London: Nicola Rizzoli of Italy will referee the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
The match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday will be the 41-year-old Rizzoli's highest-profile fixture since becoming an international referee in 2007.
Rizzoli will be assisted by compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, while Gianluca Rocchi and Paolo Tagliavento will be the extra officials behind the goals. The fourth official is Damir Skomina from Slovenia.
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03:59 PM, May 20, 2013
Beirut: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he won't step down before elections are held in his war-ravaged country. The Syrian leader's comments, published on Saturday in the Argentine newspaper Clarin, highlight the difficulties the US and Russia face in getting the Assad regime and Syria's political opposition to the table at an international conference envisioned for next month. The country's main opposition group has demanded that these talks lead to...
07:50 AM, May 19, 2013
Beirut: The United States chided Russia for sending missiles to the Syrian government as plans for a peace conference promoted by Washington and Moscow were hit by diplomatic rifts over its scope and purpose. Sectarian bloodshed in neighbouring Iraq during Friday prayers, a hacking attack on a Western newspaper by sympathisers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and defiant comments by a rebel commander filmed eating a slain soldier's flesh were...
07:35 AM, May 18, 2013
United Nations: The UN General Assembly condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and praised the opposition on Wednesday, but a decline in support for the resolution suggested growing unease about extremism among Syria's fractious rebels. While the non-binding text has no legal force, resolutions of the 193-nation assembly can carry significant moral and political weight. There were 107 votes in favor, 12 against and 59 abstentions - a drop in...
03:26 AM, May 16, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund's Mario Goetze is expected to recover from a muscle injury in time for the Champions League final against German rivals Bayern Munich on May 25, Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said on Wednesday. The talented 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who has already agreed to join Bayern from next season, picked up the muscle injury early in Dortmund's semi-final second leg against Real Madrid on April 30. "Right now it...
05:07 PM, May 15, 2013
Moscow: Russia expelled a US diplomat on Tuesday after saying he had been caught red-handed with disguises, special equipment and wads of cash as he tried to recruit a Russian intelligence agent to work for the CIA. Apparently detained in an incongruous-looking blond wig, with props reminiscent of a schoolboy's spy kit, US Embassy Third Secretary Ryan Fogle hardly looked like a Cold War secret agent. But the announcement still...
09:46 AM, May 15, 2013
Moscow: Russia expelled a US diplomat on Tuesday after saying he had been caught red-handed with disguises, special equipment and wads of cash as he tried to recruit a Russian intelligence agent to work for the CIA. Apparently detained in an incongruous-looking blond wig, with props reminiscent of a schoolboy's spy kit, US Embassy Third Secretary Ryan Fogle hardly looked like a Cold War secret agent. But the announcement still...
02:46 AM, May 15, 2013
Munich: Bayern Munich need to beat Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League title to avoid being stuck with the tag of losers after two defeats in the past three finals, Bayern's Thomas Mueller said on Tuesday. The Bavarians, who lost the 2010 final to Inter Milan and the 2012 edition in dramatic fashion in Munich to Chelsea on penalties, take on Bundesliga rivals Dortmund in the first all-German final of...
07:43 PM, May 14, 2013
Moscow: A 23-year-old man beaten to death in Volgograd in south Russia was the victim of a homophobic gang, Russian investigators have said. The naked body of the man with various injuries, including to his genitalia, was found in the courtyard of an apartment building May 10. The victim's skull was smashed with a 20-kg rock and he appeared to have been raped with beer bottles. The suspects also tried...
10:09 AM, May 14, 2013
Berlin: Bayern Munich crushed European heavyweights Barcelona and Juventus en route to the Champions League final but they should not expect the same to happen against Borussia Dortmund, Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said on Monday. Bayern face their Bundesliga rivals in the first all-German Champions League final in London's Wembley stadium on May 25. The Bavarians beat former European champions Juventus 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals before exploding past...
06:42 PM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: Thirty years ago, walking through a graveyard would be the high point of a Ramsay film with interesting creatures of the night waking up from slumber to prowl on unsuspecting humans. But with advent of new technology, young writers and globalisation, the human race now has to guard against creatures far more complicated than your friendly neighbourhood vampire. Faced with a zombie attack, can you say with assurance...
06:07 PM, May 10, 2013
London: Britain said on Thursday it was "very likely" the Syrian government had used chemical weapons, and Turkey announced it was stepping up testing of people fleeing the Syrian civil war for traces. US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed gratitude to Russia for its willingness to try to arrange a "Geneva two" conference to negotiate an end to the conflict, in a sign of a thawing of the long...
04:06 AM, May 10, 2013
Moscow: Russia and the United States agreed to seek new peace talks with both sides to end Syria's civil war, but opposition leaders were sceptical on Wednesday of an initiative they fear might let President Bashar al-Assad hang on to power. Mindful the conflict may be far from over, Britain has urged fellow European Union states to lift an arms embargo, arguing it would strengthen those rebel groups favoured by...
07:27 AM, May 09, 2013
Moscow/Beirut: Russia and the United States have agreed to bury their differences over Syria and hold urgent international talks to find a settlement that can end the carnage of a civil war that is inflaming the entire Middle East. Visiting Moscow after Israel bombed targets near Damascus and as President Barack Obama faces new calls to arm the rebels, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia had agreed to...
05:58 AM, May 08, 2013
Madrid: The manner of the Champions League semi-final exits of Barcelona and Real Madrid have set in motion likely overhauls at both clubs, and is forcing La Liga to re-evaluate itself in the face of a resurgent German Bundesliga. Barcelona were humbled 7-0 on aggregate by German champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the day after Real almost overturned their shock 4-1 first leg defeat away to outsiders Borussia Dortmund, to...
03:39 PM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich began to lay the foundations for this season's impressive run to the Champions League final immediately after their defeat to Chelsea in last year's showpiece, coach Jupp Heynckes said on Wednesday. After Bayern inflicted the biggest aggregate defeat on Barcelona in European competition, a jubilant Heynckes said the painful reverse on penalties to Chelsea at their own Allianz Arena in Munich had given him the motivation to...
08:41 AM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich advanced to the Champions League final for the third time in four years, routing Barcelona on 7-0 aggregate and setting up the first all-German final against Borussia Dortmund. Coasting from a 4-0 win in the first leg at home last week, Bayern beat Barcelona 3-0 Wednesday night in the second leg on goals by Arjen Robben in the 49th minute and Thomas Mueller in the 76th around...
02:03 AM, May 02, 2013
CNN-IBN's football expert Novy Kapadia reviews the Champions League semi-final second leg between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. ...
08:43 PM, May 01, 2013
Munich: Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic beat seventh-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the BMW Open. Youzhny was the second former winner of the clay-court event to be eliminated after two-time champion Nikolay Davydenko lost on Monday. Youzhny was the 2010 winner. Wild-card entry Gael Monfils of France topped eighth-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-3. Fifth-seeded Alexandr...
12:22 PM, May 01, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho dropped another hint he was considering his future by saying he might not be with the Spanish giants next season after they lost in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday. Following Real's 4-3 aggregate defeat by Borussia Dortmund, the former Chelsea manager was asked if he would remain in Madrid next term and said: "Maybe not. I don't know but I want to be...
09:16 AM, May 01, 2013
