Man wants to sue Cristiano Ronaldo over underwear

A US man is trying to sue Cristiano Ronaldo in a dispute over an underwear line, but he can't get to the international football star.
Christopher Renzi sued the Real Madrid forward and a Danish underwear maker in July after being told of their plan to use the phrase "CR7" to sell underwear in the United States.
Ronaldo sells "CR7" underwear and other clothing in Europe, but Renzi owns the trademark in the United States.
Renzi had until the end of November to notify Ronaldo of the lawsuit, but his lawyer says they so far haven't been able to get to one of the world's most famous athletes.
His team refused to accept the legal papers.
A judge has extended the deadline to March.

Adebayor leaves Spurs, flies to Togo

Emmanuel Adebayor will miss Thursday’s Europa League tie against Besiktas after Tottenham allowed him to return home to Togo.


In a brief statement on their website, the club said: “We can confirm that Emmanuel Adebayor has been given permission to return home for personal reasons. This is a private matter and so we will not be providing any further comment.”

The Londoners are certain to qualify from Group C along with their Turkish opponents, and avoiding defeat would ensure they finish top.

Adebayor has not played for Tottenham since a 2-1 home defeat by Stoke on November 9, having suffered since with back and hamstring complaints as well as a virus.

The striker has struggled for form since Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival at White Hart Lane, scoring just twice in 12 appearances.

While the 30-year-old Togo international misses the trip to Turkey, there could be a return to action for Kyle Walker.

Barca, Man City shine in CL final group matches

Spanish giant Barcelona has claimed the top spot in group F of the European Champions League, while Manchester City has managed to defeat AS Roma to make it through the quarterfinals.

An entertaining game between two major European football teams late Wednesday saw Barca defeat Parisian outfit 3-1. Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar scored for the Spanish giants while Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the score line for the French.

Furthermore, Ajax defeated Apoel Nicosia 4-0 to become third in group F.

In Group E, where Bayern Munich had already secured a place in the knockout stage, Manchester City dominated the Italian AS Roma 2-0. Bayern overpowered CSKA Moscow 3-0.

German outfit Shalke beat FC Maribor 1-0 to become runner-up in Group G. The best team in the group, Chelsea, also came out winner in its final match against Sporting 3-1.

Athletic Bilbao secured the third place in group H, with a 2-0 win against BATE Borisov; while the first two teams, Porto and Donetsk finished their match 1-1.

Newcastle legend, Alan Shearer blasts Mikel over Chelsea loss

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has blamed Nigeria international Mikel Obi for Chelsea’s 2-1 loss at Newcastle on Saturday to end their unbeaten run.

Shearer said Mikel did not do well enough in the midfield emphasising that Jose Mourinho side missed suspended Nemanja Matic.Mikel-Obi.


“Chelsea didn’t play that well,” Shearer told BBC Sport. “There is no doubt they missed Nemanja Matic. He has started every game for them this season but John Mikel Obi was in there against Newcastle and didn’t do as well.

“In the build-up to Newcastle’s second goal, Mikel dives in, Eden Hazard dives in. There is no one sitting in front of the back four.

“That said it was a really committed Newcastle performance. They were really well organised and every player knew what job they had to do. It was a thoroughly deserved win.”

The Serbia international who has scored a goal and two assists in 14 EPL games was suspended for the trip to ‘The Magpies’ after he picked up his fifth booking of the season in a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

FOOTBALL CRISIS: Yet again, Nigeria risks FIFA ban

Nigeria is again in danger of another FIFA ban should the country not adopt a common decision on the results of the recent NFF executive committee elections.
FIFA could also be forced to sack the executive committee altogether and appoint a harmonisation committee in their place.
Last week, the electoral appeals committee members upheld all the results of the September 30 elections in Warri, while the committee’s chairman has ordered fresh elections this week for the presidential, first vice-presidential as well as two other seats in the southeast and northwest.
Both decisions are now before FIFA, who are expected to rule on the matter this week. But a top official exclusively told AfricanFootball.com it was in the best interest of the country that the two different rulings are harmonised before the FIFA intervention, which could lead to another court case and subsequent ban by FIFA of the country.
“The matter is very clear – if the decisions of the appeals committee are not harmonised, FIFA will be forced to intervene and this may lead to court cases and subsequent ban of the country,” the official explained.
“FIFA may also appoint a harmonisation committee in place of the executive committee and it is this harmonisation committee that will organise fresh elections.”
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have equally received both decisions from the appeals committee.
“There are just too many interests and everyone is holding tight to his position and if the various differences are not resolved, what may result may not be good for some of these interests,” another source warned.
A FIFA ban would mean the country will not feature in next year’s CAF U17, U20 and U23 qualifying championships, while the country’s clubs namely Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins will also be withdrawn from the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
Nigeria has been bedeviled by a lingering leadership crisis since the country crashed out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in July. This has led to a brief FIFA suspension and subsequently several warnings from the world football governing body.

Pakistan announces preliminary world cup squad

Latest media reports say Pakistan has approved 30-member preliminary squad for the International Cricket Council World Cup 2015.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan said that the squad contains five openers, nine middle order batsmen, six pace bowlers, four spinners, four all-rounders and two wicket-keepers.

The announcement come weeks ahead of the ICC World Cup that will commence in Australia and New Zealand on February 14, 2015.

Pakistan will play its first game against arch-rival India on Feb. 15 at Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia.

Moin Khan, a chief selector at the PCB has expressed hope that the team will perform well at the international tournament.

"At the moment, winning or losing aside, Team Pakistan is performing adequately well in all three formats of the game. The belief in the think tank is that the squad holds immense potential and promise to perform in any conditions," he said.

He added that the players were physically and psychologically perfect fit to compete at the upcoming games.

 "The most positive aspect is that some of our foremost proven talents have overcome physical issues and are raring to be given an opportunity to have a tilt at the global honors," Khan added.

The Pakistan cricket team made its Test cricket debut in 1952 and has since become one of the most successful teams in modern cricket.

The team reached the semi-finals of the 1979,1983, 1987 World Cups, and finals in 1992 and 1999, and won the 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup by defeating England in the final.

Group Of Death: Falcons drawn against, USA, Sweden, Australia

African champions, the Falcons of Nigeria face a difficult task to qualify for the knockout phase of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada next year.

Nigeria, drawn in Group D found herself in company of the USA team, a two time world champion, Australia seeded 10th in the world and Sweden, a European powerhouse, ranked fifth in the world.
The group will not be easy for other teams as well, as only two of them will qualify for the next stage.
But US forward Sydney Leroux took to Twitter to indicate the Americans are up for the challenge.
“Bring it on,” Leroux tweeted.
Adding intrigue to the match-up between the United States and Sweden, current Sweden manager Pia Sundhage guided the Americans to back-to-back Olympic titles before taking the helm in her native country in September of 2012.
The former Sweden international admitted before the draw she thought it was “weird” that sixth-ranked Brazil, rather than fifth-ranked Sweden, got the nod as a seeded team.
“But I’m not the person who can do anything about it,” she said, adding the best policy was to “just accept it and go with it.”
The seventh edition of Women’s World Cup will feature 24 teams for the first time — up from 16.
The first- and second-place finishers in each group automatically advance to the round of 16.
Hosts Canada will open the tournament in Edmonton on June 6 against China, with New Zealand and the Netherlands rounding out Group A.
Two-time champions Germany could also breathe a sigh of relief at their draw in Group B, which includes dangerous 1995 champions Norway but also inexperienced Ivory Coast and Thailand.
Brazil, led by five-time women’s world player of the year Marta, will face South Korea, improving Spain and Costa Rica in Group E and France, ranked fourth in the world, will face England, Colombia and Mexico in Group F.
Defending champions Japan gained a dream draw: seeded atop Group C, they will face Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador, all first-time qualifiers for the tournament.
First-round matches will be played in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton, with the final in Vancouver on July 5.
Japan lifted the trophy with a dramatic win over the United States in Germany four years ago, delivering a boost to their country months after a deadly earthquake and tsunami.
But the United States gained revenge by winning the Olympic gold ahead of Japan in London, with Canada taking bronze and France finishing fourth.
Despite controversy over the plastic pitches for the event Japanese head coach Norio Sasaki insisted they can adapt after beating Canada in a friendly on the surface in Edmonton in October.
Football: Women’s World Cup draw
Matches be played in Canada from June 6 to July 5:
Group A (Edmonton)
Canada, China, New Zealand, Netherlands
Group B (Ottawa)
Germany, Ivory Coast, Norway, Thailand
Group C (Vancouver)
Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador
Group D (Winnipeg)
USA, Australia, Sweden, Nigeria
Group E (Montreal)
Brazil, South Korea, Spain, Costa Rica
Group F (Moncton)
France, England, Colombia, Mexico