SHORT CORNER
Bangladesh win silver in Asian Goju Ryu Karate
Bangladesh won silver and bronze medals in the 6th Asian Goju Ryu Karate Championship held in Gor Popki Sports hall in Jakarta, Indonesia from November 22nd to 25th.
Hafsad Islam won silver medal in the +84 kg category while David Gomes bagged bronze medal in the veteran category. --Sports Reporter
VAR to be used from CL knockouts
Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be used in the Champions League from the knockout stages of this season's competition and in the Nations League finals in June, UEFA confirmed on Monday.
European football's governing body had previously stated its intention to introduce VAR only from the start of the 2019/2020 season.
"If we can do it before, why wait? We cannot afford any mistakes if we can do it earlier," said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. -- Afp
England to face Netherlands; Portugal host Switzerland in Nations League
England will meet the Netherlands for a place in the inaugural Nations League final with hosts Portugal facing Switzerland in the other semifinal after Monday's draw in Dublin.
Portugal and Switzerland will meet in Porto on June 5 with England and the Netherlands clashing in Guimaraes on June 6. The third-place playoff and final will take place on June 9, with the latter game being staged in Porto. -- Afp
Southampton sack Hughes
Mark Hughes has been sacked as manager of Southampton, the struggling Premier League club announced on Monday, despite an improved performance in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
The Welshman, 55, took over at St Mary's in March and guided them to Premier League survival and an FA Cup semi-final but was unable to inspire a better campaign this season.
Assistant first team manager Mark Bowen and assistant first team coach Eddie Niedzwiecki have also left the club. -- Afp
Zia regains chess title
Grand Master Ziaur Rahman emerged champions in the Omicon 44th National A Chess Championship after finishing with 8.5 points from the 10-round event. Zia beat FM Taibur Rahman in the 10th and final round to win his 14th national title, having won his first in 1988. His last title had come in 2014. The highest-rated GM of the country won eight games, lost one game against FM Parag and drew one game against his son Tahsin Tajwar.
IM Abu Sufian Shakil and FM Mehdi Hasan Parag finished with seven points each, and in tie-breaking system, Shakil became runner-up while Parag became third. CM Subrota Biswas became fourth with 6.5 points while GM Reefat Bin Sattar, who came into the championship after a six-year gap, finished fifth. A total of 26 players including two GMs, two IMs participated in the event. -- Sports Reporter
Banana-wielding Spurs fan arrested
A football fan has been arrested after a banana skin was thrown onto the pitch at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrated scoring a penalty in front of Tottenham fans.
The Gunners won a memorable match 4-2 on Sunday and London's Metropolitan Police afterwards confirmed there were seven arrests made.
Britiain's Press Association said it understands that one of those arrests came after a banana skin was hurled from the away end as Aubameyang celebrated scoring in front of the Tottenham fans.
"Behaviour such as this is completely unacceptable and the supporter in question will be issued with a ban," a Tottenham spokesman said. -- Afp