Short News on Football

Alves says racism ingrained in Spanish grounds.

He said in an interview published on Tuesday, Brazil right back Daniel Alves has been the victim of racism throughout his time in Spain with Barcelona, The 27-year-old described how he had been called a ‘monkey’ by fans of Barca’s rivals at many grounds in Spain. “Sadly, I’ve learnt to live with it,” he told the Brazilian daily Folha de Sao Paulo while preparing for Brazil’s friendly against France in Paris on Wednesday. “I live with it in all the matches but I don’t feel offended. They insult me, they call me monkey,” said Alves, who has established himself as one of Barcelona’s key players since joining them from Sevilla in 2008. “The fans do it, the players are against it … My family are unhappy, they complain but I try to distance myself from it.

Ireland down Wales in Nations Cup

At Lansdowne Road here on Tuesday, The Republic of Ireland won the inaugural Nations Cup match as they beat Wales 3-0.  What was meant to be a fresh era for Welsh football under Gary Speed saw his first game in charge end with another depressing defeat. Neither side looked especially impressive in a dreary opening 45 minutes but after Darron Gibson broke the deadlock on the hour with his first international goal, the Republic pulled away with Damien Duff and substitute Keith Fahey also finding the back of the net.Manchester United’s Gibson may never score a better international goal than the 20-yard strike that flew past Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey.Six minutes later, it was 2-0 to the hosts after Fulham favourite Duff turned in a cutback from eight yards.

Wales — who next month face old rivals England in a Euro 2012 qualifier in Cardiff — conceded a third goal eight minutes from time when Fahey powered in a 25-yard free-kick. The Nations Cup is a four-team tournament also featuring Scotland and Northern Ireland, who play each other here on Wednesday.The new tournament is on a league basis, with all six matches being staged at Lansdowne Road (the rest will take place in May) with the plan that all future editions will be held in the one country on a rotational basis.  

Forward march Abahani 

Thanks to two first half strikes from Frank, reigning champions Dhaka Abahani Limited escaped with three full points after defeating Arambagh Krira Sangha by 2-1 in the Grameenphone Bangladesh League on Wednesday at the Bir Shreshtha Mostafa Kamal Stadium. But their archrivals Dhaka Mohammedan Sporting Club saw another setback on their way to stay in the title race while they were forced to drop points after a 2-2 draw in an away match with Feni Soccer Club at Feni Stadium. Dhaka Abahani lifted their tally to 17 points from eight matches to lead the table while Mohammedan Sporting Club managed 13 points to stand on fourth position after the eighth round.  The holders Dhaka Abahani, despite taking an early 20th minute lead through Frank. Arambagh drew level 16 minutes later through Bangura.  But Frank again struck on the injury time of the first half to salvage the champions. After taking a slim lead, Dhaka Abahani failed to increase the advantage as the giant killers Arambagh, who shocked the top ranking Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club with a solitary goal defeat, prevented well the favourites’ strikers from hitting the target. At the Feni Stadium, Dhaka Mohammedan, who just ended their winning drought with a comfortable 4-1 win over Arambagh KS in the previous match after three defeats in a row, again went on the back foot with a struggling 2-2 draw with the minnows Feni Soccer Club. After a goalless first half, Towhidul of Feni Soccer broke the deadlock inside four minutes starting of the second half to put the home side ahead. Emeka Christan squared it for Mohammedan on 71st minute while Anwar led the visitors on 78th minute but Bulbul sealed the crucial equaliser on 88th minute to snatch a point from the giants.