FIFA Won't Tolerate Racism At World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said racism will not be tolerated at next year's World Cup in Russia, adding that referees will have the power to stop or even abandon matches if discriminatory incidents take place.
Several players, including Brazil and former Zenit St. Petersburg forward Hulk, have voiced concerns that racism could mar the tournament, saying such incidents are a regular feature of domestic league games in the country.
Infantino said in a video statement that anti-discrimination was a "high priority" for FIFA, and that the organization would deal with offences firmly.
"We'll make sure that no incidents will happen and (...) we have for the first time in a World Cup the so-called, three-step procedure where a referee can stop a game or even abandon a game if there are discriminatory or racist incidences," he added.
"We will very, very firm on that so we can expect fair play in Russia."
Infantino, who was elected FIFA president in February of last year, also said technology would play a big role at the tournament, altough a final decision on using video assistant referees (VARs) would only be taken next year.
VAR, which involves officials watching the action remotely and drawing the match referee's attention to officiating mistakes or missed serious incidents, is already in use in the top-flight leagues of Germany and Italy.

Reuters/Bengaluru

MU Stays In Touch, Tottenham Stumbles Again

Manchester United sent a timely message to leader Manchester City as it won 4-2 at Watford but Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League challenge is fading fast after it slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Leicester City on Tuesday.
Ashley Young was on target for the first time in 18 months as he scored twice for second-placed United who led 3-0 at the break before Watford produced a late fightback.
United's win moves them to 32 points and it is within five points of leader City that hosts Southampton on Wednesday.
Leicester's Jamie Vardy and Riyard Mahrez turned the clock back two years as they both scored in a first-half display reminiscent of when the Foxes won the title in 2015-2016.
Harry Kane replied for Tottenham after the break but the visitors could not prevent a third defeat in five league games which left them in fifth place - 13 points off top spot.
West Bromwich Albion's caretaker manager Gary Megson looked set for a morale-boosting victory as his side led Newcastle United 2-0 with goals from Hal Robson-KLondosd Sam Field.
But Newcastle rallied to avoid a fifth straight league defeat with Ciaran Clark halving the deficit and an own goal by West Brom's Jonny Evans frustrating the host that is expected to name a successor to sacked Tony Pulis this week.
The BBC reported after Tuesday's match that former Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew, 56, was set to be appointed as the new West Brom manager as early as Wednesday.
Basement club Palace drew 0-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion to move level on nine points with second-bottom Swansea City.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City looks unstoppable but neighbor United is emerging as its most likely challengers with a derby looming next month.
United has been hamstrung by its poor away form, losing its last two on the road in the league, but it found a cure for travel sickness at a freezing Vicarage Road where manager Jose Mourinho said they could have scored seven or eight goals.
As it was it hanging on towards the end after Tory Deeney's converted a 77th minute penalty and Abdoulaye Doucoure stabbed home to make it 3-2 with six minutes left before Jesse Lingard's superb solo goal sealed the win.
"The second half should have been five or six nil, it was easier to score than the first," Mourinho said.
"We missed chances. Out of nothing, they got a penalty for 3-1, then it was a different game. We should be smoking cigara but then we're in trouble.
"It's important we have three wins in a row, nine points in three matches is good."

Martyn Herman
Reuters/London

Iran Wrestler Avoids Fighting Israeli

Iran's government paid tribute on Monday to one of the country's wrestlers who threw an international bout when he was ahead because winning would have meant fighting an opponent from Israel.
The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Jewish state, placing it in the same "Great Satan" category as the United States, and forbids its sportmen from competing against Israelis.
The story of wrestler Alieza Karimi Mashiani has struck a chord on social media, with many in Iran backing his stance but some also opposing it.
His bout was in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz on Saturday, in the 86kg category of the under-23 world championships.
According to footage posted online, Karimi Mashiani looked well ahead in his bout against Russia's Alikhan Zabrailov but then let himself be easily beaten.
The Iranian athlete seems to abandon the fight completely and lets himself be easily beaten.
The Iranian athlete seems to abandon the fight completely and lets himself be dominated after a voice shouts out in Persian: "You must lose, Alireza!"
The hashtag #youmustlose was trending on Monday in Iran, with comments both for and against his actions, some of them hostile to Iran's athorities and others saluting his stand.
While he may have forfeited a podium place in the tournament, Karimi Mashiani did receive the backing if his governtment and the Iranian wrestling federation.

AFP/Tehran

Stadium Rises From Ashes Of Battle Of Stalingrad

First it dug up the bones and defused the bombs.
Then Russia  erected a light-as-air stadium for the 2018 World Cup that rises from the ground around which two million people died over 200 days in the Battle of Stalingrad - the tragic turning point of World War II.
"Every milimeter of this soil is soaked in blood," Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said in an interview.
"There is not a single family living here today - not a single one - that has not lost someone."
Bocharov and the million people who live in the city now known as Volgograd hope the fans from all over the world who descend on the scene of one of history's darkest episodes will nrighten their haunted lives.
The city of Stalingrad was re-named in 1961 afrer the Volga River that stretches along its banks.
The cult of personality built around Joseph Stalin was being dismantled and the city itself resurrected from the rubble left by carpet bombing and street combat that traumatized much of Europe.
Volgograd is still rising - as are the human remains and munitions from 75 years ago.
Construction of the 45,000 seat Volgograd Arena began in November 2014. Immediately, the remains of two bodies and 20 unexploded shells were discovered.
It did not come as surprise: nearly every new building project in the city brings the discovery of World War II munitions and human bones.
"We first try to figure out their identity. This is not easy because a lot of time has passed. But at least we try to identify whether they belong to the Red Army or the Nazis," Bocharov said.
"And then we decide where to bury them - on which side of the Rossoshka Memorial Cemetery."
That grim memorial lies a 40-minute drive from the city and is a chilling sight.
At the cemetery, two sprawling fields, whose horizons are blurred by winter fog, are filled with mostly unidentified remains with Soviet soldiers to one side and their Nazi and Axis foes to the other.
Numerous plota are covered with freshly dug yellow sand from burials held just weeks or minths ago. They form small hills above the frozen ground.
"For us, this is daily work," the governor says.
Dim echoes of the 1942-1943 horrors returned to Volgograd in 2013 as the city fell victim to a string of terror attacks linked to North Caucasus militants who killed 39 people.
A bombing that targeted a city bus claimed seven lives on Oct. 21. Worse was to come when the main railroad station was hit on Dec. 29 and a trolley bus the subsequent day.
But Volgograd Mayor Andrei Kosolapov said the strikes ultimately made the city safer by spurring the security services into action.
Kosolapov said police dogs sniff every bus and train car for potential explosive devices daily. Metal detectors are ubiquitous.
"Plus, we have installed and are continuing to install video camera where - online - we can monitor every single street."
"We have enormous experience in averting terror atacks."
The soccer arena itself rests on the bank of the Volga and bears a striking resemblance to the futuristic Bird's Nest Stadium at the heart of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
Chief engineer Viktor Baturo walks around the stadium with pride because all the works has effectively been done. A few licks of paint and completion of the edge of the dome protecting fans from the rain is all that remains to be done.
The stadium cost US$270 million - the exact budget allotted by Russian Prsident Vladimir Putin.

Dmitry Zaks
Agence France Presse/Volgograd

Tabarez Adds Youth To Experience For Uruguay

Uruguay will arrive at next year's World Cup more upbeat than at any time in recent memory after easing through the qualifying campaign to book its spot in Russia.
The Uruguayans, champion in 1930 and 1950, have struggled to qualify for soccer's biggest tournament in recent editions, scrapping through via intercontinental playoffs in 2002, 2010 and 2014, while missing out altogether in 2006.
Yet it was plain sailing this time around as it finished second in the 10-team South American group, while scoring more goals than anyone bar first-placed Brazil.
The reason for its optimism will be precisely because of that ability to put the ball in the net.
Striker Luia Suarez gets most if the attention but players have chipped in with goals from all over the pitch, with fellow forward Edinson Cavani topping the South American scoring chart with 10, twice as many as Suarez.
The 30-year-old Paris St. Germain player has started the season well in France and if he can keep that run going in Russia then Uruguay will strike fear into many a defense.
Another trump card is its wily old coach Oscar Tabarez.
The man affectionally dubbed "El Maestro" has decades of top-level experience and has looked to the future by patiently blooding youngsters in recent games.
Uruguay's stalwarts - Suarez, Cavani, Cristian Rodriguez, Diego Godin, Martin Caceres and Egidio Arevalo Rios - are all the wrong side of 30, prompting Tabarez to introduce youth, especially in the midfield, where Uruguay's emphasis on strong running is most evident.
Nahitan Nandez, 21, Rodrigo Bentancur, 20, and Federico Valverde, 19, have all ether made their debuts or cemented their places this year.
Russia may be the 70-year-old Tabarez's swan-song but he is laying the groundwork for his successor. If it can repeat its outstanding feat of reaching the semifinals in 2010 then he will bow out at the top.

Andrew Downie
Reuters/Sao Paulo

AC Milan Hires Gattuso As New Coach

Big-spending AC Milan sacked coach Vincenzo Montella on Monday and replaced him with their fiery former midfielder Gennaro Gattuso.
Montella was dismissed the day after a 0-0 home draw  with Torino left Milan, which spent more than €200 million (US$239 million) on transfers in the close season, seventh in Serie A with 20 points from 14 games, 18 behind leader Napoli.
The famously combative Gattuso, a World Cup winner in 2006, became Milan's sixth coach since Massimiliano Allegri was fired in January, 2014.
Montella, the first coach to go since former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sold the club to a Chinese-led consortium in a 740 million-euro deal in April, had been in charge since the start of last season when he led Milan to sixth place in Serie A.
"In these situations, the coach is always to blame and that's fair enough," Montella told reporters as he left Milan's training ground.
"Expectation were raised a bit too high by everyone in the summer (...). I'm very sorry because I know that the players were behind me. They deserve much more and I'm sure they will make it out of this difficult phase."
Gattiso, 39, spent 12 seasons playing for Milan, winning two Serie A and two Champions League titles plus the Club World Cup, and was known as one of Italy's toughest players.
His coaching career has been a mixed bag, although never dull.

Reuters/Basel

Ronaldo Nets Winner For Real, Atletico Hits Five

Cristiano Ronaldo's first La Liga goal for over a month ensured Real Madrid closed the gap on leaders Barcelona to seven points by squeezing past struggling Malaga 3-2 on Saturday.

Ronaldo's relief was clear to see when he fired home the rebound after seeing his penalty saved by Roberto 15 minutes from time.

Atletico Madrid remain tied with Real in third after they shrugged off a season of goalscoring woes by trashing Levante 5-0 thanks to doubles from Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro.

Both Madrid sidea will now be hoping Barca slip up when they travel to Valencia for a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday (7:45 p.m.GMT).

However, the Catalans will be buoyed by Lionel Messi ending speculation over his future by finally signing a contract extension to 2021 earlier on Saturday.

"We are pleased with the result because the team showed character with time running out to score the third," said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

"There were plenty of good things, but also things we didn't want to see."

Real looked set to shake off their recent league struggles in a dominant start as Ronaldo's header came back off the woodwork leaving the unmarked Karim Benzema with the simple task of nodding into an empty net.

However, a slack pass from Toni Kroos on the edge of his own box handed Malaga a route back into the game on 18 minutes.

Keko pounced on the German World Cup winner's gift and his cross was calmly chested down and slotted beyond Kiko Casills by Diego Rolan.

"We can play better for sure, it is true we gave the ball away too much," added Zidane.

Parity only lasted three minutes for the visitors though, as Kroos made amends with a corner from which Casemiro powered home.

Madrid's fans had complained before kick-off at their perceived harsh treatment from referees this season, but it was the hosts who were handed a let off from the officials on the stroke of half-time.

Paul Baysse's header looked to have levelled with the last touch on the half, but the French defender was penalised for a push on Dani Carvajal.

Malaga did level just before the hour mark thanks to some calamitous goalkeeping from Casilla as he let Chory Castro's drive from 25 yards slip through his grasp into the bottom corner.

However, Real were bailed out when they were finally awarded their first penalty in La Liga this season when Luka Modric was tripped inside the area.

Ronaldo still couldn't find a way past Roberto with his first effort, but followed up to smash home the rebound to avoid Real's title chances suffering another severe blow.

Atletico had scored just four goals in their previous six La Liga games, but ran riot at the Ciutat de Valencia for their first victory at Levante in six visits.

The hosts played a huge part in their own downfall as Rober Pier turned Gameiro's cross into his own net after just five minutes and Chema Rodriguez's botched goak line clearance then handed the Frenchman an open goal to double Atletico's lead before half-time.

Gameiro's furure at Atletico remains uncertain with Diego Costa's impending return, but he link-up play with compatriot Griezmann saw the visitors net three more in nine-minute spell after the break.

Kieran Canning

Agence France-Presse/Madrid

Chapeco Soccer Club Rises From Ashes Of Air Disaster

A year after Brazil's Chapecoense soccer club was all but wiped out in an air crash on their way to play the game of their lives, the team is winning again - and daring to think of the future.
Less than two weeks ago, the reconstructed team risen from the ashes of that tragedy, was celebrating victory that assured it retained its place in the Brazilian first division.
The new players and the survivors from the crash in the mountains outside Medellin once more filled the old changing room with laughter and chanting.
For sure, this remarkable comeback couldn't ever match the euphoria the Chapeco club exoerienced on Nov. 24, 2016, when the minnow of Brazilian soccer made history by reaching the final of the regional Copa Sudamericana.
For a humble, scrappy little club from southern Brazil, that night seemed a dream.
But five days later, the excited players and coaches flew to Colombia - and to their deaths when the plane ran out of fuel.
Of 77 people aboard, 71 were killed, including 19 players, 14 coaching staff, nine managers and 20 journalists.
The shock brought Chapeco to a standstill and might have seemed sure to finish the club. Yet the survivors decided they had to look ahead.
"We were determined to find a way of moving forward. There was a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, but we never thought of abandoning soccer," Nivaldo Constante, a goalkeeper who was not on the plane and retired after the crash, told AFP.
A last-minute change of plan saved Constante from boarding the fatal flight.
After the event, he felt destroyed by shock. But the new season was starting in a month and there was no one else to get the team going again.
Constante answered the call.
"We spent 20 days from eight in the morning to 10 at night running after agents and players until we finally managed to get together 22 players," he said. "It was very complicated but we managed to build a new team."
Three players survived the crash - goalkeeper Jackson Follman, Helio Neto and Alan Ruchel - although Ruchel is the only one who has been able to play again.
Several widows of players have been prominent in criticizing the club for not doing enough to remember the dead or to help the survivors, although the club leadership insists it is doing everything it can, while also pushing forward.
But the wider soccer world has not forgotten Chapecoense.
Ruschel was in the team when it played a charity match against mighty Barcelona, sharing the field with the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on Aug. 7 in Camp Nou.
The three men hugged and chanted the club chant that once spurred them on in on-field heroics and now helps them get through the game of life itself: "Vamos, vamos, Chape!" - "let's go, let's go Chape!"

Rosa Sulleiro
Agence France-Presse/Sao Paulo

Klopp Looks On Bright Side Afrer Chelsea Draw

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he would take the positives from his side's 1-1 draw with Chelsea despite the disappointment of conceding a freak 85th-minute equaliser.
Mohamed Salah's goal against his former club looked set to restore Liverpool to winning ways after their calamitous 3-3 draw against Sevilla, only for Willian's mishit cross to earn Chelsea a point.
Liverpool remain fifth and will fall 14 points off the pace in the Premier League if Manchester City we would be crazy," said Klopp, whise side had let a 3-0 lead slip against Sevilla in mid-week.
"How can we get Manchester City? We have to win games, but if they go on winning all their games, we can do whatever we want.
"I'm happy about big parts of the performance. I'm really proud of the attitude. Everything was good until Willian crossed the ball.
"The world is in a strange, crazy place at the moment and there are much more important, crazy things that are happening. I can easily live with a point against Chelsea."
Willian struck two minutes after coming on for Davide Zapacosta, drifting across the box from left to right before lifting a cross towards the back post that dropped beneath the crossbar.
Klopp had been trying to send on the fit-again Adam Lallana in order to change to a back three and said he was mystified by referee Michael Oliver's initial refusal to allow the change to take place.
"In my mind, Ragnar Klavan would have been in exactly the position where Willian crossed the ball," Klopp said.
Klopp said Chelsea had played more defensively than he had expected and summarized their approach as: "Deep defending and giving the ball to Eden Hazard."
But Chelsea manager Antonio Conte felt his team had "dominated" the second half and said Liverpool's goal - tucked away by Salah following a loose touch by Tiemoue Bakayoko - had also been fortunate.
Asked if Willian's lob had been deliberate, Conte smiled and said: "It's not important. It was important to score.
"But at the same time I think that we conceded the first goal in an unlucky way.
The result kept Chelsea in third place, but they now trail second-place Manchester United by three points and will fall 11 points behind City if Pep Guardiola's side prevail at Huddersfield.

Tom Williams
Agence France-Presse/Liverpool

Facing Hurdles, Russia Gears Up To Host World Cup

Russia is gearing up to host the World Cup for the first time while facing the herculean task of eradicating racism and hooliganism and warding off the threat of a terror attack.
Organizers also face the tricky task of appeasing beleaguered fans and President Vladimir Putin, who helped wrest the June 14 to July 15 tournament from England in a controversial FIFA vote in 2010 and then gave many of the 11 host cities their first post-Soviet facelift.
It is an $11.5 billion (€9.6 billion) gamble with the potential to backfire itf it leaves behind "white elephant" stadiums and hotels that fall into disuse and fail to turn Russia into the tourism mecca it has always dreamed of being.
The logistical challenge of the 2,500 kilometers separating the western-most stadium in Kaliningrad near Poland and the most easterly one in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg - the same distance as that between Paris and Moscow - will also test fans resolve.
And friction between Russia and the West over Syria and Ukraine make this year's addition of what is arguably the world's biggest sports event one of the most diplomatically-charged World Cups in decades.
The draw on Friday in the Kremlin will determine just how heated the group stage matches will be.
Russian football has long been plagued by hooliganism in which "ultras" pre-arrange fights featuring everything from knives to bats, while racism has become especially pronounced with the infusion of foreign players once the Iron Curtain fell.
Brazilian striker Hulk said he heard monkey chants at "almost every match" when he led Zenit Saint Petersburg to a title and two second-place finishes between 2012 and 2016.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure - himself the subject of fan abuse when his club played at CSKA Moscow in a Champions League game in 2013 - warned this month that "if racism situations happen in Russia, it is going to be a big mess." His nation, Ivory Coast, have not qualifed.
Russia's football governing body has been trying to clean up its act and organizers say they recorded no racist episodes when they hosted the Confederations Cup - the World Cup warmup - this year.
But interwined with that scourge is hooliganism - a culture deeply rooted due to some club's affiliation with rival wings of the armed forces as well as the inherent ill will between Moscow and the largely neglected provinces.
Hooliganism experts say Russia's powerful FSB security service has cracked down hard on football gangs and blacklisted many of its leaders as the World Cup nears.
Russia is also using Fan ID cards requiring visitors and locals alike to undergo security checks before they can buy match or travel tickets.
Authorities will want to avoid the scenes in Marseille during Euro 2016 when Russian hooligans beat up England fans, leaving some in hospital.
The threat of terror is ever-present and potentially growing because of Russia's military support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A Saint Petersburg metro bombing that killed 15 in April was just the latest of the numerous strikes to have hit much of Russia since the 1990s.
Yet the estimated 2,900 Russian terrorista who have fought alongside the Islamic State (IS) group and are now making their way back home are not the only danger.
Southern host city Volgograd fell victim to two suicide bombings and a bus blast perpetrated in November and December 2013 by North Caucasus Islamist that killed 39 people.
The entire city has since been on heightened alert.
Volgograd Mayor Andrei Kosolapov said canine units already check every bus and train carriage for potential explosives.
"Plus, we have installed and are continuing to install video camera where - online - we can monitor every single street," he told AFP.
Perhaps the biggest concern to Russians themselves is the fate of their team - a squad that has so often underperformed despite having Europe's largest potential talent pool.

Dmitry Zaks
Agence France Presse/Moscow

Danish Women, FA Agrees Over Payments

The Danish FA (DBU) says it has reached a new collective bargaining agreement with their women's international team following a dispute that saw them cancel a World Cup qualifier against Sweden in October.
The Danish players, who were runners-up at Euro 2017 aftet a 4-2 final loss to hosts Netherlands, will receive a 180 percent increase in investment in the fees and scholarships available to them and a number of other incentives, the DBU said in a statement.
"We are happy that, with the new deal, we can secure an increased investment and the continued development of Danish women's football over the next four years," DBU official Kim Hallberg said in the statement.

Reuters/London

Mourinho Offers Coaching Role To Carrick

Manchester United Jose Mourinho has said Michel Carrick will be offered a coaching role under him at the Premier League club after the midfielder retires from playing.
Carrick's sole appearance for United this season was in September's League Cup win over Burton Albion and the captain explained his absence from action last Friday, saying that he was on the mend from a heart operation.
"Michael as a person is more important than Michael as a player, so we gave him the time to relax, to recover and to feel confident," Mourinho said after his team's 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
"To make the decision he wants to play, he wants to stop (and take a break). He knows that my coaching staff has a chair for him if he wants, when he wants.
"The chair is there in the office for him. I want that, the board wants that, the owners want that, so Michael is in a comfortable situation if his future will be with us."
Carrick, 36, has made over 300 appearances for United since joining the club in 2006 and was named captain before the start of the current campaign.

Reutere/London

FA To Fund Study Into Possible Link Between Heading and Dementia

An English study into whether heading a soccer ball can cause brain trauma will begin in Januari, investigating an issue that has been widely debated since the activity wad blamed for contributing to a former star striker's dementia.
A BBC documentary presented by former England captain Alan Sheare this month highlighted the case of Jeff Astle, who died aged 59 in 2003.
An inquest found that repeatedly heading a heavy leather soccer ball during his career was a factor in former West Bromwich Albion and England player Astle's dementia.
The study, which will involve some 15,000 former professional soccer players, was announced on Thursday by the English Football Association.
Dr William Stewart, who provided medical evidence in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Astle's dearh, will lead the study entitled 'Football's Influence on Lifelong Health and Dementia Risk' (FIELD).
"Following two years of research and development, the FA and the Professional Fotballers' Association (PFA) have now confirmed the next step in their commitment to commisioning an evidence-based study into the long-term effects of participation in football," the FA said in a statement.
The FIELD study will look at a range of physical and mental health outcomes, including neurodegenerative disease, in ex-professionals and compare results to matched general population health data.
"In the past decade there have been growing concerns around perceived increased risk of dementia through participation in contact sports. However, research data to support and quantify this risk have been lacking," Dr Stewart said.
"Through the FIELD study we hope to be able to provide some understanding of the long-term health impact of football within the next two to three years."
The FA's CEO Martin Glenn welcomed the research saying it would be one of the "most comprehensive" ever into the long-term health of former soccer players.
"Dementia can have a devastating effect and, as the governing body of English football, we felt compelled to commission a significant new study in order to fully understand if there are potential risks associated with playing the game."
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has supported calls for a ban on children under 11 years old heading the ball until potential risks are better understood.
Such a ban is already in force in the United States.
"I would agree with that," Taylor said recently. "Heading is really being practiced less and less when you see the way the game has changed. In the 1950s and 1960s when they had the old balls, when they were soaked they were particularly heavy."

Reuters
London

Sydney In $1.5b Stadium Splurge

Sydney's two biggest stadiums will be torn down and rebuilt in a major AUS$2 billion (US$1.5 billion) redevelopment, the state government said Friday, in a controversial move that critics called a waste of money.
The 83,500-capacity ANZ Stadium - completed in 1999 for Sydney's hosting of the 2000 Olympic Games - will be replaced by a 75,000-seat rectangular ground, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
Allianz Stadium, which can seat up to 45,500 and was opened in 1988, will be demolished with a similiarly sized arena constructed in its place.
"Fans will be closer to the action than ever before, with steep seating creating a colosseum-inspired wall of sound and color, enhanced with the world's most advancing technology," Berejiklian said.
"This investment means we can compete on the world stage for events auch as the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Rugby World Cup."
Her government said the two venues currently attract a combined 3.5 million visitors per year and contribute more than AUS$1 funding to this state's annual economy.
The amnouncement was welcomed by Australia's leading sport governing bodies, including the National Rugby League and Rugby Australia.
But critics, including the state's Labor opposition leade Luke Foley, said the money could be better spent on boosting schools and hoapitals funding.

AFP/Sydney

Arsenal Loses At Cologne, Milan Makes Last 32

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal secured top spot in Europa League Group H on Thursday despite slumping to a 1-0 defeat at Cologne, while AC Milan reached the last 32 by trashing Austria Vienna.
Frenchman Wenger made 11 changes to the team that beat Tottenham Hotspur in last weekend's north London derby, with starts handed to Oliver Giroud, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck.
But the Gunners succumbed to a 62nd-minute penalty from Sehrou Guirassy after the French striker tumbled to ground inside the area under a challenge from Mathieu Debuchy.
Cologne, winless through 12 Bundesliga matches this season, climbed to second with one match to play, as a 0-0 draw between BATE Borisov and Red Star Belgrade in Belarus confirmed Arsenal's status as group winners.
"We've lost a game in which Cologne had one shot on goal othet than the penalty, " said Wenger. "We were always missing that little something to get the goal. Cologne defended with spirit and for them it's turned out to be the perfect night."
Seven-time European champion Milan wrapped up first place in Group D with a 5-1 win over Austria Vienna at the San Siro.
Cristoph Monschein put the visitors ahead in Italy, but Vincenzo Montella's team roared back with Andre Silva and Patrick Cutrone both netting twice along with a goal from Ricardo Rodriguez.
Atalanta sealed its spot in the knockout phase as Bryan Cristante and Andreas Cornelius notched two goals apiece to thump a listless Everton 5-1 at Goodison Park.
Robin Gosens added another with a terrific dipping volley, with Sandro Ramirez scoring his first Everton goal as the Toffees crashed to a fourth defeat in five group outings.
"There was nothing riding on the game, but it's our pride. It's not nice to lose games. It's very disappointing and upsetting," Everton captain Wayne Rooney told BT Sport.
Nabil Fekir notched his 13th goal of the season for Lyon in a 4-0 rout of Cypriots Apollon Limassol as the French side joined Atalanta in advancing from Group E.
Mario Balotelli scored twice as Nice moved into the last 32 following a 3-1 victory over Zulte Waregem of Belgium, with Lazio dropping its first points in Group K after a 1-1 draw at home to Vitesse Arnhem.
Marseille snatched a 93rd minute equalizer courtesy of an own goal from Wilfried Moke in a 1-1 draw at Konyaspor to stay ahead of its Turkish opponents in the race for second behind Salzburg, 3-0 winners over Vitoria Guimaraes, in Group I.
"Miracles don't happen by chance," said Marseille coach Rudi Garcia, whose side saw Jordan Amavi dismissed 10 minutes from time.
"Like in the last match, the team believed in itself until the end despite being a man down."
Villareal progressed to the knockout stages as Democratic Republic of Congo striker Cedric Bakambu netted a brace to seal a 3-2 victory over Astana in Kazakhtan.
Surprise Swedish side Ostersound - coached by Englishman Graham Potter - extended its run in Europe into the New Year with a 2-0 home win over Ukrainians Zorya Luhansk.
Veteran Spain striker Aritz Aduriz scored two penalties in Athletic Bilbao's 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin to leave the Basque club with its fate in its own hands heading into the final round of fixtures.

Martyn Wood
Agence France-Presse/Paris

Zlatan Pushes For MU Starting Spot Against Brighton

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in contention to make his first Manchester United start in seven months this Saturday after completing his comeback from a career-threatening knee injury.
The striker enjoyed an impressive first season at Old Trafford following his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in July 2016, only for it to be cut short by cruciate knee ligament damage sustained in a Europa League quarterfinal victory over Anderlecht in April.
Both Ibrahimovic and defender Marcos Rojo, who suffered a similiar injury in the same match, have now fully recovered from their injuries and could play a key role as United host Brighton in the Premier League this weekend.
Former Sweden international Ibrahimovic, 36 has appeared as a substitute in each of United's past two matches, coming on as Newcastle was beaten 4-1 at Old Trafford last Saturday, and again on Wednesday in a 1-0 Champions League defeat by Basel in Switzerland.
Rojo made his comeback by featuring at center-back against Basel and is likely to be asked to play there again on Saturday as Phil Jones has a thigh injury and fellow defender Eric Bailly is struggling to recover from a knock.
"I think Macos could have been playing a couple of weeks ago," said United manager Mourinho, as quoted by AFP. "We didn't need to rush him, push him into that situation, but he has been training with the team for quite a long time.
"We need him with no Jones. We need Marcos back to give us the stability."
Despite those defensive concerns, Mourinho is close to having a full-strengh aquad for the first time in months, with Paul Pogba feeling his way back to full fitness following a serious hamstring problem.
The France midfielder scored in his comeback against Newcastle after two months out of action, but faded after a good start against Basel.
With a glut of fixtures coming up, Mourinho made seven changes to his starting line-up in Switzerland, with only Pogba, Anthony Martial, Chris Smalling and Romelo Lukaku remaining from the team that started against Newcastle.
More changes are certain this weekend as the manager attemps to keep his players fresh.
Brighton manager Chris Hughton is expecting the United side to be rejigged and is not ruling out Mourinho's men for the title, even though it is eight points adrift of Manchester City.
"Without being detrimental to the other teams in the top six, most people see the two Manchester teams as the strongest," he said. "Both have big star players.
"Ibrahimovic and certainly Pogba are a massive boost for them to have back at this stage of the season. They are both big teams and are showing that."
The Seagulls are unbeaten in five matches and Hughton wants his players to show self-belief.
"You can't go there with fear because if you do, it is inevitable what will happen," he said. "You have to go there with a belief and a confidence that you can get something."
Meanwhile, United midfielder Juan Mata is enjoying life at the club and says he is open to extending his four-year stay at Old Trafford.
The Spain international has made over 150 appearances for United since joining in 2014. His contract expires next year though the club has the option to extend it until 2019.
"I'm happy here. The club is massive, the support we have ia massive. I've been settled down in the city since year one," Mata, who has scored once in 13 appearances this season, tolds ESPN, as quoted by Reuters.
"I'm 29 and hopefully I can play football for some more years. It would be great to play until I'm 40 like Ryan Giggs. But that'a still a bit far, still 11 years.
"You never know what can happen in football and in life. But my feeling now is that I'm happy here and I wouldn't have any problem continuing here for more time."

Agencies
Manchester/Bengaluru

Is One Day Strolling In Seoul Enough?

The South Korean capital Seoul is a comfortable place filled with high energy and intensity.
It is a very busy city that never sleeps. Traffic is heavy and crowded, particularly at rush hours. Despite this, Seoul is also a great pkace for a day of strolling around.
Here are some places that you must visit if you go to Seoul.

Namsan Tower
Seoul, a modern metropolis, has a number of ancient landmarks and tourism spots. Around 30 minutes from the city center, stands the landmark N Seoul Tower, the so-called Namsan Tower, an observation tower located in Mount Namsan.
Huffing up the stone stairs to the peak of Mt. Namsan, the tower offers some of the best views and they get even better at night.
At 236 meters, the tower is the second-highest point in Seoul. Established in 1971, the tower was designed as broadcast tower to send out TV and radio signals throughout the Seoul metropolitan area.
For couples, bring a padlock for the so-called lock of love to be snapped onto a fence or purpose built structure then throw away the keys. The love locks are believed to bring everlasting love and strong commitment.
Make it more romantic by buying your loved one sour ice cream made with yoghurt and served in a cone. Sour ice cream is one of the classic Korean snacks.

Walking The Seoullo
Around 24 minutes from Mt. Namsan is the Seoullo 7017 overpass, which is a great place to have a walk. Seoullo 7017 is refers to a pedestrian overpass located in the middle of Seoul.
Decades ago, Seoullo was a highway, before the local administration turned it into a paves pedestrian walkway. The so-called Skypark begins at Mali Dong Plaza, passing through Seoul Station and ends near Namdaemun at Hoehyeon Station.
The 1-kilometer pedestrian path is connected to surrounding buildings, including a mall and restaurants, through a bridge. The visitors here can utilize one of eight information centers and eateries to get tourist information, rest, and to have a light meal or snacks.
Walking along the path can be very entertaining because it has many spot for art performances. There are volunteers performing music or attractions on a daily basis. Plants and trees placed along the walkway, many planted by volunteers, make the walk even more delightful.
The Seoullo also has gift shops where tourists can buy souvenirs, such as tote bags, glassware and other Korean crafts. To get lost is impossible given the eight information centers.

Shopping Time
Do not return to your country with nothing in your hands, because Seoul is a shopping haven, especially for fashion and beauty products.
We are all familiar with the Lotte brand. Indonesia already has a number of Lotte department stores. However, Seoul's Lotte World Mall and Tower has it all and is a place that tourists flock to.
Located at 300 Olympic-ro, Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, the shopping mall, which opened in 2014, is South Korea's iconic shopping venue and is one of the largest shopping malls in Asia.
Entering the mall visitors will see hundreds of outlets featuring a variety of goods and hundreds of brands, from Korean labels to world-famous luxury brands. Therefore, a shopping list must be prepared.
Besides shopping, visitors can enjoy various facilities ranging from an aquarium and movie theaters to a dental clinic.
But that is not all. The Lotte Word Mall is apparently the base of something even more stunning.
Above the mall, there soars the 555-m Lotte World Tower, a monument to modern Korea. The tower is one of the world's top-10 tallest buildings.
"The construction process for the tower took six years. The tower now has a total of eight mega columns that take care of 40 percent of the total gtavity load. People can view the city Seoul from the sky," Lotte Seoul Sky's senior manager of the observatory operation team, Jeon Seon-hwa said.
For 27,000 won (US$24,80) per person, visitors can enjoy the view of Seoul from the nation's tallest building. Admission to the Lotte Sky Tower is through an entrance gate inside the shopping mall.
Walking to the lift, visitors pass through a corridor with LED pictures displaying traditional Korean patterns in a traditional-modern atmosphere.
The lift has its own impressiveness. It can carry the visitor to the 117th floor in less than a minute with a four-wall screen displaying the story of the transformation of Seoul and the Han River over time.
Arriving on the 117th floor, take an elevator to the Sky Deck. A favorite spot is a transparent glass floor where visitors can observe busy Seoul 478m below. Visitors can also go to the Sky Terrace on the 120th floor to enjoy the fresh air and views of Seoul.

Myeongdong Street
Still have enough time for more beauty shoppinv? Stop by at the Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, where you will find the largest and hottest shopping spot in the country.
Myeongdong is the most popular shopping district in South Korea and a go-to place for skincare and beauty product hunters with its dizzying variety of luxury beauty brands, including Nature, Republic, Innisfree, Etude House, Tony Moly and Laneige. Better bring a large bag or, indeed a suitcase.

Nurul Fitri Ramadhani
The Jakarta Post/Seoul, South Korea

Finding Happiness, Peace at Woljeongsa Temple

In the middle of a thick forest in the eastern valley of the Odaesqan Mountain in Pyeong Chang County in Gangwon Province, around two hours from Seoul, is Woljeongsa Temple, one of Korea's 10 major Buddhist temples.
Founded in 643 AD during the reign of Shilla Queen Seondeok by the Precepts Master Ven. Jajang, the temple is a good place for people to contemplate and experience Buddhist culture.
The atmosphere cannot be more romantic.
To enter the temple area, visitors have to cross Haetalgyo bridge, which spans a clear river that seems to be able to set you free from all kinds of pressure.
The bridge is best known as the site where the Korean drama, Guardian: the Lonely and the Great God or Goblin, was filmed.
At the entrance, called the Heavenly King's Gate, four statues of Buddhist kinga greet visitors.
The temple provides a homestay with 15 rooms, where it usually welcomes 50 visitors every week. One room costs around US$90. But do not forget to bring along your own towels, socks to wear in the Budha hall and comfortable shoes. Slippers and flip-flops are frowned upon.
Through Woljeongsa's temple stay program, visitors can participate in monastic Buddhist life and experience the 1,700-year-old tradition of Korean Budhism for short stays.
The program is also open to everyone regardless of their religious beliefs and there is no need to convert.
"People are here to practice happiness and peace. They're searcing for peace and light (because) Buddhism is about enlightenment," one of the monks said during The Jakarta Post's visit to the temple.
When he was speaking to the Post, the monk was standing near an octagonal, nine-story stone pagoda, which reprsented the Goryeo Dynasty.
Behind the monk was the Jeokgwangjeon or the Main Buddha Hall where several people bowed, which is one of the etiquettes visitors will be learning during their stay.
On week days, the temple offers a relaxation program that allows participants to spend their time freely except when they have to attend Buddhist ceremonies and take meals.
On weekends it offers Budhists cultural programs and various traditional experiences.
If visitors do not have enough time to experience the temple stay program, they can still participate in a program called Templelife.
On of the Templelife activities is to make 108 prayer beads with the help of an instructor.
The monk explained that in the traditional process of making the beads it was required thtpat the maker bow 108 times, For tourists, the instructor usually asks them to bow just three times.
"In your mind, there's delusion, anger. If you want to be free of the anger you have to practice bowing," the monk said.
Visitors can take their beads anywhere in the temple complex while saying prayers according to their beliefs. It can help you to concentrate," said the monk.

JP/Nurul Fitri Ramadhani

No Beckham In Paul Parker's Best Man United XI

David Beckham was an eager youngster when Paul Parker signed for Manchester United in 1991, the year before the future England captain would win the FA Youth Cup with the Class of 1992.
Both were from London and Parker, who works as a coach in Singapore, has not included Beckham in his best Manchester United team, chosen from the first 25 years of the Premier League, between 1992 and 2017.
"David was a nice young man back then, and you could tell that he would go a long way," Parker told ESPN FC.
"He would become a very good player, who maximized every ounce of his ability to carve out an impressive career.
"But in his position at wide right in my best-ever Man United team from the Premier League era, I've had to go for Cristiano Ronaldo. He was great when he left United, and would become even better at Real Madrid. He's a player I would't ever want to play against as a full-back."
With Peter Schmeichel in goal, Gary Pallister in central defense, his good friend Denis Irwin at left-back - plus Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Eric Cantona in front of them - Parker's team is full of his former teammates.
But he makes no apologies for selecting men who emerged during his own 1990s era as he won five trophies, including two Premier League titles.
"I think that players back then were mentally stronger and they were just as talented as today, but in a physically tougher period of the Premier League," said Parker, who won the Premier League title twice during his five years at United.
"In goal, you'd have to pick Schmeichel. You can maybe talk about Edwin van der Sar, but nine out of 10 would say big Peter as your No. 1.
"I omit myself, of course, so I would have to say Gary Neville at right-back. There hasn't been a better left-back than Denis Irwin, even though people will mention Patrice Evra in the modern era, but, honestly, Denis was a better all-round player.
"Alongside Gary Pallister, I would go for Jaap Stam. People will start talking about others like (Nemanja) Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. But I played with 'Pally' for five years and spent a lot of time watching Stam after that. Stam wasn't just aggressive, but also a good footballer. Very controlled and disciplined on the ball."
With Scholes and Keane, Parker will get few arguments about his choice of central midfielders in his Best XI.
"Roy Keane would be my captain because he got the best out of people (...) maybe sometimes not in the best fashion, but he made a difference because he questioned players about how much it meant to them to play for the club.
"Next to him is arguably United's greatest central midfield player in Paul Scholes. Why he nwver really got to play in the same fashion for his country doesn't make any sense, and England got it wrong there. But :Scholesy' has to be in any Man United great team.
"And as for Ryan Giggs in my 4-4-2, there hasn't been a better left-sided player in the last 25 years so he's an obvious choice in anyome's best Man United team."
Up front, Parker admits he gave serious consideration to Wayne Rooney, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Dwight Yorke before opting for a strike partnership of Eric Cantona and Andy Cole.
"Even though he wore No. 7, Eric played in that No. 10 role, and could also go up top. He could do everything," Parker said.
"Eric wasn't lazy. He would run behind, drop off, come into the deep areas and take the ball of defenders because he believed he could do everyrthing. And nine out of 10 times, he could.
"Alongside him is Andy Cole. Not just because of the goals he scored, but because of the goals he made as well. 'Coley' was a complete centre-forward. He became an ever better player when he came to United in 1995."
Manchester United won 13 titles in the first 25 years of the Premier League era, including four out of the first five between 1992 and 1997. But they've failed to win the league in the four seasons since Parker's former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, left the club.

Jason Dasey is the Singapore-based senior editor of global soccer website ESPN FC.
Twitter: @JasonDasey

Barcelona, Chelsea Reach Last 16 As MU loses

Barcelona and Chelsea progressed to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, but Jose Mourinh's Manchester United must wait to seal its spot after a last-gasp 1-0 defeat in Basel.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde rested Argentina star Lionel Messi in Turin, later introducing him as a second-half substitute as a 0-0 draw against Juventus sent the five-time European champion through as winner of Group D.
Willian scored twice and won a pair of penalties as Chelsea trashed 10-man Qarabag 4-0 in Baku to guarantee Antonio Conte's side a top-two finis finish in Group C.
First-half goals from Eden Hazard and Willian put Chelsea in control, with Cesc Fabregas adding a third before Willian netted again to cap the rout and knock Qarabag out of the competition.
"We did everything well. We should have scored more. It is easy to play with these good players," Hazard said.
Atletico Madrid, runner-up twice in the past four years, retained an outside chance of pipping Roma to a place in the knockout stage as Antoine Griezmann snapped an eight-match goal drought in a 2-0 win in Spain.
The French striker broke the deadlock with a spectacular acrobatic effort on 69 minutes, before compatriot Kevin Gameiro added a late second to seal a first win of the campaign for Atletico.
However, it must beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in its final game and hope Roma drops points at home to Qarabag to avoid parachuting into the Europa League.
United, which hit the wood-work twice in the first half through Marouane Fellaini and Marcos Rojo, looked on course to secure the point required to punch its ticket to the last 16 in Switzerland before Michael Lang popped up with an 89th-minute winner.
"It's like a dream. Right now I can't believe we won against such a strong team," Swiss international Lang told RTS.
"We always thought we could win this match and in the end it was a victory like I had never seen before."
Mourinho blamed United's inability to convert their first-half dominance into goals after watching his side lose their perfect record in the group.
"We lost because in the first half we should be 5-0 up but we could not score one goal after being so dominant," Mourinho said.
The result left United on 12 points, three ahead of both Basel and CSKA Moscow, and still almost certain of advancing, barring a huge defeat against the Russians at Old Trafford on Dec. 5.
Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev recorded a first clean sheet in the group stage since 2006 - ending a staggering run of 43 matches conceding a goal - as CSKA condemned Benfica to a fifth straight loss in Group A.
Georgi Schennikov's cool finish steered CSKA into a 13th-minute lead in Moscow before the host grabbed a second through an own goal from Brazilian defender Jardel.
Paris Saint-Germain dismantled Celtic 7-1 as the French giants registered its biggest win in the competition, despite falling behind when Moussa Dembele scored inside the first at the Parc des Princes.
A brace feom Neymar soon turned the game around, before Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe added goals of their own before the interval.
Marco Veratti made it five with quarter of an hour left, before Cavani got his second and a sensational Dani Alves hit wrapped up a record-breaking night as PSG shattered the previous mark of 21 group-stage goals set last year by Borussia Dortmund.
Unai Emery's team have now scored 24 times in five matches and conceded just once, although it must avoid a heavy reverse at Bayern Munich next month to ensure it finishes top of Group B.
Robert Lewandowski and Corentin Tolisso scored in Brussels as Bayern overcame Anderlecht 2-1 to retain its 100 percent record since 72-year-old Jupp Heynckes returned for a fourth spell at the club.
Two goals from Dutch striker Bas Dost propelled Sporting to a 3-1 victory over Olympiakos, but the Portuguese outfit must beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou in its final fixture to have a chance of overhauling Juventus for a last-16 berth.

Martyn Wood
Agence France-Presse/Paris

Liverpool's In-Form Salah Poses Threat To Old Club Chelsea

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah could be excused for celebrating a little more loudly than normal if he scores against Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend.
The Egypt striker endured a miserable time at Stamford Bridge after joining Chelsea from FC Basel in 2014 - making only a handful of appearances and scoring twice before being shipped out on loan to Fiorentina.
Via a move to AS Roma, where he became a crowd favorite, Salah joined Liverpool in the close season and has not looked back.
The 25-year-old livewire, signed for £34 million (US$45.15 million), has scored 14 goals in all competitions so far this season and will relish the chance to show Chelaea fans what he can do when the champion visits Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has a fearsome frontline, including fit-again Sadio Mane who scored in the topsy-turvy 3-3 draw at Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday when the Marseysiders surrendered a three-goal lead.
But Salah's contribution from a wide position has been particularly spectacular - not that Klopp ever doubted it.
"He was a kid when he came to Chelsea, now he's a man," the German said.
Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard believes Salah poses a significant threat to his old side, which will arrive at Anfield having won four league games in a row.
"Salah is absolutely on his game. He's superb," Lampard told BT Sport on Tuesday, before the game in Sevilla that left both teams still battling for a place in the last 16.
While Liverpool's capitulation in Spain ruined the momentum built up by three league wins, Klopp's side have conceded only one league goal at Anfield this season and the Geman is yet to lose to Chelsea in five clashes since taking over two years ago.
They start fifth, three points behind third-place Chelsea who might be suffering the effects of their long Champions League trip to Azerbaijan where they beat Qarabag 4-0 on Wednesday.
Both sides are already being left behind by leader Manchester City that racked up 17 straight victories in all competitions, including 10 in the Premier League.
City faces Huddersfield Town away on Sunday by which time Manchester United could have cut its lead to five points if it beats buoyant visitor Brighton & Hove Albion.
City is only three short of the record winning streak in a Premier League season set by Chelsea, last term, and Arsenal.
Fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, which was overtaken by Chelsea last week after losing at Arsenal, hosts struggling West Bromwich Albion that sacked manager Tony Pullis this week.
Arsenal, in sixth place, faces a testing trip to high-flying Burnley, hoping to prove that an impressive 2-0 win over Spurs can provide a platform for a sustained upward push.
West Ham United's new manager David Moyes will hope for a morale-boosting win at home to Leicester City. The last time the third-bottom Hammers played on a Friday it was hammered by Brighton - a result that hastened the exit of Slaven Bilic.

Martyn Herman
Ruters/London

Night To Remember For Wigan's Colclough

Wigan's Ryan Colclough had an evening to remember after scoring twice for the English League One club and them dashing to hospital to make it in time for the birth of his son - still dressed in full kit.
The 22-year-old winger put the former Premier League side 2-0 up against Doncaster at the DW Stadium just before half-time and netted a second in the 58th minute in a 3-0 win.
He was substituted just after scoring hia second before racing down the tunnel and dashing to the hospital.
"What a great result and team effort from all the boys! I'm so happy to mark the birth of my second son with two goals and the win he made it a hat-trick for me! Apreciate all the messages!" Colclough tweeted. He included a picture of celebrations on the pitch, mimicking cradling a baby, and one of him holding his son Harley Thomas.
"I looked at the manager and he said 'we'll bring you off now'," he told BBC Radio Manchester on Wednesday. "I went off, straight down the tunnel, grabbed my keys and phone and got off to hospital."
Colclough, who made it to hospital with just 30 minutes to spare, said he had arrived "in the nick of time."

AFP/London

Booming Life For 'PUBG' Death-Match Computer Game

Scorea of virtual warriors faced off in a Hunger-Games-style death match in a massive, real-world eSports matchup of upstart shootr game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG).
The computer game's rise has been epic, with some industry trackers branding this the year of 'PUBG' even though it is technically still in trial mode with a final version yet to be released.
In a colossal two-day event that ended Suday, 80 players hunched over computers in a warren of cubicles set up in an arena where the champion Golden State Wariors usually plays home basketball games.
Shooter games played as spectators sports typically pit one team against another, and such was the scene nearby in the Oracle Arena in Oakland where a "Counter-Strike Global Offensive" tournament was taking places as part of the overall Intel Extreme Masters event.
Brendan Greene of Ireland, the creator of "PUBG," released an early-access version of the game online at Steam in March, referring to it as a "very special day" in a blog post.
That was more than 20 million copies ago, according to data aervice Steamspy.
A Steam chart showed PUBG was the most played PC game on Monday, with nearly 2.7 million people simultaneously taking part at a peak point.
"With PUBG's growing pipularity, we really wanted to incorporate it into this event," Electronic Sports League vice president of pro gaming Michal Blicharrz said.
"The interest in the game from the industry and growing PUBG community is greater than I can remember."
It's a dizzying rocket to success for a game born of frustation with eSports titles seeming to play it safe and predictable with tight maps, established lanes for action, and reliance on hectic action and hair-trigger reflexes.
Greene had a different vision for competitive game-play, and began to make it real by modifying source code of military-style games Arma 2 and 3 to create a modification or "mod" called "Battle Royale."
Often likened to blockbuster book and film series The Hunger Games, game play created by Greene takes place on large virtual islands where players drop in, scavenge for resources and weapons, then battle rivals and environtment to be the sole survivor.
Success of the "mods" earned Greene a job working on a smiliar project with Sony Online Entertaintment in 2015 then South Korean developer Bluehole hired him to be creative director of his own original "Battle Royale" game. The result was PUBG.
Intel Extreme Masters was a rare time when PUBG matches played out live in a stadium instead of online with competitors squirreled away at home or other private settings.
"It is exhilarating," said 23-year-old Ewan Tindale of Britain, a member of team Digital Chaos which won the first PUBG round in a tournament which boasted a total prize pool of US$200,000.
"We are used to sitting in the dark at thr PC gaming, then all of a sudden you have thousands of people watching, cameras and lights, but once you are in the game you kind of tune out."
Team aAa (Against All Authority) Gaming of France reigned victorious at the PUBG tournament battle, taking $60,000 in prize money.

Mitchell Kernot
Agence France-Presse/Oakland

Coach Quits After Guiding Oz To World Cup

An emotional Ange Postecoglou quit as Australia coach on Wednesday, just days after guiding e team to a World Cup spot and leaving them only months to find a replacement for the tournament in Russia.
The 52-year-old Australian did not reveal the reason behind his decision, which had been widely expected after he repeatedly refused to deny reports he was about to step down.
His departure, at the end of a five-year contract, leaves the Asian champions in turmoil ahead of the June-July World Cup, where they will hope to improve on their three straight defeats in 2014.
Postecoglou gave no details about his future plans, beyond saying he hoped to coach a club overseas. But he said he felt it was "the right time" to leave.
"After a great deal deal of thought and soul-searching, I've decided that the journey for me ends as Socceroo coach," he told a press conference in Sydney.
"It's been the biggest privilege of my life and probably not the ending I had envisaged when we started, but at the same time, knowing it's the right time for me and the right decision."
Postecoglou brushed aside questions about whether he had been affected by media criticism, and denied any conflict with Soccer Federation Australia.
FFA chief executive David Gallop said he was "disappointed and I guess still a bit of puzzled," but added: " I'm supportive of the notion that sometimes you reach a point where you just know that you need to do something new."
"As for the process going forward, we won't be rushed," said Gallop, sitting alongside Postecoglou. It's important that we get the right person to fill the big ahoes (...) there's enormous advantages in having an Australian in this position."
The Socceroos, who beat Syria and then Honduras in two legged playoffs to seal their World Cup spot, do not play again until March.
Gallop said it was too early to say if the FFA would appoint an interim coach to guide the team through the World Cup, or opt for a longer-term appointment.
Sydney FC coach and Australian Graham Arnold has been seen as one of the top contenders to replace Postecoglou.
Arnold worked under the Socceroos's Dutch coaches Guus Hiddink and Pim Verbeek, and managed the team during the 2007 Asian Cup.
Postecoglou avoided giving details of where he would coach next, only saying that "I don't want to be unemployed for too long."
"I want to coach abroad. Part of me (...) is pretty keen to get stuck back into club soccer, working day to day," he said.
"I have loved this job. But it's been all-encompassing."
The lack of a clear reason for Postecoglou's departure has left commentators and fans scratching their heads.
"We find you in the walk-in pantry of men and women who could not face the ultimate examination of their skill and temperament," wrote Patrick Smith in The Australian.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Dan Colasimone described Postecoglou's resignation as "weird" and said it had left a "bitter aftertaste."
Australia sealed their fourth straight World Cup spot in Sydney last week after defeating Honduras 3-1 in the second leg.
The win capped a grueling, 22-match, 29-month qualifying campaign that criss-crossed Asia, the Middle East and Central America.
Under Postecoglou, the Socceroos won 22 matchea out of 49, drawing 12 and losing 15.
Greek-born Postecoglou, who migrated to Australia as a five-year-old, was flung in the coaching hot seat just months before the last World Cup.
He was given a five-year contract by the FFA after the sacking of German Holger Osieck, becoming the Socceroos' first full-time Australian coach in nine years.

Gienda Kwek
Agence France-Presse/Sydney

Real Cruises Into Last 16, Liverpool Blows Three-Goal Lead

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as holders Real Madrid trashed APOEL 6-0 in Cyprus to reach the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, while Liverpool blew a three-goal lead in a thriller at Sevilla.
Zinedine Zidane's Real bounced back from their 3-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur last time out by crushing APOEL, with four of the goals coming  before half-time.
"It was a very good evening for us," said Zidane.
"We're on the right track. We're doing things well and we're building in strength. It's never easy but it was complete display and we scored quickly."
The record 12-time winners had to wait until the lead through Luka Modric, but a run of five goals in 15 minutes either side of half-time sent them through in style.
Karim Benzema put worries about his recent form to bed with a double either side of a Nacho effort, before Ronaldo got in on the act after the break.
The Portuguese climbed highest to power a header into the corner from an inviting Marcelo cross.
And the 32-year-old, who has only scored once in eight La Liga appearances this season, scored his eight Champions League goal this term with an excellent left footed finish from a tight angle.
Tottenham sealed a top spot in Group H with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund.
Pierrs-Emerick Aubameyang put the hosts ahead, but with Real's thumping win sending Dortmund out, Spurs leveled through Harry Kane and Son Heung-min curled in a 76th-minute winner.
Five-time champions Liverpool threw away a last-16 spot as Sevilla roared back from three goals down at half-time to draw 3-3.
Liverpool looked to be cruising into the knockout stage for the first time since 2008/2009 when Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane both scored from flicked-on corners.
A rout similiar to the 7-0 trashing of Maribor in Slovenia earlier in the group phase looked on the cards when Firmino tapped in number three, but Sevilla staged a stirring second-half comeback.
And Argentinian Guido Pizarro struck in the third minute of injury-time to complete the fightback and leave Jurgen Klopp's visitors deflated.
"Fantastic first half and in the second half we made the mistake that we didn't continue playing soccer," said Klopp.
Elsewhere in Group E, Russian champions Spartak Moscow saw their chances hit by an injury-time equalizer in a 1-1 home draw with Maribor.
Sevilla will book a last-16 spot for the second straight season if they can win in Maribor on the final matchday in two week's time, while Liverpool have to avoid defeat at home to Spartak.
Lorenzo Insigne inspired Italian Serie A leaders Napoli to a 3-0 victory over Ukrainians Shakhtar Donetsk that kept their hopes alive in Group F.
Winger Insigne made the difference with a magnificent individual effort in the 56th minute, dancing past two defenders before curling into the top corner from 23 meters out.
Further late goals from Piotr Zielinski and Dries Mertens gave their goal difference a boost.

Jed Court
Agence France-Presse/Paris

Soccer Ace Targets Fans' Hearts And Wallets

A minnow of English soccer, Stevenage FC, is an unlikely candidate to be at the forefront of financial innovation in the game.
Yet it has become the first soccer club in the world to sell bonds directly to its fans online via crowdfunding, according to the organizers of the deal.
Stevenage, in England's fourth division, raised £600,000 (US$795,180) in September via a five-year bond to rebuild a stand in its stadium. It is set to be followed by Frosinone Calcio of Italy's Serie B second division which unveiled a bond worth up to £1,5 million ($1.76 million) on Monday.
Tifosy, the crowdfunding platform behind the deals, was founded by former Italy, Juventus and Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli, along with a former Goldman Sachs banker and two others investors. The company's name is a play on the Italian word tifosi meaning fans.
The figures at stake may be small but Vialli said he and his partners were aiming higher.
"We're close to finalizing something with a big club in Serie A and an (English) Premiership club as well," he told Reuters in an interview. "We're also taking to many other clubs in football, rugby and cricket."
He added Tifosy takes a 4-6 percent cut of all funds raised.
Such fundraising offers a new source of funding to sports clubs who do not have the access to international capital markets, typically to fund their sports infrastructure. It can also give fans another way of supporting their team.
But it comes with risks for investors.
The Stevenage and Frosinone bonds cannot be traded and their holders would only be repaid after senior creditors such as banks in the event of a default.
There are also perils associated if the team performs poorly on the pitch. In Stevenage's case, if the club is relegated in the last year of the bond the repayment is delayed by one year.
If a club sees its revenue slump due to poor performance, it may not be able to repay bondholders.
"The risk is high for fans investing in their club (...) that they will lose all their money or that they are not compensated for the risks they bear," said Luca Enriques, a law professor at Oxford University who has researched crowdfunding, where businesses raise cash directly from small investors online.
Stevenage bondholders can choose to either get a 4 percent gross annual interest in cahs or 8 percent in credit that they can spend on the club's products, such as merchandise, food and drink.
Frosinone's bond comes with a 5 percent cash coupon plus 3 percent in credit. Proceeds will be used to build a restaurant, a health centre and some shops around the club's new stadium.
Aa time when a five-year United Kingdom or Italian government bond yields less than I percent, this may look like a good return.
But, by comparison, investors can get a 6 percent yield by buying the debt of Premier Foods, the owner of brands including Mr Kipling cakes and Oxo stock cubes, with an equivalent maturity.
Unlike Stevenage or Frosinone, listed companies such as Premier Foods are obliged to publish their accounts regularly. Their debt is rated by independent agencies and can be traded on the market.
Finbarr O'Connell of accountancy firm Smith & Williamson, who helped now dissolved Formula 1 team Caterham raise donations in 2014, said selling subordinated debt to fans took crowdfunding too far.
The risks associated with the Stevenage bonds are clearly laid out in the documentation and users are also asked to self-certify as experienced, wealthy or everyday investors before applyng to buy the bonds online.
Carole Legrand, a 65-year old Stevenage fan, invested 1,000 pounds after a small lottery win.

Reuters
London

Rakitic Woukd Give Top Spot To Buffon

Barcelona's Croatian international Ivan Rakitic said Tuesday he would love to tell Italian goalkeeping great Gianluigi Buffon to take his place in the 2018 World Cup.
Rakitic will meet Buffon in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Juventus in Turin, just a week after Buffon tearfully retired from international duty as Italy crashed out the World Cup.
"I feel like telling Buffon to go in my place, as what he's done for football is uncredible, simply unique," said midfielder Rakitic when asked why Italy failed to advance from their World Cup play-off against Sweden while Croatia eliminated Greece.
Buffon, 39, later replied on Twitter.
"Dear Ivan, as a goalkeeper I might still play but playing for Croatia as a midfielder in your place might not be a great idea: Joking apart, your words have been a great gift."
Buffon - who earned a record 175 caps for Italy over 20 years - had been targeting a record sixth World Cup appearance in Russia. He announced his international retirement after the 1-0 play-off defeat which saw Italy miss the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.
Playing likely his final season with Juventus, Buffon has one final ambition: to win the Champions League, after finishing runner-up twice in the past three years.

AFP/Turin

Sevilla's Berizzo In Prostate Cancer Shock

Sevilla's Argentine coach Eduardo Berizzo has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the club confirmed on Wednesday, just hours after his side staged a remarkable comeback against Liverpool in the Champions League.
"The medical services of Sevilla FC can inform that the coach of the first team, Eduardo Berizzo, has been diagnosed with an adenocarcinoma of the prostate," the club said in a statement.
"Further tests will determine which steps to follow regarding his treatment.
"Sevilla FC wants to show their full support to the coach right now and wishes him a speedy recovery."
Berizzo, 48, made no statement on his health when speaking to media after the Spanish side came from 3-0 down at half-time to draw 3-3 against the five-time European champions.
A former center-back for River Plate, Marseille and Celta Vigo among others, Berizzo is in his first season as Sevilla boss after three successful years in charge of Celta. Several Sevilla playera had bailed Berizzo's powers of motivation to orchestrate their second-half fightback.
"We had to come out with a different attitude for the fans and for the boss, he made us play like that," said Argentine international Ever Banega.
"He turned the situation around in the second-half."

AFP/Sevilla

What's Gone Wrong At Atletico Madrid?

Twice Champions League finalists in the past four seasons, Atletico Madrid is staring an e!barassing and financially damaging Champions League exit in the face unless it beasts an in-form Roma on Wednesday.
Even victory over the Group C Leader and away to Chelsea in two weeks may not be enough to sav Atletico unless Azerbaijani Champions League debutants Qarabag can also do it a favor by taking points off one of Chelsea or Roma in its final two games.
In Diego Simeone's glorious reign as boss, only Real Madrid has previously been capable of eliminating Atletico from the Champions League. It has twice dumped out Barcelona and beat Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich en route to the 2016 final.
Here, AFP Sports looks at what has gone wrong for Simeone's troops this season:

Goal-shy Griezmann
Simeone remains steadfast in his words of support for star forward Antoine Griezmann more than his actions after substituting the French international in each of Atletico's last two games.
Griezmann has angered some Atletico fans by publicly flirting with a move away before agreeing to stay and signing an improved contract when the club's appeal against a transfer ban was rejected in June.
However, a run of no goals in his last eight games and just three all season has meant there has been little reconciliation with a set of supporters that demand commitment above all else.
Simeone insisted he was with Griezmann "to the death" as long as he "remains in his family" after another blank in Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to bitter rivals Real.
Yet a divorce between player and club at the end of the season now seems inevitable, particularly with Atletico needing to balance the books should they crash out early in the Champions League.

Not so magic Wanda
Atletico's European success was built at the fortress Vicente Calderon where it won 18, drew four and lost only one of 23 Champions League games under Simeone.
It is yet to at the winning feeling in the Champions League at their new 68,000-capacity Wanda Metropolitano after two attempts: a late defeat to Chelsea and an even more damaging draw when Qarabag visited three weeks ago.
Indeed, after opening the £310 million (US$366 million) stadium with victories over Malagq ajd Sevilla, Atletico is winless in its last five at the Wanda Metropolitano as players and fans alike struggle to adapt to its remote new home, nearly 20 kilometers niortheast of the Calderon.

Diego Costa cloud lingers
Griezmann's lack of form has been exacerbated by a dearth of other goalscoring options as Atletico has scored just 12 times in its last 15 games and failed to score more than once in a game for two months. A club record fee was splashed out in September to bring Diego Costa back to Atletico from Chelsea, but he can't feature until January when the ban on registering new players is lifted.
In the meantime, Angel Correa, Kevin Gameiro and Fernando Torres have failed to justify a continued run in the team as Griezmann's strike partner.

Lost it heads
So strong was Atletico in the air during its La Liga title-winning season in 2013/14 it was nicknamed "Atletico Aviation" in reference to a club that formed part of a merger to make what is now known as Atletico Madrid in the late 1930s. This season, Atletico's own set-piece threat has dried up, while seven of the 10 goals it has conceded have come from headers.
tletico's aerial defending has cost it points against Girona, Chelsea, Qarabag, Barcelona and Villareal.

Draws don't work
Despite the doom and gloom, Atletico has only lost one game in 17 in all competitions this season. The problem is 10 of those matches have ended in draws.
Not turning draws into wins has been particularly punishing in the Champions League as Atletico has dominated twice against Qarabag and away to Roma on matchay one for the reward of just three points.
Now it has no margin for error left, but Simeone is never comfortable in setting his side up to gung ho.

Kieran Canning
Agence France-Presse/Madrid

Absence Makes MU Grows Fonder For Pogba

He does not yet share teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic's cult status, but Paul Pogba's display on his comeback from injury showed his importance to Manchester United is second to none.
Having toiled in Pogba's absence, recently taking four points from possible 12 in the Premier League, United rediscovered its swagger against Newcastle United on saturday when the Frenchman made his return.
With a goal and an assist in a 4-1 comeback win, Pogba was the man of the match and his overall display helped United find a level it has struggled to reach during his two-month absence.
"He affects our football," summarized United manager Jose Mourinho. "We all know, myself and the fellow players, that certain players influence the levels of the team. With him we have much more creation."
Though he has often dazzled with his long-legged technical, artistry, the recognition of Pogba's influence on United's play has been slow in coming.
His then world-record £89.3 million (US$118.2 million) transfer from Juventus last year created huge expectations and altough his first season was successful, there were few fireworks.
Pogba finished the season with nine goals in 51 appearances and winner's medal in both the League Cup and Europa League, his goal in the final of the latter setting United en route to victory over Ajax.
But he could not compete with Ibrahimovic, whose goal-scoring feats and larger-than-life persona immediately made him a favorite with the Old Trafford faithful.
United's fans had invented a song for Ibrahimovic - their "Swedish Hero" - before he had even made his official debut.
Anthony Martial, too, is regularly serenaded, but Pogba is still waiting for an ode in his honour to take root.
With Ibrahimovic sidelined by an injury of his own, Pogba took centre-stage in the opening as United made an impressive start to the season.
Yet it was only during the period of absence brought on by the hamstring injury Pogba sustained against Basel on September 12 that his importance began to be truly acknowledged.
"I think Pogba is a big miss because of his confidence and arrogance," said former United captain Gary Neville after Mourinho's men succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.
"He takes the ball into tight areas, holds the ball, beats a man."
Paul Scholes, meanwhile, said Pogba's unavailability explained why Romelo Lukaku had suddenly gone off the boil.
"He (Pogba) links the team together," said the former United midfielder.
"I don't think they have a good enough number 10 at the moment and that doesn't help Lukaku either. Lukaku is having to do a lot for homself, but Pogba will make the difference."
With Pogba in the team, United has scored 16 goals in five Premier League games this season, at an average goals figure halves.
The 24-year-old has been directly responsible for eights goals in his last six league appearances - four goals, four assists - and with him and Ibrahimovic back on the scene, confidence is flooding back.
Manchester City opened up an eight-point lead over United while Pogba was convalescing, but both he and Ibrahimovic spoke optimistically about reeling in Pep Guardiola's side after Saturday's game.
While United has lost ground in the league, it has not missed a beat in the Champions League and visit Basel on Wednesday needing just a point to reach the knockout phase as group winners.
Mourinho has indicated Pogba could be rested, but whether he plays or not, his return to fitness has given United a major lift.

Tom Williams
Agence France-Presse/London

£300m Bid Tabled For Newcastle: Reports

A british businesswoman has made a formal offer of around £300m million (US$397 million) for Premier League club Newcatle United, according to British media reports on Monday.
Several media outlets, including the BBC, said Amanda Staveley's financial firm PCP Capital Partners is believed to have been in talks with Newcastle about a potential takeover for several weeks.
Sportswear magnate Ashley announced he wanted to sell the club in October after 10 years in charge, having paid £134.4 million to buy Newcastle in 2007. The 53-year-old Londoner has proved a divisive figure during his tenure, which has seen Newcastle twice relegated from the Premier League and then immediately promoted back.
Staveley, 44, helped broker Sheikh Mansour's purchase of Manchester City in 2008. She was spotted watching Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Liverpool at St James' Park last month. Newcastle was promoted from the Championship under Rafael Benitez last season. The northeast club regularly attracks crowds of over 50,000, but its supporters have not had a trophy to celebrate since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the precursor to the UEFA Cup).

AFP/London

Italy Boss Tavecchio Resigns

Italian soccer federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio resigned on Monday, a week after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 60 years.
Tavecchio, 74, had been under pressure to step down after a goalless draw at home to Sweden meant Italy missed out on the World Cup for the first time since 1958. Coach Gian Piero Ventura was sacked last Wednesday.
An angry Tavecchio told a news conference he had resigned because he had lost political support within the FIGC, not because of the team's results on the field.
"I didn't think for an instant. I resigned as a political act to the Council, certainly not for sporting reasons," he said. "I asked the members of the Federal Council to resign as well and nobody did, they left me on my own."
Often referring to himself in the third person, he said he had been the victim of persecution by the media. "The only thing missing was Tavecchio on the cross," he said. He also said that Italy's elimination has affected him personally as an ordinary fan. "Carlo Tavecchio was very upset, but not as the head of the soccer federation, but as Carlo Tavecchio." He added that it had not been his decision to appoint Ventura, a journeyman coach who had never coached ACMilan, Inter Milan or Juventus nor won a major title at club level.

Reuters/Rome

'Justice League' - a Desperate Attempt To Stand On Par With Marvel's Avenger

Justice League is a cluttered mess.
The latest installment in the DC cinematic universe is hampered by its poor scriptwriting as seen in the characters' corny lines, plot holes and sheer silliness that makes watching this film a complete torment.
The first half of the film will make you want to fall asleep as Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), a drunken billionaire who spends his nights dressing as a bat figjting criminals and hunting down mysterious blood-sucking aliens, tries to recruit several superheroes for his team.
See, Bruce is convinced that after what happened in the previous DC movies, particularly in Batman V Superman (2016), another great invasion from outside is going to take place on Earth. Tortured by his guilt over the death of Superman, Bruce makes it his personal mission to protect the Earth from any potential doomsday in the future.
The recruitment process takes Bruce as far as cold northern Europe, where he becomes acquinted with Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), also known as Aquaman, the king of the Atlanteans, a group of human-mermaids that have been living under the sea for millennia. He also meets Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), whose superhero pseudonym is The Flash, and who is a computer nerd with no fighting skills but be able to fight crime thanks to his lightning speed.
Meanwhile, Bruce also asks his sidekick from the previous film, Wonder Woman, (Gal Gadot), to recruit Victor Stone (Ray Fisher), a tremendous athlete who is supposedly dead, bit as a result of his scientist father's interference is now living as the modern Frankenstein known as Cyborg.
The film jumps from place to place to imtroduce the main characters. The transition from one to another is chaotic and does not have any coherent narration engaging enougj for the audience to maintain interest.
The last hope for Justice League to become somewhat relevant and memorable is in its main villain. Great superhero movies always come with great villains, yet this is not the case in the movie.
The main villain, Steppenwolf, (Ciaran Hinds), is big and nasty, but he looks like he belongs in the CGI-enhanced action movies of the 1990s instead of 2017. In addition, there is no sort of depth whatsoever behind this character to make him interesting to watch.
The only backstory to Steppenwolf is that he has been destroying planets for thousands of years and in Justice League, he is returning to Earth after his previous attack on the planet was foiled by the union of the Amazonians, Atlanteans, Green Lantern Corps and humans.
On Steppenwolf's return, he tries to grab these things called mother boxes. There are three of them, each one containing great power.
Justice League feels a little lost from start to finish. It begins with a depressing mood and vibe as it tries to depict a world that has lost all hope following the death of Superman. A depressing and dark atmosphere has always been the trademark of DC superhero film adaptations.
However, after continually falling behind in terms of critical response and commercial success compared to the much more entertaining Marvel Cinematic Universe, Justice League seems to be trying to tone down its depressing and dark narration a little bit, and insert a lot of Guardians of the Galaxy type superhero buddy movie humor, particularly theough Flash, the movie's main comic relief.
However, there is simply no chemistry between the members in the Justice League. Their humor feels a little bit forced and the punch lines are dry.
Even significant events in Justice League fail to leave a lasting impression despite the Bruce character trying throughout the film to sell us this idea about Superman being the last hope to face the villain's armies.
Gadot's Wonder Woman also comes weaker that her previous appearance in Batman V Superman. While she showed a little bit of attitude and swag in the previous film, here, her only contribution is looking fit and gorgeous.
To be fair, the production of Justice League did not go smoothly.
Director Zack Snyder left the project during the post-production process after the death of his daughter, so Joss Whedon, who directed Marvel's Avengers films, was given the task to finish the project.
Just like DC's Suicide Squad last year, Justice League also went through a re-shoot process, which probably provides the reason why it feels so confused about what it wants to be.
With a budget of US$300 million, one of the largest ever in film history, Justice League has definitely not lived up to expectations.

Justice League (Warner Bros. Pictures, 120 minutes)
Directed by Zack Snyder
Screenplay by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon
Story by Chris Terrio and Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ciaran Hinds

Hans David Tampubolon
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta 

Schumacher Ferrari Sold For $7.5m

Michael Schumacher's Grand Prix-Winning Ferrari sold for US$7.5 million in New York on Thursday, setting and auction record for a modern-era Formula One Car, Sotheby's flagship post-war and contemporary November evening art sale.
It put the buzz into a night that otherwise fell short of the dizzying heights reached by Christie's on Wednesday selling a painting of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci for a record $450.3 million.
Sotheby's said it was the first time that a rare automobile was included in an art auction and the decision appeared popular.
The sleek, low-slung, fire-engine red vehicle may not have been a work of art, but Gregoire Billault, senior Sotheby's vice president, called it "the very best racing car ever sold at an auction."
The German racing legends has not been seen in public since suffering serious head injuries in a skiing accident in 2013. His record of seven titles and 91 career victories remains unchallenged.

AFP/New York

Italy's Stars Fall Back To Earth

Italy's stunned internationals return to the mundane setting of Serie A this weekend days after its star status in world soccer imploded with a shocking World Cup exit.
Goalkeeping great Gianluigi Buffon was back training with Juventus after his emotional retirement from international duty after two decades, preparing for Sunday's game at Samodoria, along with fellow 2006 World Cup winner Andrea Barzagli, and Giorgio Chiellini.
Daniele De Rossi, another former world champion, was back at Roma for Saturday's "Derby della Capitale" against bitter city rivals Lazio.
"Obviously nobody expected it t end this way. It was an immense letdown not just for us, but for all Italians," said Roma's Stephan El Shaarawy after the 1-0 aggregate play-off defeat by Sweden left four-time champions Italy out of the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
"I feel great bitterness, but we must get back on our feet and try to work towards the future," he added.
Juventus captain Buffon and his Italian teammates can now fully focus on a chasing a seventh straight Serie A title and its Champions League campaign which continues against Barcelona midweek.
Napoli is top of the Italian league standings with 32 points from 12 games, a point ahead ofJuventus with Inter Milan third on 30.
Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus head to Genoa to play Sampdoria, sixth with a game in hand, boosted by the return of German world champion Benedikt Hoewedes from injury.
Maurizio Sarri's Napoli, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back after being held before the international break, as they host under-pressure AC Milan.
Vincenzo Montella's Milan is seventh after a 2-0 win over Sassuolo last time out but has struggled with big name rivals this season.
Meanwhile, Rome's bitter rivals clash for the first time this weekend since the storm triggered by Lazio fans posting anti-Semitic photos of Anne Frank in a Roma jersey.
The photos and stickers of Frank -the Jewish teenager who died in Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in 1945 - were stuck on glass barriers during a game against Cagliari three weeks ago.
The incident led to protest throughout Italy with Italian president Sergio Mattarella deploring the use of an image of Frank, with passages from her diary read before matches through-out the country.
The clash in the Stadio Olympico will be highly-charged as both teams have a lot at stake as they ride high in the league standings.
Lazio, in fourth, is four points adrift of Napoli with Roma a further point back in fifth, with both capital sides having a game in hand.
Inter Milan will be looking to maintain its unbeaten run at home against mid-table Atalanta Sunday, but captain Mauro Icardi is uncertain as he recovers from a knee inflammation.

Emmeline Moore
Agence France-Presse/Milan

Madrid Giants Face Similiar Struggles Ahead of Derby

Accustomed to unrelenting success in recent seasona, both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid enter Saturday's first ever Spanish capital derby at Atletico's new Wanda Metropolitano stadium with little room for error.
Early season struggles have left both sides eight points adrift of La Liga leader Barcelona and four points back on a revitalized Valencia.
Twice finalist in the past four seasons, Atletico also look set up an embarrassing group-stage exit in the Champions League, while Real also suffered its first group stage defeat for five years to Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, altough it should still progress to the last 16.
A large part in the downfall of both side of the Madrid divide has been the poor form of their normally reliant source of goals in Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann.
The two went head-to-head for the Ballon d'Or last year after Real and Ronaldo's Portugal edged out Atletico and Griezmann's France in the Champions League and Euro 2016 finals respectively.
However, Ronaldo has scored just once in seven La Liga appearances so far this season despite having 48 shots on goal.
"It's not my fault if (the ball) does not want to go in," Ronaldo told French sports newspaper L'Equipe on Thursday.
"People look at me like a goal machine, like a guy who has to score all the time."
However, Ronaldo's restlessness on the field has been mirrored by rising tension off it with more Madrid-based sports daily Marca reporting on his fructuous relationship with Real captain Sergio Ramos this week.
After the 3-1 defeat at Wembley to Spurs, Ronaldo admitted Madrid's squaf that delivered first La Liga and Champions League double for 59 years last season had been weakened by the departures of Alvaro Morata, Pepe and James Rodriguez among others. Ramos later described those comment as "opopportunistic."
Griezmann's commitment has also been questioned despite the Frenchman turning his back on a move away from Spain to sign a new deal with Atletico just five monghs ago.
"Whoever doesn't want to be here should leave," Atletico midfielder Koke said on Thursday.
Koke's return after a month out through injury should at least inject some creativity back into an Atletico side badly lacking a spark.
Griezmann has not scored in his last seven Atletico games and was even substituted by Diego Simoeone before Thomas Partey's injury-time strike ground out a 1-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna two weeks ago.
"Compared to previous years it is different," admitted Griezmann.
"We have a new stadium, we are struggling to score goals and win games. At the back we are fine, we just need a bit of luck up front."
Atletico's slow adaptation to the 68,000-capacity Wanda Metropolitano has played its part in their struggles as Simeone's men have failed to win any of their last four games at home in all competitions.
As well as Koke's return, Yannick Carrasco is fit again for Atletico.
Real, by contrast, is still riddled with injuries with Gareth Bale ruled out for another month and doubts over Isco, Dani Carvajal, Keylor Navas and Mateo Kovacic.
Barcelona is also in action in Madrid on Saturday and can open up a seven-point lead at the top when it travels to Leganes.
Valencia will look to maintain the chase and continue a club record run of seven straight La Liga wins ahead of ita top of the table clash with Barca next weekend when it travels to Espanyol on Sunday.

Kieran Canning
Agence France-Presse/Madrid