Spain's Superior Sports Council (CSD) said that it suspended steeplechaser ÁNGEL MULLERA for two years for doping. The document, signed by CSD President MIGUEL CARDENAL and published by the Ministry of Sports, said that the 31-year-old Mullera is "excluded from all relations as a high-level athlete" on a doping offense (AP, 12/28). ... Turkish footballer SELCUK INAN's "dramatic 89th-minute score against Iceland has been chosen as goal of the year" on UEFA's Twitter account. The Galatasaray midfielder’s "rocketing free-kick" beat an effort by Barcelona's LIONEL MESSI (ANADOLU AGENCY, 12/28). ... A-League side Sydney FC striker MATT SIMON is facing a possible ban after being cited by Football Federation of Australia's Match Review Panel for "striking the head of a rival player." Simon and the club will have until 3pm Tuesday afternoon to "respond to a show cause notice" issued by FFA as a result of a clash with a rival player (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/28). ... RONALDINHO has "raised the prospect of continuing his career" in the U.S. and expects a decision on his future to be made within weeks. Ronaldinho is a free agent after leaving Brasileiro club Fluminense by mutual consent in October. He said, "I am attracted to the possibility of playing in the U.S., just like I am in Dubai or Brazil. I am going to take a few more weeks to think and then make a decision" (IANS, 12/26). ... Canadian Olympic champion goaltender SHANNON SZABADOS notched her first shutout as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League team Columbus Cottonmouths on Saturday, "reportedly the first shutout by a female goaltender in a men’s pro league." Szabados, who fended off the U.S. in the last two Olympic finals, recorded 33 saves in a 3-0 win, her 29th game in net since '14 (NBC SPORTS, 12/28).
STAYING PUT?: CRISTIANO RONALDO's agent, JORGE MENDES, said that the player will "snub a Premier League return" and end his career at Real Madrid. Rumors over Ronaldo's future at Real "intensified" after the three-time Ballon d'Or winner reportedly told Paris St. Germain Manager LAURENT BLANC that he would "love" to play under him. But as Mendes picked up an award at Sunday's Globe Soccer awards gala in Dubai, "he emphatically revealed that his client will remain in La Liga with Real." Mendes: "He's the best player of all time. And I am sure that he will play the next four, five, six, seven years at Real Madrid; he will end his career there" (London DAILY MAIL, 12/28).
SHOW OF SUPPORT: ManU's MICHAEL CARRICK insisted that "under-fire" Manager LOUIS VAN GAAL "still commands the loyalty of the players and it is disrespectful to suggest otherwise." He said of the team's recent struggles, "It is a horrible run, and it is a horrible feeling. It hurts badly. We can't hide from it, we're not going to hide from it. That is how it is and we all need to be better. It is a bit disrespectful when people say that the lads aren't trying for the manager" (AFP, 12/28).
FOOTBALLER MURDERED: El Salvador int'l ALFREDO PACHECO, the country's most-capped player, "was shot and killed by gunmen on Sunday, according to authorities in the Central American nation." El Salvador's Attorney General's Office and its National Police said that "unidentified assailants aboard a vehicle approached Pacheco and some of his friends in the city of Santa Ana early on Sunday and opened fire." Pacheco was killed, while two people accompanying him were injured. Police "did not provide a motive for his killing." Earlier in December, Honduras midfielder ARNOLD PERALTA was shot and killed in his hometown of La Ceiba (ESPN, 12/28).
