Messi's penalty pass was different, not disrespectful - Celta coach

Lionel Messi (R) prepares to pass the ball to Barcelona's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez (C) during the Spanish league football match in Barcelona on February 14, 2016. Photo: AFP

Goal.com

Eduardo Berizzo has defended Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez after suggestions they were disrespectful against his Celta Vigo side.

Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick while Lionel Messi, Ivan Rakitic and Neymar got on the scoresheet in a 6-1 win at Camp Nou. 

However, the controversial moment came when Messi stunned the crowd by passing his penalty into the path of Suarez for the Uruguayan to slot home from close range.

The Barca stars were accused of being disrespectful and unsportsmanlike, but Berizzo said the penalty was within the rules of the game.

"The penalty was dispatched in a different way, nothing else," the Celta coach said. 

"The forwards of Barcelona are voracious in attack. But they play in the same was as always, and are respectful to their opponents. 

"The penalty was within the rules. The goals hurt me more than the way they are converted."

Four of Barca's six goals came in the final 15 minutes of the game, with Celta holding the hosts at 1-1 for over 20 minutes of play after John Guidetti's equaliser before the break.

"The talent of the Barca players was imposed on us in that second half," he added.

Syria conflict: Air strike destroys MSF-supported hospital

MSF posted a photo showing the aftermath of air strike on hospital in Maarat al-Numan. Photo Courtesy: MSF

BBC Online

A hospital in north-west Syria backed by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has been destroyed in an air strike.
The medical charity said eight members of staff were missing after the attack in Maarat al-Numan, but it did not identify who was responsible.
One monitoring group reported that at least nine people were killed and that Russian aircraft had targeted the town.
The strike comes days after Russia and other world powers agreed to a limited cessation of hostilities in Syria.
More than 250,000 people have died in almost five years of war in Syria.
Eleven million others have fled their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other, as well as jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State (IS).
'DELIBERATE ATTACK'
MSF said four rockets hit the hospital in Maarat al-Numan, a rebel-held town about 30km (20 miles) south of the city of Idlib, within minutes of each other on Monday morning.
Eight members of staff at the hospital, which had 30 beds, were missing, it added.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group which relies on a network of sources on the ground, said nine people were killed, including a child. The raid also left dozens of others wounded, it added.
"This is a deliberate attack against a health establishment," Massimiliano Rebaudengo, MSF's head of mission in Syria, said in a statement quoted by the Reuters news agency.
"The destruction of this hospital deprives about 40,000 people of healthcare in this conflict zone."
On 5 February, three people were killed and six wounded when an MSF-supported hospital in the southern province of Deraa was hit in an air strike.
The attack on Tafas field hospital, about 12km (7 miles) from the Jordanian border, caused partial damage to the hospital building.
MSF, which operates medical facilities inside Syria and supports directly more than 150 others, said last week that such incidents were further depleting Syria's already exhausted healthcare system and preventing more people from accessing desperately needed medical care.
Since the start of this year alone, 14 health facilities in Syria have been hit, which MSF said confirmed that hospitals and clinics were no longer places where patients could recover in safety.
MSF also reiterated that the repeated attacks on medical facilities in the ongoing conflict constituted a flagrant violation of international laws.

Justice Nozrul quits as Mir Quasem’s lawyer

Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, a retired judge of the High Court, on February 15, 2016 withdraws himself as a defence lawyer for war criminal Mir Quasem Ali. Photo: TV grab

Star Online Report

Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, a retired judge of the High Court, today withdrew himself as a defence lawyer for war criminal Mir Quasem Ali.
The move came days after Attorney General Mahbubey Alam pointed him out at court and said he was enjoying state facilities after retirement.
Justice Nozrul informed the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court about his withdrawal from the proceedings of the case against Quasem Ali.
Justice Nozrul also claimed that practicing law by him is not against the constitution and ethics. He told reporters his quitting was because of the attorney general questioning his appearance.
Earlier, the attorney general told a court that Justice Nozrul retired as a HC judge a few months ago and was still living in a government residence and using a car and gunman given by the government.
If Justice Nozrul practises (as a lawyer) in the court under the circumstances, it would be against the ethics of the judges, he had said.
In reply, Justice Nozrul, who retired on December 12 last year, said he was aware of his enjoying the state privileges and claimed that he was not misusing the facilities.