#POWER9TWELVE #SPORTSUPDATE Morocco has been stripped of hosting the Africa Cup of Nations and flung out of the competition after saying they wanted to postpone the tournament due to fears over the Ebola epidemic, the African Football Confederation (CAF) announced on Tuesday. The decision was taken during a six-hour meeting of the CAF executive committee at its Cairo headquarters. Morocco has said since early October that its call for a postponement was dictated by health reasons of the most dangerous kind, linked to the serious risk of the spread of the deadly Ebola pandemic. CAF called on the Moroccans to change their minds, but decided at Tuesdays meeting that the response they had been given clearly indicates that the Royal Moroccan Football Federation reiterated its refusal to hold the competition on the dates indicated. ------------ Lyon won their fifth straight match on Sunday, as they downed Guingamp 3-1 and took provisional possession of second place in Ligue 1, ahead of the clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille. Goals from Lucas and Edinson Cavani and the return of talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic helped Paris St Germain beat league leaders Olympique Marseillea victory that closed the gap in the table. PSG, who were boosted by the return of Sweden forward Ibrahimovic from a heel injury he sustained in late September, remain second in the standings with 27 points from 13 games. Marseille have 28 points from 13. ----------- Nkana’s Ugandan import Tony Odur has been given the early season off to recuperate from a long-term injury. The ex-KCCA attacking midfielder has been sidelined with a right knee injury since 3 September when he was stretchered off in a 1-0 away loss at Konkola Blades. “Yes, he has gone back, we allowed him to go back since we only have a few games remaining,” Nkana club secretary Ken Mwansa said. “He is recovering well, so we gave him enough time to rest and completely recover. “We expect him to return by 15 January next year in time when we regroup for next season.” Odur joined Nkana in July on a 12-month deal from KCCA and became an instant hit with the 2013 FAZ Super League champions’ fans, scoring one goal. ----------- Former Manchester United manager David Moyes has agreed to take over as head coach of Real Sociedad until 30 June 2016, the La Liga club announced in a statement on Monday. Moyes, 51, replaces Jagoba Arrasate, who was sacked by the San Sebastian-based club on November 2 after a poor start to the season, the club said on their website (realsociedad). Moyes replaced the retiring Alex Ferguson at United on a six-year deal in May last year but left in April after less than a season. In 51 matches in charge at Old Trafford, the club won 27, drew nine and lost 15 in all competitions. Moyes made his reputation as a top-flight coach in his previous job at Everton, who finished in the top six in the Premier League four times under the Scot. -------------- Bernard Hopkins will return to the ring despite suffering a crushing defeat over the weekend to Russian Sergey Kovalev, the 49-year-old former champion told Reuters on Tuesday. Hopkins, who failed to win a round on any of the three judges scorecards in the light-heavyweight title unification bout, ended speculation of his retirement by saying he will fight one more time. Who will I fight? I dont know, Hopkins said during a telephone interview from his Delaware home. But it will be somebody I will be an underdog against because I want to be the underdog. If this is the last time Im going into the ring, I will not cheat myself. It will not be a freak show. I will never shortchange myself and my dignity. Hopkins, who defended the middleweight title a record 20 times from 1995 to 2005 and has never been knocked out, was floored Saturday in the first round by Kovalev, a fighter 18 years his junior. But the fighter known as The Executioner was back in the gym on Monday. ------------- Britains Andy Murray kept his ATP World Tour Finals hopes alive with a straight-sets win over Milos Raonic at the O2 Arena. Murray would have been been eliminated with a defeat but came through a tense match 6-3 7-5. He will face Roger Federer in his final Group B encounter on Thursday, with a semi-final place still up for grabs. Federer earlier beat Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-2 to top the standings after two matches. ---------- Former world champion Nigel Mansell says Lewis Hamilton has one hand on the World Championship going into the final race in Abu Dhabi on 23 November. Hamilton leads Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 17 points, but with double points for the final race, he can be usurped if he is outside the top two.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 09:53:14 +0000
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