Defeated England 'quarrels with Ajmal's action'

In keeping with the tradition of faulting foreign players after English defeat, the British media twisted a quote from the Pakistani spinner s interview in which he referred to his earlier clearance by the ICC. Saeed Ajmal, the 34-year-old off-spinner who took 24 wickets in the 3-0 Test series whitewash of England, was quoted by the British and other western media as that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has allowed him extra leniency, up to 23.5 degrees to bend his arm. "I don t know about my bowling action, but somebody was telling me your action is bad. ICC has allowed me 23.5 because my arm is not good because of an accident, that is why a problem," BBC television showed Ajmal as saying on Monday after being declared man-of-the-series. "Otherwise no problem, straightaway cleared by ICC." Pakistan won the third and final Test here by 71 runs. His bowling action, reported by match officials during a one-day series against Australia in 2009 before it was cleared after remedial work by experts, once again came under suspicions following his career-best 7-55 in the first Test, also played in Dubai. Former England paceman Bob Willis raised suspicions over his  doosra  (second one) -- a ball which turns the other way than a normal off-break -- while England coach Andy Flower said he has his own opinion and left the matter to the ICC. But after Ajmal s claim on relaxation, Flower on Tuesday showed surprise. "If that s the degree, then there s a problem, said Flower when asked about Ajmal s claim of special dispensation. "That s ridiculous." "That is an ICC issue, though. They are there to police the game, and make sure that it is played within the rules, so they ve got to scrutinise his action. "We ve all got our own views, but our job is to combat whoever is put against us, and part of it is also to play the game in the right spirit." Pakistan cricket team management said Ajmal was cleared by the ICC within the permissible limits and they will issue a further clarification shortly. An ICC spokesman said that the game s governing body was looking into Ajmal s comments and that no player has been given permission to allow bending arms beyond 15 degrees.  A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman meanwhile said that Ajmal is not a native English speaker, and his comments could have taken in the wrong context.   

FIFA pays $250K to families of Egypt riot victims

FIFA is giving $250,000 in aid to the families of victims of the Egyptian football stadium disaster last week. FIFA says it will pay the money into a charitable account opened by the Al-Ahly club. Fans of the Cairo club were among more than 70 people who died in a violent rampage and stampede after a league match between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly in Port Said. FIFA President Sepp Blatter says "many of the victims were so young. They were also a crucial support for their families, who now need help." Police have been accused of failing to protect Al-Ahly fans, who helped lead protests last year against the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak. The stadium tragedy fueled renewed protests against Egypt s military rulers.