Enough is enough BARCELONA's Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o threatened to leave the pitch during their 2-0 Primera Liga win at Real Zaragoza after being racially abused by the home fans. Referee Victor Esquinas Torres stopped the game in the second half to ask for an announcement over the public address system to call a halt to the abuse and Eto'o tried to leave the pitch, appearing to say he had had enough of the insults. The three times CAF African Player of the Year was persuaded to continue by his teammates and Barca coach Frank Rijkaard and the match resumed soon after. "It was a shame," Rijkaard told a news conference after the match. "Samuel is a human being and he felt bad on the pitch, but I was pleased with the attitude of his teammates who told him to continue. "He proved he was able to overcome the circumstances and he made a valuable contribution to our victory. It's a real shame that things like this happen as it is thanks to players like Samuel that the fans come to the stadium to be entertained. "I would also like to say that the referee acted very well." Zaragoza's Brazilian striker Ewerthon said he was ashamed of the action of the home fans. "I'm black too," the former Borussia Dortmund player told the Onda Cero radio station. "I'm a Zaragoza player and totally opposed to the fans who did this. I've been abused too at other grounds in Spain but we need to rise above this. "The Spanish Federation has to start taking proper measures and we as black players also have to act. We are here to work and if things carry on like this it will be impossible." Zaragoza were fined 600 euros ($713.6) by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) last season after a section of their fans directed similar abuse against Eto'o. Earlier this month the club was fined a similar amount after some of their fans directed racist insults at Real Betis's Brazilian forward Robert. In November Messina defender Zoro threatened to halt a Serie A game in Italy after suffering racial abuse from travelling Inter Milan supporters. Winning ways JUSTINE Henin-Hardenne repeated her Australian Open semi-final victory over Maria Sharapova to secure her second title of the year in the Dubai Open. Both players dropped just two points on their serve in the first six games but Sharapova broke at the net to lead 5-3. However, the Russian was denied the set as Henin-Hardenne fired a succession of winners to secure four straight games. The Belgian stepped up the pace again in the second, breaking the 18-year- old twice to close out a 7-5, 6-2 victory. The win was Henin-Hardenne's third title in Dubai, extending her unbeaten run at the tournament to 12 matches, and followed her win in Sydney earlier this year. And she revealed she had to overcome a number of injuries to seal the win. "I felt very tired at the end because I have had stomach, knee and shoulder problems this week," said the 23-year-old. "It was a high quality match, especially in the first set. Maria put a lot of pressure on me, but when I switched to playing down the centre and not out wide, the game turned for me." Sharapova, who had lost six straight semi-finals until her victory over Lindsay Davenport on Friday, admitted tiredness played a part as she went down to the effervescent Belgian. "I played two difficult games yesterday," she said. "It took a lot out of me. My legs were starting to get a bit tired and I wasn't moving so well." Vancouver 2010 WITH the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino over, all eyes are slowly staring towards the host city for the 2010 Winter Games, Vancouver. Coming 22 years after the Winter Games last visited Canada, the organising committee is gearing up to meet the challenges it will face. Vancouver will host the Games from 12 to 28 February. The mountain events will take place in Whistler, which will also host the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games from 12 to 21 March. The ice events and two skiing events will be held in venues in the Vancouver area while the Alpine, Nordic, sliding and Paralympic events are in Whistler, about 120 kilometres north of Vancouver. The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium. "The IOC expects the winter sports world will be delighted with what it sees in Vancouver," IOC Coordination Commission Chairman René Fasel said. "We have been pleased to see construction starting and a solid team of commercial and non-commercial partners showing support for the project. "Throughout Vancouver 2010's bid and preparation work, we have recognised strong promises to put athletes first and to create sustainable legacies for Canadian sport. The IOC is confident Vancouver 2010's promises will be kept, for the benefit of local communities and for sport across Canada." Bigger things DANNY Williams says he wants a crack at WBA world heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev after defending his Commonwealth title against Matt Skelton earlier this week. Williams won a split points decision after 12 gruelling rounds and said he may consider a rematch but would prefer to move up to bigger things. "I'd love to make the Valuev fight. I'd get myself in even better condition than for this," he said. "I have beaten everyone on the domestic scene and now it is time to move on." Former martial arts fighter Skelton played his part in a bruising encounter, and Williams said his opponent's lack of boxing experience made him a difficult prospect. "That was very hard. With the style he has brought from K-1 fighting it was a very difficult fight for me," said Williams. "He is awkward and he is tough but, give him credit, he is a real hard fighter."
