“We are going to have in 2018, for the first time, a World Cup with VAR,” said Infantino after a meeting of the FIFA Council which, as expected, rubber-stamped the go-ahead given by the rule-making International Football Association Board (IFAB) in Zurich two weeks ago.

“This has been approved and we are really very happy with this decision.”

The World Cup, which takes place from June 14-July 15, will see VAR used to judge whether or not a goal has been scored, analyse whether a penalty should be awarded, decide on red cards and rectify if a player has been mistakenly sanctioned.

“What we want is to help and to give the referee the possibility to have extra help when he has to make important decisions, and in a World Cup we make very important decisions,” added Infantino.

“It cannot be possible that in 2018 everybody, in the stadium or at home, knows in a few seconds if the referee has made a mistake but not the referee himself — not because he doesn’t want to know about it but because we forbid him to know.

“The VAR is helping the referee and we are going to have a more transparent and fairer game, and that’s what we want.”

VAR has been trialled since 2016 by 20 federations, including the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A, with around 1,000 matches involved.

But it has not been universally welcomed with even UEFA, the European governing body, still to be convinced.

“Nobody knows exactly how VAR will work. There is already a lot of confusion,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who insists that VAR will not be used in next season’s Champions League.

“I am not at all against it but we must better explain when it will be used. We will see at the World Cup.”

One of the problems that dogs VAR, say its critics, is not the accuracy of its decisions but the time it takes to arrive at them.

It’s a drawback which has left many fans and purists frustrated that the flow of a game is interrupted.

“The intervention of VAR takes one minute on average in each game. If we lose a minute to correct mistakes, I think we have done something good,” said Infantino earlier this week on a visit to Lima.

– 30-year Iraq ban lifted –

However, Colombia coach Luis Fernando Suarez added in an interview with AFP: “It seems hurried to me. I think we should do other trials in other tournaments, analyse them well, and then put it in place.”

Suarez, who led Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and Honduras in 2014 in Brazil, remains a fan in general of the use of technology in football, which he has witnessed close up.

That came in the 2014 tournament when his Honduras team played France in Porto Alegre when the first goal decided through GLT (goal-line technology) was awarded to France.

“It’s good and necessary that there are changes but it’s essential that we don’t lose the essence of football,” added Suarez.

Meanwhile, FIFA said it was lifting the three-decade ban on Iraq hosting international football with the cities of Arbil, Basra and Karbala given the go-ahead to stage official matches.

“We are allowing international matches to be staged in the cities of Arbil, Basra and Karbala,” said Infantino

However, FIFA added that they cannot “yet” agree to a request from the Iraqi authorities to organise matches in the capital of Baghdad.

Iraq has not played full internationals on home turf since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The ban, covering all but domestic matches, stayed in place after the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

It was briefly lifted in 2012, but a power outage during an Iraq-Jordan match in the Iraqi Kurdish capital Arbil led FIFA to promptly reinstate it.

The FIFA Council also decided that Peru will host the 2019 Under-17 World Cup with Poland staging the Under-20 tournament.

The world No 7 had five birdies against a lone bogey as she shot a two-day total of eight under-par-136 to take the joint second place with American Marina Alex, Colombian Mariajo Uribe and overnight leader Karine Icher of France.

“Actually, I didn’t hit that good. Maybe I got some luck today. But I still have so much fun. Just been working on my commitment, so not very good on my tee shot today,” said Ariya who posed two top 10 finishes this year in Bahamas and Australia.

“I feel like the course is different. It’s pretty hard this year. When the wind picks up it’s pretty hard because like the fairway is not that firm, so we didn’t hit that far like we did last year,” she added.

Clanton holed out for eagle from the fairway at 13 and rolled in a birdie at the last to seize the second-round lead.

The American  shook off an early bogey and fired four birdies along with her eagle in a five-under par 67.

“I played really good and made some clutch putts coming in,” Clanton said. “The hole out was pretty special, any time you don’t have to putt is nice.”

Her nine-under par total of 135 put her one stroke in front of a quartet of players that included overnight co-leader Icher.

Clanton, seeking her first win on the LPGA Tour, was even through the first nine holes with one bogey and one birdie.

After a birdie at the par-five 11th, she posted an eagle two at the par-four 13th, where her wedge into the green took one bounce and found the cup. She added another birdie at 15 and took sole possession of the lead with her birdie at the last.

“It has been a while since I’ve been in the lead, so (on Saturday I’m) just going to take it one shot at a time, one hole at a time,” Clanton said.

Clanton, a rookie in 2012, has four career top 10 finishes, but no wins.

Icher, who shared the first-round lead with South Korea’s Chella Choi, had four birdies and a bogey in her three-under 69. Alex climbed the leaderboard with a bogey-free six-under 66 while Uribe Ariya both posted 68s.

It was a further stroke back to Americans Mo Martin and Jessica Korda on 137.

On a day when more benign conditions led to lower scores, Choi was unable to build on her first-round 67, her even-par 72 leaving her tied for 13th, four shots off the lead.

Former world number one Lydia Ko of New Zealand endured another tough day, following up her first-round 74 with a one-over 73 that left her well outside the projected cut line of one-under par.

The 27-year-old Raonic picked up just his fourth match win of the season and is seeking to capture his ninth career ATP Tour title.

He’ll be up against the eighth-ranked player in the world in Argentina’s Del Potro, who beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the day’s other quarter-final.

“I am very happy I was able to put it together today,” Raonic said. “I’m in the semis. I am happy with that. I know I can play better.”

Raonic lost in the final of this event in 2016 and has now made it to the semi-finals in his last three appearances.

Raonic didn’t play in Indian Wells last year because of a string of injuries and surgeries that decimated his season.

“It’s been a catastrophe,” he said of the time off due to injuries.

The list of things that have put him in the infirmary in the past year is lengthy and might have sent a lesser determined person into permanent retirement.

“Let’s go down the list. Right adductor, left glut at the beginning of the year. Then I tore my hamstring at the beginning of February.

“After Wimbledon I had to have wrist surgery. Through the summer I tried to play a few events, tried to treat the issue. That wasn’t possible.

“I had surgery just before the US Open. Was hoping to start my offseason in the early weeks of November.

“And then in November I hurt my knee. I hurt my meniscus, so I couldn’t play for six weeks. Started training just before the Australian Open, and I’m here today.”

Raonic blasted 17 aces and broke the 18th seeded Querrey’s serve three times in the one hour, 51 minute match on the main stadium court.

Raonic clinched the match on his second match point when Querrey hit a forehand wide.

Serving in the final game, Raonic benefitted from a challenge call that resulted in his final ace.

The serve was originally ruled out but Raonic asked for a review which showed the ball clipped the centre line. That got the score to 40-40 and he took the next two points for the match.

Raonic is now 3-2 lifetime over Querrey, having won the last three straight.

Raonic lost his composure a few times in the second set but regrouped in the third.

– ‘Little grumpy’ –

“Sometimes my emotions take me for a ride,” he said. “I was a little grumpy there. But it was good, because most of that first set and that second set I was missing some energy, so it was good to sort of get it out in whichever way. I used it as a positive.”

In the first set Querrey wasted no time breaking Raonic’s serve in the opening game. They stayed on serve until Raonic broke back in the tenth game. Raonic held serve and then broke Querrey in 12th game to take the set.

Querrey got the only two breaks in the second set as Raonic struggled with his serve, double faulting four times.

They traded aces back and forth to hold serve through the first seven games of the final set. In the eighth game Raonic finally got the break he needed by hitting a forehand winner to go up 5-3.

Raonic served two aces in the final game and hammered another 143mph serve that Querrey got a piece of.

2018 sees the Chiang Mai Sixes being held for the 31st time and the tournament is showing that like a vintage wine it certainly does improve with age. The Sixes, held at the historic Chieng Mai Gymkhana Club, itself now 120 years old, runs for seven days from 1st to 7th April.

There will a total of 109 matches with 16 five-over matches played on the first six days with semi-finals and the finals being held on Saturday 7th April. This makes it one of the largest editions of the Sixes ever held with 36 men’s teams and four women’s teams.

There will be 20 teams in the Gentlemen’s Section and 16 teams in the Players’ Section so matches should be competitive throughout. All 36 men’s teams will play three group matches in the first round and then will be divided into six different competitions for the second round.

The Cup will see the six best teams in the competition compete for the main prize and spectators should see some top-class cricket played with a number of high class teams involved. It is exciting that two teams are coming from Bangladesh this year and they will be challenged by local teams CMCC and UN Irish as well as several strong teams from Australia such as St Francis de Sales, Clifton Hill and a young team from Melbourne called Get the Runs may well live up to their name.

The Bromley Shield is the second level of competition and this often sees a surprise winner as we had last year when Margate CC from Tasmania took the honours ahead of the veteran Kiwi side Divine Felons. The Bowl allows for a mix of the best sides from the Gentlemen’s Section against the worst performing teams from the Players’ Section so even if teams start slowly they can still win some silverware.

The exciting news for 2018 is that we have a new sixth competition called the Vase, with an attractive new trophy up for grabs which will be competed for by some of the better teams in the Gentlemen’s Section, while the more social sides will be able to play for the Joe Carpenter Plate and last and probably least the Spoon.

With four ladies teams also competing in their own competition, there will be a very busy week ahead as cricketers of all abilities and from all over the world take the field and enjoy the social events provided for them. All players in teams that win a competition will be awarded with a prize and this year it is a wonderful memento in the style of the competition’s logo produced by Elephant Parade.

Best of all, we will see a large number of young Thai cricketers involved in the competition, probably more than ever this year, as the Thai Thevada team will give a chance to the younger Thai boys, while the best players, all close to national selection, will have the opportunity to play for Lanna CC and UN Irish in the Players Section. The Thai girls are not forgotten as Thai

Angels are defending champions of the Ladies Cup but will face stiff competition from a new Australian team called Central Spirit.

One of the best young players in the country, Chanchai Pengkumta, has been playing in the Sixes for almost a decade and it has helped him show off his developing talent with bat and ball. He made his debut for Thailand last year and was part of the team which won a bronze medal in the South East Asian Games in Malaysia. He has just played for Thailand in a four-team tournament in Bangkok and was man of the match in their first match. He has also been representing Lamphun in the Chiang Mai Senior League and has been in great form in every match he has played.

The Chiang Mai Sixes has been supporting junior cricket in Northern Thailand since the year 2000 when the first Sawasdee Cup tournament was held for promising young school children and the event also supports coaching in local schools through the Chiang Mai Schools Cricket Alliance. Sahagon Song School from Mae On were the winners of the 2018 Sawasdee Cup as no fewer than four pitches were used at the David Buck Oval to hold a festival of junior cricket.

Millions of Baht have been raised for junior cricket by teams and spectators at the Chiang Mai Sixes over the years thanks to the efforts of Duck Lady Jenny Morgan and some of the most talented young cricketers has also had their education and living expenses paid for through the Hill Tribe Fund.

The 2018 Chiang Mai Sixes has also attracted a number of new sponsors who are willing to support an event which attracts so many teams from around the world and does so much fund raising for junior cricketers, often from underprivileged backgrounds.

New sponsors include Lanna Rehab, a company which has already done much to support young Thai cricketers as they paid the expenses for number of junior players. The kids were able to enjoy the trip of a lifetime as they took part in the Koh Chang Beach Cricket Tournament and Lanna Rehab kindly provided all the shirts for Lanna CC’s two teams and junior players won two of the individual awards.

Lanna Rehab will be supporting the Thai Thevada while Flight of the Gibbon, one of the most exciting tourist attractions in Chiang Mai, are proud to be associated with the Thai Angels in the ladies competition. Chiang Mai Custom Tailors are back for a second year and can provide all teams with blazers so they look the part when they arrive at the ground.

FAT chief Somyout Poompanmoung said the campaign was intended to inspire children to take up the sport.

The only catch is that each parent can only get one child in for free.

The competition begins on March 22, when Thailand play Gabon (7.30pm) after a game between the Slovak Republic and United Arab Emirates (4.30pm).

The losers meet in a third-placed playoff on March 25 (4.30pm) with the final immedia6tely afterwards (7.30pm).

The teenager, who was a member of the 2017 SEA Games gold medal women’s team, fired five birdies on the front and recovered from two bogeys “coming home” to create an ending birdie for a final round 68 at the opening circuit of 2018 Thai LPGA Tour.

Her total of six under-par-210 propelled her to a three-shot win over Wannasiri Sirisampant, whose 70 gave her aq three-round total of 213.

“It’s amazing to play my first Thai LPGA event and win. I had no pressure playing with the pros. They have been really nice to me,” said

Manuschaya, a student at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammast University. Her next goal is to make the cut at the Asian Games in Indonesia in August.

However Manuschaya was not eligible for the winner’s cheque of Bt 142,500 due to her amateur status. Home girl Wannasiri was there for entitled to the top prize money.

“I didn’t win but the top prize money is good enough for me,” said the 27-year-old Wannasiri.

Kent State University’s new graduate Wad Phaewchimplee followed a stroke behind at lone third on 214. She took the runner-up money of Bt96,285.

The next Thai LPGA event, also with a total prize money of Bt1 million,  will stop at Kabin Buri Sport Club in Pachinburi between April 4-6.

Surprise qualifiers Sevilla take on Bayern Munich while Barcelona were paired with AS Roma in the draw made in Nyon on Friday.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side will host Pep Guardiola’s City at Anfield for the first leg, either on April 3 or April 4 as the sides meet for the first time in Europe.

It will also be the first meeting of two English sides in the last eight of the Champions League since Chelsea played Manchester United in the 2010-2011 season.

City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “We know each other very well, they are a very offensive team, the truth is it is going to be a great couple of games and we are going to see good football.”

Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real teammates will be happy to be playing the second leg of their tie at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium against Juventus, whose experience proved lethal to English club Tottenham in the last 16.

Bayern, aiming to win Europe’s top club crown for the sixth time, face Sevilla, the surprise slayers of Manchester United in the last round, but goalkeeper Sven Ulreich said they were relieved to avoid one of their major rivals.

“There are harder draws. It’s doable, but Sevilla have shone in Europe and they have won three Europa Leagues,” Ulreich said.

“So we’ll be very focused when we go over there (for the first leg) and then we’ll do the business at home.”//AFP

The former world No 1 generated three straight birdies before she committeed a lone bogey on the 15th hole, followed by two more birdies on the third and fifth holes to take the joint third place along with with players.

“I start on back nine and I have three birdies in a row. Pretty good start. I had so much fun. I haven’t played with Jess (Jessica Korda)  for a long time, and really see some amazing shot from here,” said Ariya.

“I mean, I have great memory here, so I love this event. You know, like all the people come support all the players, especially like American. It’s so much fun,” added Ariya who was followed a shot behind by countrywoman Pornanong Phatlum.

France’s Karine  fired seven birdies in a five-under par 67. In chilly, windy weather Icher teed off early and got off to a blazing start with five birdies in her first eight holes.

She added birdies at 11 and 14 to get to seven-under, but as the wind increased she bogeyed 15 and 18.

“I made some good putts and that made the difference,” Icher said. “I hit good second shots. On this course, if you start getting confidence you can go low.

“It was a good front nine. On the back nine, I made two bogeys at the end, but with the wind picking up, it’s a little bit hard.”

Icher, who owns 45 top-10 finishes on the LPGA tour, is seeking her first title.

Choi lit up the leaderboard in the afternoon. She teed off on 10 and had four birdies in her first five holes en route to her share of the lead.

After two more birdies coming in she made her lone bogey of the day at her final hole, three-putting the ninth.

“It was windy and tough every hole out there,” Choi said. “Every player was in the same position, I tried to calm myself and control myself.”

Half a dozen players were a shot off the pace on four-under par 68. That included seven-time major champion Park In-bee of South Korea.

Eight players on 69 included American Jessica Korda, who won two weeks ago in Thailand, and defending champion Anna Nordqvist of Sweden.

Nordqvist made four birdies on Thursday against just one bogey at her last to post a 69 to open her title defense.

“I played really solid today,” Nordqvist said. “It was a really hard wind. It was gusty and very cold, so it was hard to gauge yardages.”

Federer, who is seeking a record sixth Indian Wells title, extended his win streak to 16 straight matches, matching the start he had to the 2006 ATP calendar season.

In the semi-finals, Federer will face Croatian Borna Coric who outlasted seventh seeded Kevin Anderson 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

Federer won 70 percent of his first serve points, had just one double fault and broke Chung’s serve four times in the one hour, 23 minute main stadium match.

He clinched the victory on the second match point when he blasted his 12th and final ace of the contest.

Earlier this year he defended his title at the Australian Open, picking up his 20th Grand Slam win.

Last month he claimed his 97th singles title with a victory in Rotterdam which helped him regain the world number one ranking and become the oldest No. 1 player in ATP history.

And this victory guarantees he will hold onto the top spot after Indian Wells.

This was the first match between Federer and Chung since the semi-finals of the Aussie Open when the Swiss was leading 6-1, 5-2 and Chung was forced to retire with a foot blister.

The bespeckled Chung dropped to 15-6 on the season as he was appearing in his fifth quarter-final in six tournaments this year.

Federer said he plans to get ready for Coric the same way he prepared for Chung.

“He plays similar to Chung,” Federer said. “A great mover and has got a world of confidence.

“I got to play aggressive tennis as much as I can. Pretty simple, not always easy to do.”

Venus advances to semi-final

Seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams reached the WTA Indian Wells semi-finals for the first time since 2001 on Thursday by routing Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-3, 6-2.

Despite the windy conditions, Williams improved to 5-2 on the season, including a third round win over sister Serena, who was making her return to the WTA after having a baby.

Venus, who at 37 is the oldest player in the women’s draw, has played sparingly this year but is just beginning to step up her game.

“We’ve had a lot of great matches,” Williams said of playing Suarez Navarro. “I was glad that I was able to close it out.”

She dominated Suarez Navarro, who became increasingly frustrated and had to call her coach a couple of times to come down to the court in between sets for advice.

Wiliams is back in the semis in the California desert for the first time since pulling out before a semi-final match against Serena in 2001, with an injury.

Although she skipped the event for many years, Williams said she recalled her earliest appearance fondly.

“This was my first breakout tournament when I was 16,” Williams said.

Williams improved to 6-3 lifetime against the 29-year-old Suarez Navarro as the two veterans faced off for the first time since the round of 16 at last year’s US Open.

Williams won that contest in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Williams, who is seeded eighth, will need that experience when she takes the court in the next round against Russian 20-year-old Daria Kasatkina who has been jackhammering Grand Slam champions for the past year and rolling over top 10 players this week in Indian Wells.

They have played twice before in 2016 with Williams winning at Wimbledon, 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 and Kasatkina winning another tough three setter in Auckland, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3.

Klopp made clear that his players were too slow to react to second balls last weekend, as they fell to only their fourth league defeat of the season in losing 2-1 at Manchester United.

That defeat cost Liverpool the chance to go second, although with both United and Tottenham in FA Cup action this weekend, Klopp’s side will go third if they avoid defeat against Watford.

The key to success on Saturday will be to ensure they remain solid while maintaining their attacking threat, something they failed to do when they drew 3-3 with Watford at Vicarage Road on the opening day of the season.

Liverpool trailed twice that day, then went ahead through Mohamed Salah’s first goal for the club, only to concede a 94th-minute equaliser to Miguel Britos.

That was a sign of the defensive troubles that have continued to plague Liverpool.

At Old Trafford last Saturday, they conceded two avoidable first-half goals to Marcus Rashford, then ran into a metaphorical brick wall as they attempted to save the game.

Klopp could reflect on the fact that his team lost despite having 67.9 per cent possession during the game and 14 efforts on goal to United’s five.

“The second balls were not good around the two situations where we conceded,” said Liverpool midfielder Emre Can.

“In my position, it was not good from me. We have to learn from it and do it better in the game against Watford.

“We made very easy mistakes when we conceded the goals; we have to defend better as a team there.

“We have to learn from the game, we have to push on and go again on Saturday.”

– Take solace –

Despite the disappointment of losing for only the second time in their past 21 league matches, Liverpool can take solace from the fact that their overall form is good.

They remain one of only two teams yet to lose a Premier League game at home this season, and have a Champions League quarter-final to look forward to in April.

Klopp also has more or less a full squad to choose from, with only defender Nathaniel Clyne definitely unavailable as he continues to recover from a long-term back injury.

They do have one other concern, though.

Midfielder Can has collected nine bookings this season, and one more on Saturday will bring him a two-match domestic suspension, keeping him out of the Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park on April 8.

Watford are yet to score on their travels under new manager Javi Gracia, but it’s at the other end of the pitch where their troubles lie.

The Spaniard, who has seen his side go scoreless on the road for the last six hours, is wary of the threat posed by Sadio Mane, Salah and Roberto Firmino.

“Nobody has won at Anfield in the league this season so it won’t be easy,” he said.

“They can certainly win the Champions League. They are good enough — but there’s a lot of other good teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich who also can.”

Third bottom Crystal Palace, beaten in their last four games, travel to Huddersfield while West Bromwich Albion, bottom of the table and eight points from safety, desperately need a victory at Bournemouth.

Stoke are also embroiled in the fight for survival and Paul Lambert’s second bottom team will aim to end a six-match winless run when they host Everton.

Fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated):

Saturday

Bournemouth v West Brom, Huddersfield v Crystal Palace, Liverpool v Watford (1730 GMT), Stoke v Everton