Dominica's football chief to appeal against FIFA ban
Roseau (Dominica), Nov 21 (IANS/CMC) Former president of the Dominica Football Association (DFA), Patrick John, has indicated that he is in the process of appealing against the FIFA decision to ban him for a period of two years from all football- related activities at national, regional and international level.
John, also a former Dominica Prime Minister, who has been at the helm of local football for almost two decades, was charged with violating several of FIFA's Statutes and Articles.
The charges against John and other Caribbean football officials are related to a meeting held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in May, which led to the downfall of former CONCACAF chief Austin "Jack" Warner and his Asian Football Confederation (AFC) counterpart, Mohamed Bin Hammam.
There were accusations of attempts to bribe CFU officials to vote for Bin Hammam in June's presidential election against Sepp Blatter. They denied the allegations.
John and DFA treasurer Phillip White were charged with not acting with complete credibility and integrity, not fully or trustfully cooperating with ongoing FIFA investigations and not appropriately discharging his fiduciary responsibility amongst others.
White was cleared of any wrongdoing.
John, who was elected to serve another four-year term earlier this year, was not found in violation of Article 10 of the Code of Ethics which is accepting gifts and other benefits. He was also not found guilty of infringement of Article 11 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which is accepting a bribe or gift of 40 000 dollars.
John believes that other factors were responsible for the punishment meted out to him, as he is innocent of all charges brought against him.
"Both Phillip White and I expected that we would have been exonerated and cleared of these charges. We were very surprised with the decision to ban me for two years as it was believed that the decision to do so was taking into account irrelevant considerations, specifically the fact that over 30 years ago I was convicted though I was subsequently pardoned by the President of the Commonwealth of Dominica and served only four years of a 12-year sentence.
"Additionally, the FIFA Ethics committee relied on emails circulated by me to CFU and CONCACAF members which were critical of CFU, CONCACAF, FIFA officials, Captain (Horace) Burrell, president of the Jamaica Football Federation and Chuck Blazer, general secretary of CONCACAF. All the emails were in support of Lisle Austin, acting president of CONCACAF, who was suspended. As a result, I have decided to appeal the matter and to that effect my attorney has started the process," John said.
Former national player, Glen Etienne, who was elected 1st vice-president earlier this year, is expected to take over the presidency.
FIFA bribery probe: Trinidad and Tobago football chief quits
2011/10/29 5:30:07 Port Of Spain (Trinidad), Oct 29 (IANS/CMC) Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) president Oliver Camps has resigned after FIFA, the sport's world governing body, announced he was one of 10 Caribbean officials facing further investigation for their role in the cash-for-votes scandal.
"While I have been extremely satisfied and pleased to offer myself for service to the T&TFF, the current climate within FIFA has given me reason to rethink my position and thus give notice of my immediate resignation as the president of the T&TFF," said Camps Friday.
The bribery scandal that forced Qatar's Mohamed Bin Hammam to withdraw from the FIFA presidency race led to a spate of resignations, suspension, fines and reprimands of a number of officials, including Camps' compatriot Jack Warner.
Warner quit as FIFA vice president and Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president in the wake of the controversy.
"I have truly enjoyed working with the football fraternity and appreciated the opportunities which have been given to me through football. But when the price one has to pay includes the sullying of one's name and the denigrating of one's character without a justifiable reason, then I must confess that this is not the place that I would want to be.
"It is certainly a sad day for me and this is far from what I had expected. The changing of the guards was never meant to engender the bitterness that I feel or the pain which has replaced the pleasure of service."
During his tenure, Camps oversaw T&T's qualification for the 2006 World Cup, and also staged two FIFA age group world tournaments in 2001 and last year, an achievement which he said brought him good memories.
"I will always remember that under my watch, T&T qualified for four World Cup finals and if success as a leader has to be measured in football, it is against this background that I will be judged," he said.
"I served the game well, even as manager of many national teams, so while I leave football disappointed, I am also happy because history will judge me as the most successful football president of T&T."
Camps boldly stated that he was not ashamed to be part of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in his homeland which sparked the bribery scandal.
"(We) met to determine the path to choose a leader for the FIFA," he said. "The current situation facing the CFU has made it very clear to me that our choice in meeting to discuss whether president Sepp Blatter would be the preferred option was the right one.
"History will not judge me for being a part of that meeting, neither will it condemn me based on association. Rather, history will applaud all the football leaders of the Caribbean."
Camps concluded his resignation letter by thanking Warner for his support over the years.
"In him, I see a true leader, a true champion, a Caribbean man, one who was prepared to do whatever was required to keep the Caribbean flag flying with dignity and pride," he said.
India should develop their own style: AIFF technical director
2011/11/2 13:01:09 New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) Robert Baan, the newly-appointed technical director of the All-India Football Federation (AIFF), said Wednesday that India should develop their own style instead of following his native Dutch style.
Baan, 68, a former technical director of the Australian team, said it would be very difficult for him to replicate in India the Dutch style, a kind of total football, and the country should develop their own distinct style.
"India and the Netherlands are two different countries. A small country, we are yet ranked No.2 on the FIFA ladder right now. In comparison, India is huge and I don't think what worked for us will also work for India. We have to find a system that can work in India," said the former assistant coach of the Dutch national team.
Baan said he would be watching I-League matches to spot talent.
"It will be very difficult for me to comment on the talent here. I have watched a few matches and will file a detailed report on my impressions in a couple of months. The assignment is a challenge for me -- a challenge to assist and develop the game in India and take it to a higher level," he said.
The Dutchman will be preparing a masterplan and a curriculum for the National Youth Development programme and for the establishment of an Elite Academy with Regional Academies all over the country.
While cricketers have a large fan-following in our country, not to mention filmstars who are crazy about them too, John Abraham is an exception. The man isn’t much of a cricket fan – rather, he’s sold on football. Reason? It’s all in the past, folks. Not many know that he used to be captain of his school’s football team. And last week he decided to renew his association with the game at his alma mater, Bombay Scottish School. The actor, cheered by the students, played football with his ex-school mates for more than an hour. If not an actor, we are sure John would have ‘scored’ as a football player instead. Is Gurrinder Chadha listening?
John scores a Goal in Goa, promotes the beautiful game
2007/11/26 1:57:55
After Shah Rukh Khan did his bit making Chak De the anthem of the nation, its actor John Abraham's turn to make football popular.
Of course it was not a completely altruistic intention he was also there to promote his film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal that released on the weekend. The actor was in Goa to kick-start the Indian Football league and leading him on was the Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi and a football enthusiast.
"We are very glad to have John here, his film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and also to promote football,” said Dasmunshi.
"It would be great if I would be able to do anything to promote the game of football,” said John.
And the actor did not mince words when he said that he would be giving International Film Festival of India (IFFI) a miss and was here for only one intention that was football.
"I'm here only for the football league,” said John.
Of course how well his film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal scores from these promotions will be ascertained only next week.
King Khan to kick-start football tourney in Pune today
After cricket, is Shah Rukh Khan turning his attention to football?
Khan, who recently won the bid for the Knight Riders — the Indian Premier League team from Kolkata — has accepted an invitation to kick-off the fifth edition of the Abhijit Kadam memorial football cup on Wednesday in Pune.
This is not the first time Shah Rukh will be associated with football. His love for the game began early when he was the captain of his school football team, says Vishwajeet Kadam, the managing trustee of the foundation.
In fact, in an interview after having won the bid for the IPL team, Shah Rukh said he was willing to invest in football and hockey in the future.
“We just hope that his presence will be able to create a hockey-like sensation for football too,” said Vishwajeet, son of Maharashtra minister Patangrao Kadam.
Referring to how Chak De India “changed the fortunes” of hockey, Vishwajeet said: “Imagine, SRK playing soccer now or buying a football club.”
Vishwajeet told DNA that he would “put across the idea”, explaining that it required around Rs5 crore.
Bollywood stars Sohail Khan, Fardeen Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Urmila Matondkar, Vivek Oberoi, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, and Mahima Choudhary are among those to have made an appearance at the previous editions of the tournament.
Vishwajeet said he sent a letter to Shah Rukh in January, inviting him to be the chief guest at the event. “It was almost after a month that I got a call from his office saying that SRK would be calling up. And he actually called up at 3 in the morning to confirm his presence,” Vishwajeet added.
2012/4/5 9:20:26 20 will not just remain a something associated with cricket alone as beverage major Pepsi introduced T20 football event. The move is seen as a way to make the 'beautiful game' attractive to a cricket-crazy India. Pepsi has launched Pepsi T20 Football, a major football league format with a twist.
It is for amateurs and winners of the nationwide tournament will get a chance to play football against the Indian cricket stars, and will also get a chance to be coached by an international football star.
"Being a football enthusiast, I am glad that Pepsi is taking this initiative to popularize the sport amongst the youth of our country. I`m proud to be associated with it and confident that Youngistaan will enjoy the new format," Ranbir said in a press statement.
The contest is open for those between 14 and 30 years. The on-ground registrations and matches will be organised across major Indian cities namely Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ludhiana and New Delhi.
The registration process is on and will end April 10.
"With the involvement of Indian cricketers, Bollywood and an international football star, the campaign promises to excite and engage not only the existing passionate football fans but the entire nation," said Homi Battiwalla, Category Director - Colas, Hydration & Mango Based Beverages, Pepsi Co India..
As many as 64 teams will participate from each city. The top 32 from each city will compete in the respective city finales. A total of eight teams, including a winning team from each city and a wild card entry, will compete to emerge as 'Game Changers'. They will then get the opportunity to be coached by an international football star.
We couldn’t help, but kept guessing what a beautiful dusky woman like her is doing in an all men sports film like football?
Dusky beauty Bipasha Basu is back in the news and this time it’s not her alleged link-up with Saif which is hogging the limelight, but the compliments she is getting for her look in Goal.
We couldn’t help, but kept guessing what a beautiful dusky woman like her is doing in an all men sports film like football? She laughs and says, “Well, I am never too concerned about the length or duration of my role.
I knew what my length was going to be right from the beginning of the film.
I always knew that the film belonged to the boys and I am not complaining about it.” Is she an avid football fan? “No, I was introduced to the game (football) almost five years ago when I started seeing John Abraham.
That man is simply crazy about the game. He eats drinks and sleeps football. I had no option, but to get hooked on to it,” she says. Point taken, we have no complaints as long as the two love birds stick to each other.
UTV Motion Pictures, the producers of John Abraham-starrer Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, has said it has recovered the Rs 16 crore spent on the yet-to-be released hindi film through sale of satellite rights, music rights, in-film advertising etc.
Goal, which also stars Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani, is slated for a worldwide theatrical release on November 23.
The company said syndication of satellite, music rights, territory pre-sales, home video, in-film advertising with brands like Reebok, Western Union and Gillette have contributed to the recovery of production costs even before the film release.
This is in addition to the media and promotional support given by the brands.
Reebok, which sponsored the clothing line in the film, will retail the Goal range across 535 outlets in India.
There will also be co-branded window-displays in Reebok showrooms promoting the Goal collection, which includes apparel and accessories related to football that figure in the movie, said a press release.
The company has also licensed the gaming rights for the film to Indiagames, which has tied up with FIFA to launch the Goal-FIFA challenge on the games-on-demand platform.
The film’s star cast has gone all out to promote it, featuring on reality talent shows like Nach Baliye, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Voice of India, and premieres in Dubai and Mumbai with a London promotional visit thrown in, too.
ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) will integrate the catch-line of Goal - Duniya Goal Hai - to promote English Premier League matches to be telecasted in November.
Abraham and Basu will promote the movie on ESS through a contest to select five winners who will get to watch an English Premier League match in the UK.
2006/12/9 5:00:38 English premier league footballer Andy Ansah has been flown down to train actor John Abraham for his upcoming movie Goal. Andy, one of the highest paid football choreographers in the world, has specially been summoned by producer Ronnie Screwvala.
Ansah has previously shot with the likes of Ronaldinho, David Backham and Wayne Rooney. He has also choreographed the $100 million Hollywood trilogy Goal. The ace footballer will be training John through major portions of the movie which is reportedly an action-packed football drama.
Director Vivek Agnihotri of Chocolate fame says that Goal has some gripping football scenes and therefore a professional has been called to train John. He went ahead to say that Andy is one of the most respected football trainers in the world. Moreover, John is very athletic and sporty by nature. So when he will be polished to perfection by Andy, the outcome will be truly international.
2006/10/26 10:07:29 LOVE Bollywood? Love football even more? Well then you'll love to know that Chelsea stars Frank Lampard and England captain John Terry are being lined up to appear in a Bollywood blockbuster starring Abhishek Bachchan. Chelsea Football Club has teamed up with Yash Raj Films to produce, 'Jhoom' which also stars Preity Zinta. Bachchan, (pictured right) a Chelsea FC fan in real life, will play a character called Ricky who supports the club. The film will be partially shot in London. His father Amitabh Bachchan, arguably Bollywood's biggest ever star, also has a cameo role. Preity, along with former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and former Miss Universe Lara Dutta all visited Stamford Bridge recently to attend matches against Charlton and Liverpool. Said Abhishek: “The character I play in the film is a very loyal Chelsea fan. I have now had the chance to see Chelsea live after following them over the last few years and the club have given me a jersey with my character’s name Ricky on it, so that was fun. “A friend of mine introduced me to Chelsea, I enjoy their football and the way they play. The Premier League is very popular in India and Chelsea has a huge support over there and it is growing all the time.” 'Jhoom' is due to be released next May and could coincide with a possible Premiership “triple” if the double premiership champions successfully defend their this season. Chelsea’s business affairs director, Paul Smith said: “Naturally we are delighted to be involved in a Bollywood movie and we take it as a big compliment to be approached with this story line and to be associated with this calibre of actors and actresses. “Bollywood is not just one of the most successful movie genres in the world, it is also one of the most successful art forms as it has a unique character and popularity. “From a Chelsea perspective, we have been looking at ways to reach out to the Brit-Asian community and play a leading role by involving them more in football. “We already host the Asian Cup Final, and have done so for several years, and we are now sponsoring a major Asian community award in London. “Nothing compares with the glamour and appeal of Bollywood and its stars. Making a connection to the new football fans of India through Bollywood confirms Chelsea's status as the leading Premiership club.
2006/6/9 11:40:06 It wasn't too long ago that the musical trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had composed the official track for the Common Wealth Games. Now there is another feather in their cap!
It wasn't too long ago that the musical trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had composed the official track for the Common Wealth Games. Now there is another feather in their cap.
With the football World Cup just around the corner, every other football fan club is releasing some song in the support of their respective teams.
And now London based Jay Kumar, has turned Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's famous Bollywood track 'It’s the time to Disco' into a football song for the English football team.
They have adapted the lyrics to suit the game. They were penned by his daughter, Anjali with the help of family and friends.
Since, Kumar and his daughter are complete Bollywood enthusiasts; this was the perfect choice for them! They have bought the rights of the song from the music company, Sony BMG. Way to go for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy!
John Abraham and sweetheart Bipasha Basu are leaving no stones unturned to promote their upcoming flick ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’, all set to release on Nov 23. In an innovative promotional stunt, the duo joined hands with real footballers, dimpled for the shutterbugs and cordially mixed with Delhiites at a function organised by Zee Sports.
‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’ is based on football. John plays Sunny Bhasin, an ace footballer in UK, who is a victim of racism and is forced to quit the English team because of his skin colour. Bipasha is cast in the role of Rumana, a physiotherapist.
At the glitzy function, John flashed smiles as he thanked Delhi for its support. “Thank You for supporting us. ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’ is good movie, you should watch it. I love Delhi, you all are very encouraging”. He applauded the players of Indian football team who stood around the glam couple. “Big hand for the real players, they play for the country. Thanks for their contribution towards football and the movie”. He also thanked Zee Sports for inviting them at the function.
Bips quipped, “We are here to thank the real and reel heroes. I enjoyed the shooting of the movie. It’s a different film”. She was all praises for football which, she felt, deserves better treatment in the country. “Watch the film to support football”, her effective oneliner said it all.
The promotional event proved to be the right opportunity for Okori Cheema, the new coach of Mohunbagan to promote the game. He said, “It’s a great thing that a film on football is coming. It should make football the numero uno sport”. Prominent Indian footballer Sunil Chetri too joined in and added, “I hope kids get inspired into taking up the sport”.
Answering a question posed by a member of the audience, John revealed that the film deals with racism and that whoever has faced racism would certainly relate to it.
He praised the professional footballers and said that the life of a footballer is very difficult. Moreover, it is a fact that footballers have just an eight-year span to achieve everything and he is under immense pressure. He further said that Asians face racism in western countries and the film will open doors for Asians into big football teams.
John Abraham fits the bill beautifully. He has been an avid sports player and has been playing football for his school and college says Vivek Agnihotri
Everyone who has been seeing the promos of Goal has been raving about John Abraham and going gaga over him.
And when we asked Vivek Agnihotri about his choice for the role he says, “When we were casting for the lead role for Goal there were two concerns first the actor should look athletic and be able to handle a football with ease.
Secondly he should be able to look like a second generation Asian born in England. John Abraham fits the bill beautifully.
He has been an avid sports player and has been playing football for his school and college. Also he is someone who can easily pass off as a second generation Asian born in England. Now that’s what we call John ka Goal.
2006/12/10 8:39:09 It's a first of sorts. A Premier League footballer has been flown down to train Indian actors in football for a film.
Noted British footballer Andy Ansah is in town to train John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani and of course Bipasha Basu for Vivek Agnihotri's forthcoming film Goal.
Needless to say that he is the highest paid football choreographer to date, for which producer Ronnie Screwvala had to pay a bomb. "Getting Andy down was like hitting a jackpot," says a visibly excited Vivek Agnihotri. "I had been looking for an international football choreographer since last October. Andy's name was always on my mind, because he is the best. Then, when I was in Los Angeles, I e-mailed him that I would like to work with him. He replied that he was keen to do the film too," says Vivek.
But how did Andy come to know about an Indian film? "I had put the brief of my film up on my web site, and while idly surfing the Net Andy found out that I am making a film on football. In fact, he told me that he has been wanting to choreograph a football-based film for a long time. Nowadays, Hollywood is not making too many sports-related films, and he's happy to work with an Indian director," he adds.
Andy has previously done football choreography for commercials with Ronaldinho, David Backham, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. He has also choreographed Danny Cannon's Goal.
He has been a consultant footballer in Hollywood director Jaume Collet Serra's film Goal 2: Living the Dream, which will be released next year.
"We have 12 football matches in the film, which will be shot entirely in UK. We have booked various stadiums, including the famous Manchester United stadium to shoot the matches," informs Vivek. The entire cast and crew will leave for London in January for a four month start-to-finish shooting schedule. "John and Arshad will be attending a workshop with Andy from today."
"John is anyway athletic and sporty by nature. So when he's polished to perfection by Andy, the result is bound to be good." he says.
Currently John is in Malaysia for GIFA awards. Arshad and Boman have already started training under Andy. Vivek feels that Indian cinema has made a mockery of football.
"Take, for example, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. I have seen people laughing at what Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan did to the game," he says.
"Audiences feel that we have made a mockery of football in our films. I don't want such remarks from anyone about my film." Okay, so John and Arshad need to train under Andy, but why Bipasha? "She also plays football in the film with John. But I can't reveal much, because it will spoil the thrill of the film. Bipasha is kicked about the fact that she will get a chance to play a completely different role," says Vivek.
Both John and Bipasha will be practising for a week at St Andrews in Bandra. Not just that, Andy had prepared a diet regime for his leading actors too.
"We will be shooting the film at sub-zero temperatures and the energy level has to be much more that what we generally need for a regular Bollywood film. I don't have any space for lethargic members in my unit. And football matches are played mostly during the winters," he says.
The costumes of Goal will be designed by Niki Carter from Hollywood, while Vivek will rope in a trained cinematographer from UK to shoot the film.
2011/11/1 14:21:24 Kolkata, Nov 1 (IANS) The Tata Motors' appeal in the Singur land case was Tuesday assigned to a new two-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court following an objection by the West Bengal government.
Chief Justice J.N. Patel sent the case to the division bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Justice Mrinal Kanti Chaudhuri to hear the appeal.
Earlier Tuesday, the division bench of Justice K.J. Sengupta and Justice Joymalya Bagchi referred to the chief justice after a government counsel argued that the bench did not have the power to decide the case.
"As per the court list, this matter cannot be determined by this bench. It's our legal and moral responsibility to inform the court about this. Following our request, the bench has referred the matter to the chief justice for his view," said government counsel Ashok Banerjee.
"We do not intend to delay the matter. It was our legal obligation because if the case is determined by this bench, the legality of the judgment can be questioned later," Banerjee added.
Tata Motors Monday got the court permission to file an appeal before it against the high court's earlier ruling that upheld the government's move to return the acquired Singur land to owner farmers.
Company counsel Samaraditya Pal filed the appeal Tuesday.
Justice I.P. Mukerji Sep 28 declared the Singur land law enacted by the Mamata Banerjee-led government as constitutional and valid.
However, the company was held entitled to compensation, which was to be ascertained by district judge, Hooghly.
The automobile major had to shift its Nano small car plant to Gujarat from Hooghly district's Singur in 2008, owing to protests by farmers led by the Trinamool Congress.
The party sought the return of 400 acres taken from farmers.
Within a month of forming the government in May, Banerjee enacted the Singur land law with the objective of returning the land to farmers.
Football captain Baichung Bhutia on why movies like Chak de India can’t benefit a game
His Wikipedia profile describes him as ‘the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena’. The irony of the description is that this eponymous footballer (he has a stadium named after him) is, the only Indian who has refused to carry the Olympic torch. But Bhutia, who is currently captaining the Indian football team, is clear about not regretting the move. “It’s too personal a thing for me; I just want to support the Tibetan cause and this is my way of doing it,” he notes succinctly.
Sport truths He’s more forthcoming to talk about everything else like his hobbies, which include music and TV. And while movies and cricket do not top his list of favourite pastimes, he does watch sports-based movies. “I loved watching movies like Chak De and Goal. But a movie can only briefly expose the audiences to the sport. It certainly can’t save the sport,” he emphasises.
In fact, Bhutia’s critical of the training that was depicted in the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De, which had the girls’ hockey team slogging for hours. “That’s exactly the kind of training we don’t need; one can get away with it in a movie. But for the record, that’s not what’s it’s like —what works is the SPARQ (standing for speed, agility, reaction and quickness) training programme, which has also been introduced by Nike in the USA. It is scientific and the latest in training programmes,” he reveals.
Style vs substance Commenting on his much appreciated sense of style he says, “I’m all for comfort. And yes, it’s important to carry oneself well—especially in our country where people tend to judge a person by what he or she wears. More importantly, one should perform on the field.”
Best foot forward ‘It’s very easy to blame other sports (read cricket) as the reason why football or even hockey are not getting their due. But the fact remains that we ourselves need to buck up,” he elaborates adding that there’s future in football.
Baichung likes to take every match as it comes. “I haven’t planned for the future though I’d like to be involved in a training academy for kids,” he ends.
A lower court here Tuesday deferred decision to Aug 24 on Bollywood actor Salman Khan's appeal against a five-year jail term for poaching an endangered chinkara deer nine years ago.
"The District and Sessions court has heard arguments from both the prosecution and defence sides and has postponed hearing to Aug 24 when the final verdict is expected to be delivered," Hastimal Saraswat, Salman's counsel, told IANS.
Salman Khan had in April last year filed an appeal in the district and sessions court against the judgement of the chief judicial magistrate's court in Jodhpur that had sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.25,000 for the poaching.
On April 10 last year, the chief judicial magistrate's court had found Salman guilty under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Salman spent three nights in Jodhpur Central Jail before being given bail by the district and sessions court.
Salman and another person have been convicted of poaching a chinkara in Ghoda farm near Jodhpur on Sep 28, 1998, during filming for Sooraj Barjatiya's "Hum Saath Saath Hain".
A case was registered against Salman and five others under the Indian Penal Code, the Wildlife Protection Act and the Indian Arms Act at Mathania Police Station on Oct 11, 1988. Salman, who faces four cases in Jodhpur, has also been sentenced to one year in jail in another poaching case in Bhawad. He has filed an appeal against this decision too.
After playing football, John set to climb mountains
2008/1/19 6:35:19
Actor John Abraham has decided to reposition himself as a fun-loving and sporty entertainer.
After doing the football flick Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal with director Vivek Agnihotri, the actor will now feature in a film on mountain climbing to be directed by Soham Shah.
"I want to cultivate a sporty image after Goal. Hence, I'm also doing a film on mountain climbing. I'm a trained footballer, I used to play 'A' position soccer and I'm a certified climber," John told.
"I was into sports before acting sucked me in. I'm a very outdoor person. And I want that image to come across in my role.
"I want people to feel that if it's John, then it's something healthy and invigorating. Even No Smoking was a very sporty film," he added. For Goal, Andy Ansah, one of the best football choreographers in the world, trained John.
"All the international Adidas ads have been choreographed by Andy. He was a prize catch for Goal. I was working with people like Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani and Bipasha Basu whom I love... So it was fun." After chain-smoking for Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking, John had to quit it for Goal.
"I can't say it took effort. I've gone from a smoker to a non-smoker in no time."
Football fever is sweeping all over. The world is eating and sleeping soccer.
But what of Tollywood? Well, most Tolllywood stars are interested in football. But they don't wear their passion for the game as much as they do their love for cricket.
But Venkatesh is different.
The lanky star is one sports buff who loves taking efforts to watch match in real.
He went to the World Cup cricket some time back. This year he was at hand in Pakistan to cheer the Indians when they took on their arch rivals.
Now, he is all ready to take off to Germany to have a first-hand feel of the soccer fiesta.
Sources says Venkatesh may get to stay in Germany for 15 days.
Watching sports provides the kick for this sporting star certainly.
John Abraham and Bipasha Basu will attend the premiere of the their latest film "Goal" on Wednesdayevening.
Goal, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, revolves around football played by a struggling Asian team, Southall United, in the UK.
The film, produced by UTV Motion Pictures and starring John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, Bipasha Basu and Boman Irani, will release in the middle-east on November 21.
"Given the fact that Goal is the story of the ultimate victory of human will and perseverance through the metaphor of football, we've worked on a marketing strategy that involves the biggest players in the field," said Amrita Pandey, AVP international Marketing, UTV Motion Pictures.
