91011121314

15

PROBABLE LINE-UPSNEW ZEALAND

SlipperMoore (c)KepuDouglasSimmonsFardyHooperPocock

12345678

GeniaFoleyMitchellGiteauKuridraniAshley-CooperFolau

91011121314

15

AUSTRALIA

First meeting on neutral soil.David Campese makesinspired reverse pass toTim Horan, who scoresto send Australia to final

World Cup SF,Dublin, 1991

AUS 16NZL 06

All Blacks lead 21-0 after justfive minutes in front of worldrecord crowd of 109,874 –Australia draw level beforeJonah Lomu seals late win

Test match,Sydney, 2000

NZL 39AUS 35

Wallabies win first meetingin 11 in World Cup warm-up.All Blacks lost same matchin 2011 but went on to winWorld Cup on home turf

Rugby Ch’shipSydney, 2015

AUS 27NZL 19

Shaikh Salman

Federer celebrates victory

Madrid

Copa del Rey holders Barcelona begin their

defence of the trophy when they go to third-tier Villanovense for the first leg of their last-32 tie on Wednesday evening.

The match has been brought forward from the first midweek in December because of Barcelona’s involvement in the Club World Cup in Japan at the end of the year, and so the Catalans make the trip to the small town of Villanueva de la Serena while the rest of La Liga enjoys a midweek off.

Still without the injured Lionel Messi, Barca coach Luis Enrique has also opted to rest the likes of Neymar, Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Claudio Bravo for the game against opponents from the region of Extremadura in western Spain.

As a result, four players from Barca’s B team, who like Villanovense compete in the Second Division B, have been promoted to the first team.

Midfielders Sergi Samper and Gerard Gumbau, both 20 and who have already featured for the first team, are included along with attacking duo Aitor Cantalapiedra and Wilfrid Kaptoum, both aged 19. A slip-up would not be disastrous for Barca with the second leg to be played on December 2 at the Camp Nou, but Luis Enrique is prevented by competition rules from fielding too many reserve players.

“We are limited because we must always have seven first-team players on the field,” he acknowledged.

“I would have liked to rely on more young players and give more of a rest to others.”

Barcelona look to youth for Copa del Rey tie

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba warm up