Soccer-Chilean Jara gets ban reduced to two games

Chile defender Gonzalo Jara's ban for provoking Edinson Cavani has been cut from three games to two, the governing body of South American football said on Monday. "After hearing the appeal CONMEBOL decided to reduce the sanction ... to two games," the organisation explained in a statement. The suspension still means Jara will miss Monday's Copa America semi-final against Peru and the final or third/fourth-place playoff.

Soccer-Dutch national soccer coach to resign - Telegraaf newspaper:
AMSTERDAM, June 29 (Reuters) - The Netherlands' national team coach Guus Hiddink is poised to resign, daily newspaper De Telegraaf reported on Monday. Hiddink's position has been in question after a string of poor results as the team attempts to qualify for the 2016 European Championship. The newspaper, which did not name its sources, said it expected the news would be announced by the country's national soccer association KNVB late Monday or on Tuesday. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Clare Lovell)

Soccer-Germay, U.S. set for 'very heated' World Cup semi-final:
By Steve Keating June 29 (Reuters) - The German juggernaut will run into the United States wall when the top-ranked nations clash on Tuesday at Montreal's Olympic Stadium with a spot in the Women's World Cup final on the line. Top-ranked Germany and the world number two U.S. team bring contrasting styles to a semi-final with all the makings of a classic as each powerhouse looks to move one step closer to capturing their third World Cup. "Of course it is exciting the first and second best team playing against each other," Germany coach Silvia Neid said during a news conference.

Soccer-UEFA softening break-even rule to attract investors:
By Brian Homewood PRAGUE, June 29 (Reuters) - UEFA has softened its break-even 'Financial Fair Play (FFP)' regulations in an attempt to encourage investment in European club football and move from "austerity to sustainable growth". General secretary Gianni Infantino said FFP, implemented in 2012, had succeeded in curbing potential ruinous excessive spending by teams desperate for success and it was now time to encourage investors who may have been inhibited by the rules. "We are sure these new rules will encourage investors to invest in European football which has the best club football product in the world," Infantino told a group of reporters on Monday.

Soccer-Finnish championship results and standings:
June 29 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Finnish championship matches on Monday Monday, June 29 Inter Turku 3 HJK Helsinki 0 Sunday, June 28 Jaro Pietarsaari 0 RoPS Rovaniemi 1 HIFK 1 IFK Mariehamn 1 Friday, June 26 Ilves 1 HJK Helsinki 1 Standings P W D L F A Pts 1 HJK Helsinki 18 10 6 2 28 14 36 -------------------------2 RoPS Rovaniemi 16 10 2 4 22 14 32 3 SJK 15 8 3 4 24 11 27 -------------------------4 Inter Turku 16 7 5 4 28 16 26 -------------------------5 IFK Mariehamn 16 6 7 3 17 14 25 6 KuPS 14 5 5 4 12 18 20 7 HIFK 15 4 7 4 16 19 19 8 Lahti 15 3 7 5 12 12 16 9 ...

Soccer-Retentive Japan not underestimating England:
By Simon Evans EDMONTON, June 29 (Reuters) - England may be being written off by some as rank outsiders for their Women's World Cup semi-final against defending champions Japan, but their opponents certainly aren't under-estimating them. The Lionesses beat hosts Canada 2-1 on Saturday to reach the semi-finals for the first time, but Japan know very well that they are up against a dangerous opponent having lost to England 2-0 during the group stage in 2011. "We lost to England four years ago.

Soccer-Cardiff to host 2017 Champions League final, says UEFA:
NYON, Switzerland, June 30 (Reuters) - The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will host the 2017 Champions League final, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino announced on Tuesday. He also confirmed that the Friends Arena in Stockholm will be the venue for the 2017 Europa League final. (Reporting by Brian Homewood; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

Soccer-Peru pushed us all the way, Chile's Isla says:
Peru gave Chile a real run for their money in Monday's Copa America semi-final despite playing most of the match with 10 men, Chile defender Mauricio Isla acknowledged. Peru made things really difficult for us, even with one man fewer," Isla said.

Soccer-United make bid for Real defender Ramos - reports:
LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Manchester United have made a 28.6 million pound ($45 million) bid for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, British media reported on Monday. Media reports said the 29-year-old Spain international was keen to move to Old Trafford, despite having two years left on his Real contract. United manager Louis van Gaal is seeking to shore up the Premier League club's defence to help improve on last season's fourth-place finish. United confirmed earlier on Monday that defender Phil Jones had signed a contract extension until at least 2019. ($1 = 0. ...

Soccer-Match-fixers using sponsorship to infiltrate clubs:
By Brian Homewood ZURICH, June 29 (Reuters) - The threat posed by match-fixers to soccer is as strong as ever with criminals now using club sponsorship as a way of increasing their influence, FIFA's head of security Ralf Mutschke told Reuters in an interview. Mutschke said he was sad at Interpol's decision to end a "unique collaboration" with world soccer's governing body, although it had not broken his resolve to protect the sport. "The fixers are not suspending their programme against football, therefore we cannot wait for Interpol to come back.