SHORT CORNER
Nasiruddin cleared to play for Kings
National team discard defender Nasiruddin Chowdhury has been cleared for appearing for newcomers Bashundhara Kings after Abahani yesterday withdrew complaint against their former player.
The Players' Status Committee of Bangladesh Football Federation had earlier asked Nasiruddin to resolve the issue with Abahani within 72 hours following the Dhanmondi club's complaint that the defender took Tk 3 lakh from them but signed for Bashundhara Kings.
“Nasiruddin apologised to Abahani and wanted to play for Abahani. But he has no opportunity to play for us at the moment. For the sake of his career, we withdraw our complaint,” informed Abahani manager Satyajit Das. --Sports Reporter
SAFF members leave SWAFF
Seven members of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) -- India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan -- have pulled out of Saudi Arabia-led new football bloc SWAFF with immediate effect on the eve of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) congress in Kuala Lumpur, the Indian FA said on Tuesday.
"The withdrawal precedes the expected official recognition of AFC's five Regional Federations by the AFC Congress on Wednesday..." the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said in a statement. --Reuters
Icardi lifts Inter to second
Mauro Icardi scored in either half as Inter Milan beat Lazio 3-0 under the rain in Rome on Monday to move ahead of Napoli and into second place behind Juventus in Serie A.
Inter skipper Icardi tapped in the opener after 28 minutes with Marcelo Brozovic adding a second before the break. The Argentine snatched the third after 70 minutes in the Stadio Olimpico.
"I'm going through a good period of form along with Inter. We're playing well, apart from the game with Barcelona, and want to do even better," Icardi said after a sixth straight league win. -- Afp
CR7 now top of Instagram
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the most followed person on Instagram, surpassing Selena Gomez.
The Portuguese's move to Juventus this summer appears to have boosted CR7's profile, as he now has 144,309,204 Instagram followers. There is only one other sportsman in the top 10, with Neymar in 10th position with 104m followers. -- Agencies