MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine football team arrived in Ulan Bator early Sunday and got a chilling reminder that it would have to deal with more than just Mongolia in the second leg of its AFC Challenge Cup duel.
MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino-British Neil Etheridge has been sent on a month-long loan by English Premiere League side Fulham FC to Charlton Athletic in the third-tier League One, a move that could prevent the Azkals goalkeeper from seeing action for the national booters in several key matches.
LONDON: Tottenham survived a barrage of pressure from AC Milan to reach the Champions League quarter-finals as Wednesday's 0-0 draw in the last 16 second leg at White Hart Lane secured a 1-0 aggregate victory.
BLACKPOOL, England - A double for Frank Lampard and a header by John Terry helped Chelsea to a comfortable 3-1 victory over relegation-threatened Blackpool here on Monday.
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine Basketball Association has removed three referees from the 12-man pool assigned to work the Philippine Cup playoffs for various reasons involving different games.
Commissioner Chito Salud issued this clarification on Tuesday to correct a Philippine Daily Inquirer report that the three referees who worked Sunday’s game between Derby Ace and Talk ‘N Text were suspended for calls that affected the outcome of the game.
According to Salud, Referees Dennis Barbacena, Ronald Mauricio and Ariel Bermeo are no longer part of the officiating pool for committing “serious lapses in judgment” in different games they handled during the playoffs.
Only Bermeo worked Game 4.
“Let’s just get the facts straight because it’s grossly unfair to the referees (concerned), the teams and the fans,” Salud said over the phone, stressing that the latest move to take officials out of the pool would not be the last.
The Inquirer report, which quoted a PBA insider, said that Peter Balao, Armando Guevarra and Bermeo were suspended after Salud reviewed the tapes of Game 4.
Salud said that Mauricio, Barbacena and Bermeo “were not found guilty of making game-altering calls, but instead were evaluated for sub-par performance in terms of knowledge of the rules and lack of judicious discretion.”
MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino-British brothers Phil and James Younghusband remain committed to the national football team despite reported interest from an Indonesian football club.
Even though they were not ruling out the possibility of playing abroad, the Younghusbands assured fans of their intention to focus on their work with the Azkals, who have been scheduled to see action in the AFC Challenge Cup next month, and on their Younghusband Football Academy.
“We’ve had interest from other clubs, but the national team and the football academy is our main focus,” Phil, the younger of the two brothers, said at the PSA Forum at the Shakey’s U.N. Avenue in Manila on Tuesday.
Jakarta 1928 FC, which is playing in the newly formed Indonesia Premiere League (LPI), is reportedly keen on having the Younghusband brothers in their squad.
Franco Lorenzo, a member of the management team of the Azkals, who is negotiating in the Younghusbands’ behalf, said Jakarta FC officials would arrive in the country Wednesday to finalize the deal.
Phil said the YFA’s program involved partnering with local governments and training teachers to become coaches within a limited facility.
“We believe football is a sport for the mass and football is accessible,” said Phil. “We want to promote football in the grassroots.”
The Younghusbands earned coaching badges during their time playing for the reserve team of Premiere League side Chelsea.
The YFA, which was established in January 2010, has lined up several clinics for the next two months starting on January 13 at the Multiple Intelligence International School in Katipunan.
The Younghusbands will also conduct “train the trainers” programs in Tarlac from January 20 to 21 as well as in Palawan from January 29 to 30 and in Taguig and Pateros from February 26 to 27.
“We realized that we can have an effect on football in a more positive way with our academy,” said James, who is older by 11 months.
The Younghusband brothers also joined the Azkals as they opened training camp for the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying series against Mongolia.
Reacting to the recent coaching change that saw German Hans Michael Weiss replacing Simon McMenemy, the Younghusbands said they welcomed the decision.
“We’re looking forward to working with the new coach and his new ideas,” said Phil.
“The new coach is from Germany and they did well in the World Cup,” James said.
“These are exciting times for Philippine football. For coach Simon, he still has a whole career ahead of him and we wish him the best.”
Former British heavyweight champion Gary Mason has been killed in a cycling accident, an official source confirmed Friday.
Mason, 48, died after the bike he was riding in Wallington, south London, was in collision with a van early Thursday, the source said.
The Metropolitan Police, who did not confirm the name of the victim, said the driver of the van had been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.
"Officers were alerted at about 6.15am yesterday to a van in collision with a bicycle on Sandy Lane South, near the junction with Woodcote Road, Wallington," a police spokesman said.
"The cyclist, aged 48 years, was pronounced dead at the scene."
Jamaican-born Mason was known as a durable, heavy-hitting fighter with a a strong chin. He fought 38 professional bouts between 1984 to 1994, losing only one – a seven-round stoppage against Lennox Lewis at Wembley Arena in 1991.
After retiring from boxing, Mason tried his hand at rugby league, playing a handful of matches for London Crusaders but failing to establish himself.
