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Ireland manager Staunton sacked by FAI - report

DUBLIN: Ireland's national soccer team coach Steve Staunton has been sacked by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), Irish public broadcaster RTE reported on Tuesday.

RTE said the FAI's board had made the decision after convening a meeting earlier on Tuesday. Staunton had appeared before the body's management.

There was no immediate confirmation from the FAI.

The former Liverpool and Aston Villa defender had come under renewed pressure after last week's 1-1 draw with Cyprus ended Ireland's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008.

Ljubicic scrapes past Querrey in Lyon

LYON, France: Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic kept his slim hopes of reaching the season-ending Masters Cup alive with a 7-6 7-6 victory over American Sam Querrey in the first round of the Lyon tournament on Tuesday.

Both players held serve throughout with the big-serving Ljubicic winning the tie breaks 7-5 and 9-7 after one hour and 28 minutes.

Ljubicic is 14th in the ATP Race standings, 14 points behind eighth-placed Tommy Haas of Germany, who currently holds the last spot for next month's Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Haas pulled out of the Lyon tournament with gastro-enteritis while Spaniard Tommy Robredo, in ninth place, was eliminated in the first round by France's Marc Gicquel on Monday.

The Masters Cup hopefuls will have a last chance to battle it out in next week's Masters Series in Paris.

Ljubicic next plays either Frenchman Thierry Ascione or Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.

Tour winner Contador signs with new-look Astana team

MADRID: Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has agreed to a deal to ride for a new-look Astana cycling team for the next two years, the rider said on Tuesday.

"After studying the different offers I've received, I've opted for Astana because it is a totally new project which is going to put together a great team for me for the Tour de France," Contador said in a statement.

Contador found himself without a team when his Discovery Channel outfit decided to disband after failing to secure a new sponsor.

But the decision of former Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel to take charge of the Astana project helped convince the Spaniard to sign with the team.

Bruyneel said he was delighted Contador would lead his new team.

Astana decided to revamp the team structure after becoming embroiled in a series of doping scandals this season.

Juve's Nedved available for Inter clash

MILAN: Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved will be available for the home clash with champions Inter Milan next month after receiving just a two-game ban for elbowing an opponent in the face.

The Italian league said in a statement on Tuesday that the 35-year-old Czech would be suspended for two matches for the incident which happened on the final whistle of Juve's 1-0 over Genoa on Sunday.

Nedved, courted by Inter in the close season, will miss this weekend's trip to Napoli and next Wednesday's visit of Empoli.

Second-placed Juve's match with leaders Inter on Nov. 4 is the most eagerly-awaited in the Serie A season given the bad blood between the clubs.

Inter was awarded the 2005-06 championship after Juve was stripped of the title and demoted in a match-fixing scandal.

Former Australia coach Jones prepared to return

BRISBANE: Former Australia coach Alan Jones would be prepared to return to his old post if asked to take over from the outgoing John Connolly.

Queensland Rugby Union chairman Peter Lewis suggested on Tuesday that Jones, now the host of Sydney's highest-rated radio show, would be the ideal person to coach the Wallabies.

Jones, who said he was not actively seeking the Australian coaching role, did not rule out accepting the job if offered.

"Anyone who believes in rugby, who believes in the game and wants the game to do well - if they were prevailed upon and asked to assist, if they were fair dinkum (genuine) they'd most probably have to," he said.

"So I suppose if I was honest, if it was thought by somebody that I might be able to contribute to the revitalization of the game, then I'd be obligated to put my hand up."

(China Daily 10/25/2007 page23)