SKorea focused on WC after playoff win
UEFA bans Sion for a season
HONG KONG, April 17, (Agencies): South Korea coach Yoon Duk-yeo will look to fine tune his team over the coming 14 months after they sealed their place at next year’s Women’s World Cup with a 5-0 thrashing of the Philippines in a regional playoff on Monday.
Cho So-hyun scored twice, while Jang Sel-gi, Lee Mi-na and Lim Seon-joo were also on target as the South Koreans claimed the fifth and final spot, along with the semifinalists, at the Women’s Asian Cup in Jordan.
“Our players did a great job and an excellent performance which helped us qualify for the World Cup,” said Yoon, who also led the side to the Round of 16 at the 2015 World Cup finals in Canada.
“Of course, it would have been much better if we had been in the semifinals, but all my players gave 100 percent in all the matches and played very well throughout the tournament.
“This is not the end, there is now the World Cup. We have found some things we need to improve and from now on, we will try to prepare well for next year in France.”
South Korea and the Philippines finished third in their respective groups at the eight-team Asian continental championship, which doubles up as the region’s final qualifier for France 2019.
Japan, Australia, China and Thailand had already advanced by reaching the last four in Jordan, with the semi-finals of the Asian tournament taking place on Tuesday ahead of the title decider on Friday.
UEFA has banned Swiss club Sion from its competitions for one season over a transfer debt, and fined three clubs for breaking licensing rules.
Sion is barred from its next Champions League or Europa League qualification on merit in the next two seasons, UEFA said in announcing the verdicts of judges from its club finance monitoring panel on Monday.
The case involved a 950,000 euros ($1.18 million) debt to French club Sochaux in the disputed transfer of Ghanaian forward Ishmael Yartey. UEFA said the debt was paid during the last offseason.
UEFA also fined Sion the 235,000 euros ($290,000) prize money earned by playing in one qualifying round of this season’s Europa League, where it was eliminated by Suduva Marijampole of Lithuania. Sion lies ninth in the Swiss league and unlikely to qualify for the next Europa League.
The Swiss club can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
UEFA said the panel also fined Irtysh of Kazakhstan 440,000 euros ($545,000) and put the club on three years’ probation.
Dutch striker Bas Dost said in an interview published on Tuesday that he won’t play for the Netherlands again.
The 28-year-old has scored 59 goals in 57 games in two seasons with Sporting Lisbon, but has not sparkled for the Oranje, scoring just once in 18 appearances, although only four of those were starts.
“Things have not gone well with the national team for some reason,” Dost told Algemeen Dagblad. “It’s time to say: I’m stopping here, it isn’t working.”
Rangers suspended former Scotland striker Kenny Miller and club captain Lee Wallace on Tuesday after a disciplinary meeting following the club’s 4-0 defeat by Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Scottish Cup semifinal.
The pair were called to a meeting at Ibrox amid claims they undermined manager Graeme Murty during a heated post-match analysis on Sunday.
Serie A clubs spent nearly 30 percent less on player agent fees in 2017 compared to 2016.
The Italian football federation released details on agent fees on Monday, and the 20 Serie A clubs spent a total of 138 million euros ($170 million) last year compared to 193 million euros the year before.