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CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP)—A South African politician hit out at the
criticism of South Africa’s readiness to host the football World Cup on
Wednesday, saying it’s only because it’s an African country.

With three months to go until the tournament kicks off, chairman of the
parliament committee on sport and recreation Butana Komphela said the country’s
preparations have come under unfair scrutiny.

“In the last World Cup in Germany, three weeks before the tournament
started a (rail) station was still being completed yet there was no noise about
that,” Komphela said at a local organizers’ media briefing in Cape Town.

“But when an African country is putting final touches to its preparations
more than 90 days before a tournament then we are declared not ready.”

Komphela said it is “shocking” what South Africa had to endure and that
every World Cup host should now have to endure a similar process.

“This must not only happen to South Africa,” he said. “The media can’t
just subject (us) to such pain, as if we are incompetent.”

Komphela also said the fact that there was no longer a plan B was proof that
South Africa was ready to host the best World Cup ever.

Komphela’s comments came ahead of a planned ticket update from the local
organizing committee. Chief executive Danny Jordaan said he was happy with the
progress made with ticket sales.

“We are now just over 90 days before kick off and I have to thank the
committee for its wonderful work,” Jordaan said. “So far 3,030,077 tickets
have been sold to locals and foreigners.”

Jordaan also said that even if ticket sales to locals reached one million,
fan parks and public viewing areas were crucial to “make people feel part of
this World Cup.”

Executive chairman of ticket agent Match, Jaime Byrom, defended the host’s
use of the online ticket system. Byrom said it was the best way to avoid fake
tickets, despite concerns that low income local football fans in South Africa
are unlikely to use the system.

Byrom also said 311,000 tickets were still available and would go on sale
from April 15.

Organizers would not comment on a report by a United Nations human rights
investigator that criticized FIFA for failing to protect housing rights in World
Cup host cities.

Raquel Rolnik, an independent investigator appointed by the U.N. Human
Rights Council, said on Monday people have complained to her of being forced
from their homes or priced out of the housing market as a result of large events
such as the World Cup.

She said FIFA still hasn’t responded to demands to make housing rights part
of the World Cup bidding process.

“It’s a much less transparent and clear process of bidding and selecting as
compared to the Olympic Committee,” she said.

Rolnik cited reports that more than 20,000 residents were being moved from a
makeshift settlement near Cape Town to impoverished areas at the edge of the
city before the June 11-July 11 World Cup.

TURIN, Italy (AP)—Juventus is starting to run into form under new coach
Alberto Zaccheroni but will be without goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and central
defender Giorgio Chiellini for its opening-leg match against Fulham in the
Europa League on Thursday.

It’s the first meeting between the two-time European champion and Fulham,
the English Premier League side that is experiencing its best season in Europe.

Zaccheroni replaced Ciro Ferrara at the end of January and the Turin club
has won three of its last four games.

“We want to win an important competition again. It’s been more or less
three years since we won anything,” striker David Trezeguet said.

“The Europa League is an important cup for the entire team. We expected to
be competing in the Champions League right now but that didn’t work out. We’re
on the right road.”

Buffon is out for a month with a thigh injury and Chiellini pulled a leg
muscle in a 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Saturday.

In Juve’s four previous games without Chiellini this season, it has not won
— losing three times and drawing once.

With Felipe Melo suspended and Mohamed Sissoko, Paolo De Ceglie and Claudio
Marchisio all questionable, the good news for Zaccheroni is that midfielder
Mauro Camoranesi is ready to return after missing two weeks with a leg muscle
problem.

“We’ve got a lot of games one after another this month and we’ve got to
face them with the right mentality,” Juventus president Jean-Claude Blanc said.
“Things are working well and now we just need to find continuity.”

In reaching the last 16, Fulham has easily eclipsed its previous best season
in Europe, when they reached the third round of the 2002-03 UEFA Cup.

Fulham surprised Shakhtar Donetsk, which won the trophy last season before
the tournament was revamped as the Europa League, with a 3-2 aggregate win in
the last round.

“There will be a big difference between Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus,”
forward Zoltan Gera said on Fulham’s Web site. “We played against Roma twice
and played very well and hopefully we can do the same against Juventus and get a
result.”

Fulham shutout Manchester United 3-0 in December and enters with a nine-game
unbeaten streak in all competitions. Coach Roy Hodgson faced Juve six times
while in Italy coaching Inter Milan from 1995-97, winning just once.

“Fulham is a tough side. It doesn’t let up for 90 minutes and it knows how
to take advantage of its chances,” Zaccheroni said. “It’s a typical English
team—it knows how to defend very well.”

LONDON (AP)—One of five former European champions in Europa League action on
Thursday, Juventus is up against an unfamiliar opponent.

The Italian club beat Ajax in the last round in a rerun of the 1996
Champions League final but now meets English side Fulham, which has reached the
round of 16 in the first European campaign it has ever earned through its league
position.

The Premier League side surprised Shakhtar Donetsk, which won the trophy
last season before the tournament was revamped as the Europa League, with a 3-2
aggregate win in the last round and will likely know more about Juventus than
the Italian side does about its opponent.

“I like to watch football in general so I know Juventus and the players,”
Fulham forward Zoltan Gera said. “I watch a lot of games from the Italian and
Spanish leagues so there won’t be any surprises because I’ve seen them a few
times.”

Thursday’s other seven first-leg matches also feature a mix of regular
European contenders and newly emerging hopefuls.

Five-time European champion Liverpool is at Lille, Benfica hosts fellow
former European champion Marseille, Hamburg hosts Anderlecht and Wolfsburg goes
to Russia’s Rubin Kazan.

Atletico Madrid hosts Sporting Lisbon, Panathinaikos hosts Standard Liege
and Valencia hosts Werder Bremen.

But while Juventus is unlikely to know much about Fulham, which is managed
by former Inter Milan coach Roy Hodgson, Fulham also has the experience of
playing an Italian side in the Europa League.

“There will be a big difference between Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus,”
Gera said on Fulham’s Web site. “We played against Roma twice and played very
well and hopefully we can do the same against Juventus and get a result.”

Fulham, which qualified for the competition by finishing a best-ever seventh
in last season’s Premier League, finished second to Roma in the teams’ group
after one draw and one narrow loss against the Italian side.

Gera has scored three goals in 11 Europa League matches and is likely to
start in support of striker Bobby Zamora, an outside contender for a place in
England’s World Cup squad.

Italy international Giorgio Chiellini will miss the match but could return
to the heart of Juventus’ defense for the return on March 18 after a scan showed
an injury to his left thigh was less serious than initially though.

Chiellini was hurt in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Fiorentina.

Liverpool dropped into the Europa League after being eliminated from the
Champions League and its poor season continued Monday when it lost 1-0 at Wigan
in the Premier League.

Coach Rafa Benitez lambasted his players for playing “without
intelligence” and now expects a suitable reaction against a team fifth in the
French standings.

“It was a surprise the other day, but hopefully it was just a blip and we
will see the real Liverpool on Thursday,” Benitez said. “The players know we
have to improve in some specific areas.”

Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun may miss the match because of an ankle
injury but central defender Daniel Agger should be able to play after staying on
the bench Monday because he was sick.

Benfica’s meeting with Marseille will be the first between the sides since
the Portuguese side won a two-legged European Cup semifinal in 1990.

Benfica has won its five home matches in the tournament by an aggregate
score of 17-1 but Marseille is unbeaten in its last three away, making the game
at the Stadium of Light tough to call.