SHORT CORNER
Sarri slams mentally weak Chelsea
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri labelled his players mentally weak and "difficult to motivate" after losing 2-0 at Arsenal in a toothless performance on Saturday.
The Gunners blew the race for a top-four Premier League finish wide open as first-half goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny closed Arsenal and Manchester United, who beat Brighton earlier in the day, to within three points of Chelsea in fourth.
"I'm extremely angry, very angry indeed. This defeat was due to our mentality more than anything else, our mental approach. We played against a team more determined than we were and I can't accept that," said Sarri, who chose to speak through a translator in his native Italian to clearly explain the scale of his frustration. --Afp
Atletico shoot for football in cricket-mad Pakistan
Spain's Atletico Madrid are taking on a challenge tougher than winning La Liga -- developing football in cricket-mad Pakistan, where bat and ball are king, pitches come with stumps not goalposts, and even the prime minister is a former World Cup winner.
During a recent session at the club's new facility in Lahore -- the country's first European football academy -- a cabal of Spanish coaches watched as a new class of young Pakistani hopefuls fired off penalty kicks.
"We are not looking for players for Atletico Madrid because we know that this is going to be very difficult... Our target is to improve the football here," coach Javier Visea told AFP. --Afp
Inter launch anti-racism campaign
Inter Milan launched their anti-racism campaign in reaction to last month's abuse of Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly as 11,000 local schoolchildren watched a goalless draw with Sassuolo at the San Siro on Saturday.
Inter Milan were ordered to play two matches behind closed doors as punishment for racist chants and monkey noises directed at Napoli's Koulibaly on December 26.
Luciano Spalletti's side responded, with permission from Serie A, by inviting children from local schools to the stadium as they launched their 'BUU' initiative, aimed at turning the chant into an acronym for 'Brothers Universally United'. --Afp
Technology still error-prone: Taufel
Former cricket umpire Simon Taufel believes the use of technology is not foolproof and that it too is prone to errors. The biggest example of technology cricket has embraced is the use of the DRS, the Decision Review System than challenges the umpires' on-field call, and Taufel feels no matter how much of a presence technology has in decision-making, it can still err.
“Technology should be there to support improved decision making, not replace the decision-making responsibility and role of the umpire. There should be a balance of technology in the game, where we do not see an over reliance on technology and remove the human element because just like people, technology is also fallible at times,” Taufel told Times of India.” -- Pti
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