FIFA rejects Barcelona appeal against transfer ban

FIFA has rejected Barcelona's appeal against one-year transfer ban as punishment for repeatedly breaching transfer regulations in signing youth players.

The ban on signing any players will apply for all of 2015, covering the January and summer transfer windows. Because Barcelona appealed, the punishment was frozen during the current transfer window, which closes on Sept. 1 and allowed them to sign striker Luis Suarez.

FIFA found the signing of 10 unnamed players to be in breach of its rules covering the protection of minors. A fine of 450,000 Swiss francs ($494,000) was also imposed on Barcelona.

The Spanish Football Federation was also found to have violated FIFA rules covering the registration of minors. Its appeal against a fine of 500,000 Swiss francs ($565,500) was also rejected.

Amr Gamal boosts Ahly ahead of Etoile decider in Confed Cup

Ahly coach Juan Carlos Garrido is relieved to see striker Amr Gamal resume training ahead of Tunisia's Etoile du Sahel decider in the Confederation Cup.
The 23-year old striker resumed light training on Thursday and is set to undergo a special physical programme to regain form for the upcoming fixtures, a statement read on the club's website.
The international striker who came to fame after a series of impressive performances with Ahly in his debut season in 2013/2014 has been struggling with minor injuries lately, which may be due to a lack of proper preparation before matches.
Gamal – who scored 16 goals for Ahly last season – was carried off the pitch during a match against Zambian side Nkana, last week, midway through the second half with a strained hamstring.
The Red Devils lost the game 1-0 but still managed to stay on top of Group B. Nonetheless, they will need to grab at least one point when they take on Etoile du Sahel next week to secure a spot in the semifinal.

Zamalek fly to Sudan ahead of Al-Hilal test

Zamalek flew to Sudan on Wednesday morning as the Egyptian giants prepare to face Al-Hilal in the last round of the African Champions League group stage.
Zamalek's hopes of reaching the prestigious tournament's semis were dashed after losing to AS Vita Club 1-0 in Alexandria a week ago.
The loss was the first for the Whites under new coach
Hossam Hassan who was eyeing a winning debut in his second stint with the team.
AS Vita Club sealed qualification for the semifinal alongside fellow countrymen TP Mazembe.
On Friday, Zamalek will be playing Al-Hilal who were also eliminated from the Champions League. Both sides will be looking for a moral victory to reconcile their fans.
Zamalek defender Ahmed Dweidar has joined the travelling squad to Sudan despite suffering from a pelvis injury that could sideline him from the match.
Midfielder Islam Awad is ready for the game after recovering from muscular pains.

Rojo joins Manchester United, Nani moves to Portugal's Sporting

Manchester United has completed the signing of defender Marcos Rojo from Sporting Lisbon for 20 million euros ($27 million), and sent Nani on loan to the Portuguese club.
The 24-year-old Rojo, who played for Argentina in the World Cup final loss to Germany last month, has signed a five-year contract.
Rojo says the ''Premier League is the most exciting league i
n the world and to have the chance to play in it for the world's biggest club is a dream for me.''
United's need to strengthen in defense was highlighted Saturday when the team opened the Premier League season with a 2-1 loss to Swansea in Louis van Gaal's debut as manager.
The 27-year-old Nani, who joined United from Sporting in 2007, is returning there for the 2014-15 season.

Stewart to skip third straight NASCAR race after fatal crash

(Reuters) - Tony Stewart will skip this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, the third consecutive event the three-time champion has missed since being involved in a fatal on-track accident.
Jeff Burton will replace Stewart for the second straight week, Stewart-Haas Racing said Wednesday.
Stewart, one of the highest-paid drivers in NASCAR, was competing in a sprint car race on Aug. 9 in upstate New York when he clipped the car of 20-year-old driver Kevin Ward Jr.
Ward was sent careening into a retaining wall while Stewart continued racing. When the caution flag came out, Ward jumped out of his car and, while in the middle of the track, pointed angrily at Stewart when he came around on the next lap.
Stewart's car struck Ward, causing fatal injuries in the non-NASCAR race.
No charges have been filed against Stewart although the investigation has not yet been completed.
Stewart, 43, skipped the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen, New York, the following day and then sat out the Michigan 400 last week.
Stewart's plans for the rest of the season have not yet been determined, Stewart-Haas Racing said.

Woods doubts he could have won a point at Ryder Cup

(Reuters) - Tiger Woods made himself unavailable for the U.S. Ryder Cup team because he did not think he could win a point in the matches, the former world number one said on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old American was sidelined for three months after having back surgery in March.
His form this year would have left him relying on a wildcard pick from skipper Tom Watson for next month's matches against holders Europe
at Gleneagles in Scotland and he pulled out of contention last week.
"I wouldn't be ready ... and I just couldn't help the team," Woods told Britain's Sky Sports television in an interview.
"When your name is called you have to be able to go out there and get a point and I just didn't feel I could be ready enough to get a point.
"It was time to shut it down, get stronger, get more explosive again and get back for next year."
World number 11 Woods missed the cut at the U.S. PGA Championship this month, having made a late decision to play after pulling out of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational the week before.
He is not planning to pick up his clubs for another month but will work in the gym as he builds towards a return at the World Challenge tournament in Florida in the first week of December, an event he hosts.
"We've got it all calmed down, now it's about the strengthening process," said Woods.
"I probably won't be swinging a club for another month but just getting stronger each and every day. I'm in the gym two or three times a day.
"I've got my physios, I've got my trainers there so we're working hard and then we're going to introduce dynamic training again, my explosiveness, but that's down the road, let's just get this thing stronger first."
Woods played in the Ryder Cup seven times between 1997 and 2012, missing the U.S. victory in 2008 after knee surgery.
Europe have won seven of the last nine editions.

For the first time .. Suarez involved with Barcelona

Last-gasp goal keeps America on points perfect course

(Reuters) - America made light of the midweek departure of striker Raul Jimenez to Atletico Madrid when they beat Morelia 3-2 to continue with their maximum points start to the Mexican championship.
Jimenez’s fellow Mexico World Cup striker Oribe Peralta scored two minutes into added time at the Azteca on Saturday to give America their fifth consecutive win, keeping them top of the Apertura table with 15 points.
Coach Antonio Mohamed was not entirely happy, though, saying there were lessons to be learnt from failing to close out the match earlier.
“I’m happy with the team’s form but what happened today must serve as a lesson when we thought the match was settled, under control, and it wasn’t,” the Argentine said.
America were 2-1 up after 56 minutes with goals from Paraguay defender Pablo Aguilar and Argentine-born midfielder Rubens Sambueza after an equalizer by Colombian Duvier Riascos.
Morelia, whose goalkeeper Carlos Rodriguez made a string of fine saves praised by Mohamed, came back into the match with a second equalizer from Argentine David Depetris in the 76th minute making the score 2-2.
“We made the mistake of thinking the match was over with a 2-1 lead and we didn’t go for 3-1,” Mohamed said.
Club World Cup-bound CONCACAF champions Cruz Azul, on the other hand, have a finishing problem and were beaten 3-1 at Monterrey whose Colombian striker Dorlan Pabon scored a hat-trick.
“The team are playing well, except for their finishing, which of course is important,” said the Blue Machine’s coach Luis Fernando Tena, whose side have five points.
America’s Mexico City arch-rivals UNAM Pumas are also in early-season trouble and sacked coach Jose Luis Trejo on Friday after a fourth successive defeat.
Pumas, who began the championship with a win, lost 2-1 away to champions Leon on Thursday and are now two from bottom with three points.
Former Mexico forward David Patino, who played for Pumas from 1986-93, was named caretaker.
Atlas, the only other unbeaten team, kept pace two points behind America after a penalty by Paraguayan Luis Caballero gave them a 1-0 win over promoted UG Leones Negros (black lions).
Argentine forward Dario Benedetto scored twice to give Tijuana a 2-1 home win over Chiapas at the border town’s Caliente stadium.
Guadalajara, with four points from three matches and a game in hand, are at home to Santos Laguna at the Omnilife on Sunday.

Youth Games action starts without Ebola-struck nations

(Reuters) - Australian triathlete Brittany Dutton won the first gold of the Youth Olympics as competition kicked-off on Sunday without Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria who withdrew because of the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) China as a precaution after the world's worst outbreak of Ebola which has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in the region.
said on Friday they had banned three west African athletes from competing in combat sports and pool events in
IOC President Thomas Bach said on Saturday that following the move, taken after discussion with the World Health Organisation, the governments of Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone had opted against allowing their athletes to compete in the 13-day multisport event.
"Two NOCs (Sierra Leone and Liberia) decided together with their government to not come here. We have to respect the decision of the government in such a difficult moment for their country," the German was quoted as saying by China's Xinhua news agency.
"We also have been informed that the team of Nigeria wants to go home. Obviously the Nigerian government has decided to send them home.
"We feel sad for the athletes as it will be extremely difficult for them. They already felt the excitement of living in the Village and now they have to leave - that's a very difficult task."
Xinhua also quoted an unnamed official of the Youth Olympics Organising Committee saying they were "appreciative of and grateful" that the trio withdrew.
"On behalf of other delegations and their athletes, I hereby extend to them the heart-felt respect," the report said.
Organizers of the second Youth Olympics were also concerned about adverse weather in Eastern China over the fortnight disrupting competition for the athletes, who are between aged 14 and 18.
"There is the possibility the city could face frequent rainy days, electrical storms and occasional occurrences of haze and possibly typhoons," the Nanjing 2014 Meteorological Services Command Centre said.
Dutton escaped the weather and haze concerns early on Sunday morning as the 16-year-old rode a brilliant bike leg to force American Stephanie Jenks in to second on her 17th birthday.
Dutton celebrated her win by taking a selfie with former fencer Bach, who had called on athletes to snap pictures of themselves throughout the Games to promote friendship in competition.

Serena wins Cincinnati title in final U.S. Open tune-up

(Reuters) - Serena Williams finished her last U.S. Open tune-up in style by blowing away Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4 6-1 to win her first title at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on Sunday.
For the top-seeded American, the win marked her first in six visits to Cincinnati and sent a message that she is in top form heading into the year's final grand slam, where she is the two-time defending champion.
After falling behind early, Williams broke her ninth seeded opponent's serve in the sixth game of the first set to pull even and then broke again four  games later to wrap up the opener in 38 minutes.
A year removed from losing the Cincinnati final in a third set tiebreak to Victoria Azarenka, the world number one left nothing to chance in a dominant second set.
Williams broke Ivanovic to open a 3-1 lead in the second set and then relied on her powerful serve to carry her the rest of the way, finishing the 62-minute match with 12 aces.
It marked the fifth title of the year for the 32-year-old American following wins in Stanford, Rome, Miami and Brisbane.
The Cincinnati tournament is the last of the key tune-ups ahead of the Aug. 25-Sept. 8 U.S. Open in New York.
(Reporting by Frank P
ingue in Toronto, editing by Mark Meadows)