FA charge QPR over brawl with China side

LONDON - QUEENS Park Rangers were charged yesterday with misconduct by the Football Association for their brawl with China's Olympic team.

The FA said the English club failed to ensure 'that their players and/or officials conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and refraining from violent and/or threatening behaviour'.

The Feb 7 match between QPR and China's under-23 team ended 15 minutes early, after players from both teams fought on the field.

China's Zheng Tao was hospitalised with a broken jaw and seven members of the team were sent home early.

QPR suspended their assistant manager Richard Hill. He has been charged with violent conduct by the FA.

The club have until March 12 to respond.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have appealed to the FA over Robbie Keane's red card for handball in the 4-1 Premiership victory over Bolton last week.

The ball struck the chest of the striker, before appearing to hit his arm as it dropped.

Referee Graham Poll issued a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

Keane insists he chested the ball. He will be suspended for the match against West Ham on Sunday if the FA rejects the appeal.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Sports World

JIAWEI, YUEGU BOW OUT OF QATAR OPEN

SINGAPORE'S Wang Yuegu was beaten by China's Niu Jianfeng in the women's singles quarter-finals of table tennis' Qatar Open in Doha yesterday.

Wang lost 4-11, 8-11, 6-11, 4-11.

Niu had earlier beaten Singapore's Li Jiawei 11-4, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 11-9 in the third round.

BELOZOGLU IN TROUBLE AGAIN

LONDON: Newcastle's Emre Belozoglu could face a second charge of racially abusing an opponent.

The Turkey midfielder has already been charged with racially abusing Everton players during an English Premier League soccer game on Dec 30.

Now he is being investigated by the Football Association over allegations that he made a racist comment to Bolton striker El-Hadji Diouf during October's 1-2 loss to the Wanderers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROOKIE C0-LEADS LPGA'S SBS OPEN

KAHUKU (Hawaii): Rookie Paige MacKenzie joined Paula Creamer and Sherri Steinhauer atop the leaderboard of the LPGA SBS Open on Thursday.

All three golfers shot five-under 67.

They lead Paraguay's Julieta Granada, Natalie Gulbis, South Korean Sung Ah Yim, and Wendy Ward by one shot.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

AUSSIES' FIRST 10-WICKET LOSS

WELLINGTON: Australia suffered their first 10-wicket defeat in a one-day cricket international when New Zealand routed them in the opening match of the Chappell-Hadlee Series yesterday.

Shane Bond took 5-23 to help dismiss the below-strength Australia team for 148.

Stephen Fleming then struck 73 and Lou Vincent 70 to lift the hosts to the target with 23 of the 50 overs to spare.

The Australians have lost by nine wickets on seven occasions in 36 years of one-day internationals. This was the first loss by 10 wickets in 646 matches.

BLOOMBERG NEWS

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