SPORTS in brief

Cuba advance to Gold Cup quarter-finals

CONNECTICUT (CMC):

Caribbean champions Cuba advanced to the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup after a hat-trick from Ariel Martinez and a dramatic stoppage-time goal from Jeniel Marquez Molina lifted them to a 4-0 victory over Belize in their final Group C game on Tuesday night.

The Cubans needed to score four goals to surpass Martinique as the second-ranked third-place team. They did so in the final moments of the match, three minutes into added time, clinching their second quarter-finals berth.

Cuba will meet Panama on Saturday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, five minutes after coming on a substitute, Brek Shea scored his first career goal to lead the United States to a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica also at Rentschler Field on Tuesday. The United States will face El Salvador in the opener of Sunday's quarter-final double-header at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

House Speaker rejects Olympic boycott over Snowden

WASHINGTON (AP):

The leader of the House of Representatives yesterday soundly rejected suggestions that the United States boycott the Winter Olympics in Sochi if Russia grants asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

"Why would we want to punish US athletes who've been training for three years to compete in the Olympics over a traitor who can't find a place to call home?" Speaker John Boehner told reporters at a news conference.

The Republican was asked about Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's idea that if Russia provides a safe haven for Snowden, the United States should consider keeping its athletes home during the 2014 Winter Olympics next February. Boehner said Graham was "dead wrong".

Snowden, who disclosed details about US intelligence surveillance of Internet activity, has applied for temporary asylum in Russia three weeks after arriving at a Moscow airport from Hong Kong. The United States wants Snowden sent home to face prosecution for espionage. In 1980, the United States boycotted the Olympics in Moscow over Russia's invasion of Afghanistan.

Messi relaxed about tax problems, Neymar

BARCELONA, Spain (AP):

Lionel Messi is not worried about solving his tax problems or about the arrival of Brazil star Neymar at Barcelona.

"I'm very relaxed," Messi said after training yesterday, adding he was at a distance from financial matters. "My dad and I have our advisers who handle these things and we trust them. I hope it gets solved. I don't understand any of this and that's why we have lawyers."

Messi, one of the world's highest-paid sportsmen, and his father Jorge have been ordered by a Spanish court to appear before a judge in September over allegations that they defrauded the Spanish tax office of €4 million (US$5.3 million).

Messi welcomed the arrival of Neymar, who was "a great player" who will have no problem adapting to Barcelona. "He's going to make a difference," Messi said.

Five Russians suspended for doping

MOSCOW (AP):

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has provisionally suspended three swimmers and two cyclists for positive tests at national championships last month. The agency says all five are "suspended from participating in any capacity in a training camp or competition until the decision has been rendered on the case".

Swimmers Igor Akhlyustin, Mikhail Dovgalyuk and Anton Komlev returned positive tests for doping at the nationals in Moscow. Cyclists Andrey Russkikh and Ekaterina Koroleva tested positive at the junior track nationals in St Petersburg.

RUSADA did not identify the doping substances involved in the cases.