Other sports stories in brief

Russian officials are banned

ROWING:The world rowing federation FISA has banned all Russian federation officials from its events for 12 months after seven doping violations by its rowers within a year. In a statement yesterday, FISA said a meeting of its executive committee had decided to ban all Russian officials, coaches and support staff - although their rowers could still compete.

It said FISA would discuss whether the ban should apply for this year's Beijing Olympics with the International Olympic Committee and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Russian officials said they accepted the penalty.

"The most important thing is that the athletes themselves, those who have not done anything wrong, will be allowed to take part in all international competitions, including the Beijing Olympics," the ROC's legal expert Viktor Berezov said.

"I think it was a wise decision by FISA regarding the athletes."

Nadal decision'understandable'

 TENNIS:Rafael Nadal's decision to opt out of Spain's Davis Cup tie against Peru is understandable given the physical problems the world number two has experienced in recent seasons, captain Emilio Sanchez-Vicario said.

"The difficult thing for him about this tie is that he has been training on hard surfaces for the last four months and playing on clay for two weeks and then going back to hard courts would require a great effort," Sanchez-Vicario said yesterday.

Nadal, who has experienced intermittent problems with an injury to his left foot since 2005, reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where he was beaten by unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Spain will also be without Juan Carlos Ferrero after the former world number one decided to concentrate on the hardcourt season.

"He decided not to come because playing on clay didn't fit in with his plans," said Sanchez-Vicario.