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Mid-Day Ticker: Celtic’s stunning win vs. Barca makes waves, Ibrahimovic suspended, and more

By JOSE M. ROMERO

The world is still buzzing about Celtic’s monumental 2-1 upset of FC Barcelona in UEFA Champions League play Wednesday, and reaction is pouring out of the UK like the tears that flowed from famous singer Rod Stewart’s eyes as he watched his beloved Glasgow outfit win in Scotland in the midst of the celebration of Celtic’s 125th anniversary of existence.

Victor Wanyama scored in the 21st minute and substitute Tony Watt in the 73rd to give Celtic a 2-0 lead, then goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who’d been a rock all night, let one past him in added time of the second half, Lionel Messi giving Barca hope for a road point.

But Celtic survived for one of its greatest victories in franchise history, as it is widely being panned. Celtic has seven points in Group G, two behind Barcelona.

In other UCL matches Wednesday, Chelsea and Juventus were winners in Group E, Bayern Munich and Valencia won their Group F matches, Benfica was the other winnner in Group G and Manchester United and Galatasaray won in Group H.

Here are more stories from around the world of soccer:

Ibrahimovic suspension prolonged

Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the leading scorer in France’s Ligue 1, was given another game of suspension in addition to the one he received for picking up a red card in last Saturday’s home loss to Saint-Etienne.

The French league doubled Ibrahimovic’s suspension for a high-footed challenge against the opposing keeper in the second half of the match.

Ibrahimovic said he didn’t intend to cause injury. But the league still determined it to be a bad challenge; thus Ibrahimovic is out for games at Montpellier this weekend and at home against Rennes Nov. 17.

French star M’Vila faces 19-month ban from national team

Yann M’Vila’s partying ways got him a long ban from national team appearances with France after the French soccer federation (FFF) sanctioned him for being part of a group of teammates who spent an unauthorized night in a Paris club without permission.

The U-21 team was in between legs of a series with Norway in the U-21 Euro 2012 tournament.

Effective Monday, M’Vila cannot play for any France national team until June 30, 2014. His four teammates also involved were banned until December of next year.

Sister of Brazilian star Hulk kidnapped, released

Police in Brazil recovered and returned 22-year-old Angelica Aparecida Vieira da Souza, the sister of soccer star Hulk, to the safety of her parents’ home on Tuesday, 24 hours after she was kidnapped at gunpoint while waiting outside of a restaurant in Campina Grande, Brazil.

No ransom was paid for her return, according to reports. Hulk, 26, plays for Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia.

This isn’t the first instance of kidnapping a family member of a well-paid soccer player in Brazil or other parts of Latin America, and others have ended up in death. At least da Souza was found unharmed.

Young Millwall fan banned for verbal abuse

An unidentified 13-year-old boy won’t be allowed to attend any Millwall matches in the near future after the English club found that the boy verbally abused Bolton player Marvin Sordell during a match last month.

Millwall won the match 2-1, after which an investigation involving both clubs and the FA began. It appears racism was part of the boy’s choice of words directed at Sordell, who is black.

 

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