Новости за 09.03.2016

Benfica will field a makeshift rearguard when they travel to one of their least favourite hunting grounds to defend a 1-0 Champions League lead at Zenit St Petersburg today. The Primera Liga winners are missing three central defenders plus goalkeeper Julio Cesar for the last-16 second leg at the Petrovskiy Stadium. Luisao and Lisandro Lopez are injured and Jardel is suspended. That leaves Victor Lindelof, who started the season as a reserve, as the only recognised central defender in the squad. Right... Читать дальше...

TheatreMela Hawn Xi Manikomju!?Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta With an ever-ageing population and thinly-stretched resources, our country, like many others in the developed world, is seeing a spike in older people who do not have the physical or mental strength to function alone and look after themselves. In spite of numerous nursing homes and the increase in home help, what old age brings with it is a frightening reality of abandonment and a loss of autonomy for many who do not have the financial means or... Читать дальше...

Paul Falzon, the president of Premier League club St Andrew’s, will fill the seat vacated by Redeno Apap, the former Qormi official, on the MFA’s Executive Committee (Exco) for the remainder of the season. Falzon was the only candidate for the Exco post after Adrian Delia, the president of Birkirkara, informed the Malta FA that he was withdrawing his nomination. A popular figure in local football circles, Falzon was elected by acclamation during yesterday’s MFA Council meeting. Meanwhile, Bjorn Vassallo... Читать дальше...

Lionel Messi, who has made a brilliant start to the year for Barcelona, will play his first 2018 World Cup qualifiers this month after being named in a 29-man Argentina squad yesterday. Captain Messi suffered a knee ligament injury early in the season and missed his country’s faltering start in the first four qualifiers for the tournament to be played in Russia. Messi has scored 21 goals in all competitions in 2016 after finding the net in his last four matches at the heart of a Barca side on course for a second successive La Liga... Читать дальше...

FIFA has imposed worldwide bans on 23 players and officials found guilty in Italy of a range of betting and fixing offences. The cases in Catanzaro and Catania saw several lower-league clubs punished along with various players and staff individually. The Italian football federation, FIGC, said it had reduced several penalties that were initially imposed in Catanzaro, following a raft of appeals, however it only cleared one player who challenged his punishment, former Pro Patria goalkeeper Vincenzo Melillo. Читать дальше...

Arsenal kept up their bid for a hat-trick of FA Cup trophies, marching into the quarter-finals as Olivier Giroud (picture) and Theo Walcott netted twice in a 4-0 replay win at second-tier Hull City last night. France striker Giroud had not scored in his 11 previous games but made the most of a terrible back pass after 40 minutes and then doubled the lead with 20 minutes remaining following a sharp volley from close range. Walcott sidefooted the ball home to make it 3-0 before finishing off the tie with a low drive. Читать дальше...

The fight against unemployment in Europe has intensified thanks to the recent approval by the European Parliament of a new law designed to overhaul the European Employment Services (Eures) network. Eures is an EU-wide job database set up in 1993 as a cooperation network between the European Commission and the public employment services of the EU member states as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Trade unions and employers’ organisations also participate in this network. It is... Читать дальше...

Sunderland Chief Executive Margaret Byrne has resigned over her role in the decision to allow Adam Johnson to continue playing for the team despite confessing to kissing a 15-year-old schoolgirl. The 28-year-old England international was sacked by Sunderland last month after pleading guilty to two child sex offences. He was convicted last week of sexual activity with a child and now faces up to 10 years in prison. “The Board of Sunderland AFC has today accepted the resignation of Margaret Byrne,” the club said in a statement. Читать дальше...

Swansea City seemed to be facing the prospect of a tough fight to retain their status in the English Premier League (EPL) around three months ago. On December 9, the Welsh club announced that they had parted company with manager Garry Monk after a barren run of results. One win in 11 outings left the Swans flirting with relegation and the decision to sack Monk became almost inevitable. Alan Curtis was put in temporary charge of the team until, on January 18, club chairman Huw Jenkins chose former... Читать дальше...

Former World Cup final referee Pierluigi Collina has welcomed the introduction of video technology trials to assist officials and said it will end years of frustration for the men in the middle. Collina, the most distinctive and famous referee of modern times, also said the revised laws of the game were a major development in bringing all interested parties in the game together. The decisions to allow a two-year experiment with video technology and change a number of the game’s laws were announced on Saturday by football’s law-making body... Читать дальше...

Arsene Wenger has passionately defended his position as Arsenal boss and insists he has become bored of people questioning whether he has what it takes to continue in the job. In recent weeks the Frenchman has faced a fresh wave of criticism after the team’s Premier League title hopes were derailed by some poor results. “Look, I have worked here for 19, 20 years and I’m always sitting here having to justify that I’m good enough to do the job,” he said. “I have no problem to cope with everything but I find that a bit boring in the end. Читать дальше...

In view of the recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, and since the matter could be confusing to those not directly involved, I feel it is correct to highlight the salient points that made locally enlisted personnel and their families feel they have been cheated by both the Maltese and British governments. To start with, one should understand that the ECJ did not decide whether or not the deductions from the Maltese national insurance pension were legal or illegal. Its ruling was on whether... Читать дальше...

Iturbe: Bournemouth striker Juan Iturbe was named yesterday in Paraguay’s squad for this month’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers after giving up hope of playing for the country of his birth, Argentina. Iturbe grew up in Paraguay, but had previously turned down overtures to play for his parents’ country because he harboured hopes of playing for Argentina. Yet the 22-year-old striker did not manage to progress beyond the Argentina U-20 team. Marcelinho: Bulgaria coach Ivaylo Petev has named Brazil-born midfielder... Читать дальше...

US Olympic athletes will have to decide themselves on whether to travel to Brazil for this year’s Summer Games despite the risk of the Zika virus, officials said yesterday, as some competitors admitted they were worried about the risk. The mosquito-born virus, linked to a spike in the rare birth defect microcephaly, has hit Brazil hard and has spread through much of Latin America and the Caribbean, raising concerns for athletes planning to compete in August in Rio De Janeiro, particularly those thinking of having children after the Games. Читать дальше...

Cristiano Ronaldo led Real Madrid to a 2-0 win over Roma and a place in the Champions League quarter finals, scoring the opening goal and setting up James Rodriguez to seal a 4-0 aggregate victory. The Portugal forward, top scorer in the competition this season with 13 goals, netted for the sixth time in three games in all comeptitions by finishing off substitute Lucas Vazquez's cross at the near post after 64 minutes. Ronaldo, who sent Real on the way to a 2-0 win in the first leg of the last 16 tie with a stunning strike... Читать дальше...

Nationalist MP Ċensu Galea got more than he bargained for this evening when he was stopped by the police on his way to Ta’ Giorni and asked to put his hands on the steering wheel as a police officer held on to his weapon. Mr Galea, who was driving a Fiat, was with his daughter and her boyfriend when the incident happened. He said when contacted this evening that he stopped on the red lights and started driving again when they turned green. But after about 100 to 200 metres, he realised that a police car was following him and he stopped. Читать дальше...

Arsenal kept up their bid for a hat-trick of FA Cup trophies, marching into the quarter-finals as Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott netted twice in a 4-0 replay win at second-tier Hull City. France striker Giroud had not scored in his 11 previous games but made the most of a terrible back pass after 40 minutes and then doubled the lead with 20 minutes remaining following a sharp volley from close range. Walcott sidefooted the ball home to make it 3-0 before finishing off the tie with a low drive. Victory came at a cost for Arsenal... Читать дальше...