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The 37-year-old Maradona, who was also ordered to pay $10,000 interest on the fine, had abused the referee, Angel Sanchez, several times during the match between Independiente and the club he coached at the time Mandiyu.Sanchez said he had also been spat on from behind but was not able to identify his assailant.

Jansher pulls out

LONDON: Pakistan’s Jansher Khan has pulled out of the defence of his Austrian Open title because of knee trouble.

The knees the former world number one described as merely sore from training when he won last week’s Super Series finals in Hatfield, England, have not improved.

“After winning the finals at Hatfield, Jansher stayed in London and avoided the unnecessary travel to and from his home in Pakistan,” said hiscoach and manager Satinder Bajwa today.

“We opted for rest specifically with the Austrian Open in mind but, unfortunately, despite nursing the problem through the past week, he is still sore in both knees and especially the right knee,” Bajwa said. The Austrian tournament starts in Linz on Wednesday.