The Athenaeum Forum

GENEVA -- FIFA has banned Croatia defender Josip Simunic for 10 games -- including the entire World Cup -- for leading fans in a pro-Nazi chant after the team qualified for the tournament in Brazil. Simunic invoked a World War II-era slogan used by Croatias then-puppet regime following a 2-0 playoff victory against Iceland last month. "After taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, and particularly given the gravity of the incident, the committee decided to suspend the player for 10 official matches," FIFA said in a statement. The incident is the latest to discredit football in Croatia, after UEFA President Michel Platini described its fans as the worst behaved at the 2012 European Championship. The sanction also reflected FIFAs commitment this year to tougher sanctions for racism and discrimination at matches. Croatia coach Niko Kovac, a teammate of Simunic at the 2006 World Cup, said the ban probably ended the 35-year-old defenders national team career. "Im unpleasantly surprised, shocked and disappointed by FIFAs ban of Simunic," Kovac said. "Im primarily sad for Simunic who will miss the World Cup. I know him for long as a player and a person and Im sure he did not want to offend anyone." Kovac said the Croatian football federation would appeal to FIFA. If that fails, a challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport could follow. Croatia hosted Iceland in Zagreb on Nov. 19 for a decisive qualifying match after a 0-0 draw in the first leg. After the match, Simunic took a microphone on the pitch and shouted to supporters: "For the homeland!" The fans responded: "Ready!" FIFA said Monday that the salute was "discriminatory and offended the dignity of a group of persons concerning ... race, religion or origin." Simunic will miss the whole World Cup tournament in Brazil and is also barred from the stadiums where Croatia will play its next 10 games. Simunic said he felt "bitter and shocked," according to Damir Vrbanovic, managing director of Croatias football federation "It is clear that FIFA wanted to send a strong message with this draconian punishment," Vrbanovic said. FIFA also fined Simunic 30,000 Swiss francs ($33,800) and ordered the Croatia football federation to pay a fine of 70,000 Swiss francs ($78,700). Simunic previously defended his action, saying he was driven by love for his country. The Australia-born player famously was sent off at the 2006 World Cup against Australia after receiving three yellow cards. In a separate FIFA disciplinary verdict Monday, Croatia star forward Mario Mandzukic was banned for just one World Cup match for a red-card challenge against Iceland. Mandzukic will miss the tournaments opening match when Croatia plays host Brazil in Sao Paulo on June 12. "We knew that Mandzukic will be punished and in that context we are happy its a one-match suspension," Kovac said. The FIFA panel imposed the minimum sanction on Mandzukic for serious foul play. The Bayern Munich forward, who scored the opening goal minutes earlier, was sent off for stamping on Iceland midfielder Johann Gudmundssons left knee. Joe Hawley Jersey . -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall. Chris Godwin Jersey .NYCFC confirmed to The Associated Press on Saturday that this week Lampard signed a contract to start in July — midway through the new teams first season in MLS. http://www.thebuccaneersfansclub.com/Bl ... on-Jersey/. On July 27 cyclings best-known race will host "La Course by Le Tour de France" -- a one-day womens competition staged hours before Tour riders race on the same circuit to finish the three-week event on Paris Champs-Elysees. Ryan Fitzpatrick Jersey . Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points. O. J. Howard Jersey .m. on Friday. Granger was acquired from the Indiana Pacers last Thursday for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen, but never played a minute for Philadelphia. The 76ers also received a 2015 second-round draft pick in the deal.LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Naadir Tharpe scored 21 points for Kansas, and Frank Mason stripped Oklahoma States LeBryan Nash as the final buzzer sounded to preserve the 15th-ranked Jayhawks 80-78 victory over the ninth-ranked Cowboys on Saturday. Joel Embiid added 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks for the Jayhawks (13-4, 4-0 Big 12), who blew most of a 47-30 halftime lead before holding on at the finish. Phil Forte hit seven 3-pointers and had 21 points for Oklahoma State (15-3, 3-2). Marcus Smart added 16 points, but he was just 3 of 14 from the field and 0 for 6 from behind the 3-point arc. Still, Smart nearly gave the Cowboys a chance. His layup with 24 seconds remaining got them within 79-75, and after Mason missed a free throw, Forte hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with 5.7 seconds remaining. Mason was fouled and made the first of two free throws, and the Cowboys raced up court with the rebound on the miss. Nash tried to get off a shot from just beyond the arc as time expired, but Mason was there to pop the ball loose and preserve the victory. Markel Brown finished with 15 points for Oklahoma State while Kamari Murphy had 12 and Nash finished with 10. The testy game included six flagrant or technical fouls. The animosity between the teams really started to simmer last season, when the Cowboys came into Allen Fieldhouse and ended the Jayhawks 33-game home win streak. Smart celebrated by doing a backflip, a stunt captured on film that Kansas coach Bill Self showed his team this week. It reached a rolling boil shortly before the season, when Smart declared that Kansas Andrew Wiggins had yet to warrant the considerable hype that the star freshman had been receiving. Naturally, most figured that Smart and Wiggins would be the leading characters when their teams met. Instead, two uber-talented players expected to be chosen early in Junes NBA draft were relegated to supporting roles as their teammates stepped into the spotlight. Kansaas delivered the games first big blow midway through the first half, ripping off a 13-0 run fueled by Tariq Blacks monstrous dunk.dddddddddddd By the time Browns turnover led to a run-out basket by Black and a 29-15 lead with just under 8 minutes left in the half, a sellout crowd that included Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was roaring its approval. In fact, the noise was so deafening that Brown didnt hear Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford call a timeout. He instead raced up court and found himself in the midst of the Kansas huddle, and wound up triggering a benches-clearing fracas that the officials had to separate. Brown and the Jayhawks Jamari Traylor were each hit with technical fouls. Things didnt cool off, either. Later in the half, Smart was hammered by Wayne Selden on his way to the rim. Selden was promptly shoved by the Cowboys Stevie Clark, drawing another technical. Kansas led 47-30 at halftime. The Cowboys tried to mount a comeback on the second half. Forte got hot from behind the arc, and Brown hit four 3-pointers in the span of a few minutes, the last of them closing Oklahoma State within 59-56 with 11:02 remaining. Kansas stoically answered the challenge. Masons 3-pointer triggered seven straight points by the Jayhawks, and when Smart finally hit his first field goal with 5:53 left in the game, Embiid answered with a thunderous jam off an alley-oop pass that left the entire goal setup trembling. As the Jayhawks slowly rebuilt their lead, Oklahoma State began to lose its poise. Brown was whistled for a foul on Embiid, and voiced his frustration within earshot of official John Higgins, earning his second technical of the game. It also resulted in him fouling out. The Cowboys got within 77-73 on a basket by Smart with 1:29 left, but Tharpe answered again with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The Jayhawks then held on in the closing seconds to put some distance on Oklahoma State in the Big 12 race. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '