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GENEVA -- FIFA President Gianni Infantino broke no rules by taking offers of private flights to visit Pope Francis at the Vatican, Vladimir Putin in Moscow and the Emir of Qatar.Infantino was cleared of suspicion Friday by FIFAs ethics court after a secret investigation which threatened to derail his six-month presidency of soccers scandal-hit world governing body.The ruling -- issued from Zurich as Infantino woke up in Rio de Janeiro for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games later Friday -- ended weeks of speculation fueled by leaks to Swiss and German media that he would become the latest FIFA leader suspended from office.(The) benefits enjoyed by Mr. Infantino were not considered improper in the light of applicable FIFA rules and regulations, FIFA ethics prosecutors said in a statement that both officially confirmed and ended its formal probe.The weeks-long case revealed rifts at FIFA in the transition to Infantinos leadership since he was elected in February to modernize and clean up an organization left in turmoil after nearly 18 years of Sepp Blatters presidency.The numerous witnesses spoken of Friday by ethics prosecutor Robert Torres included staffers and senior officials who resigned or were fired since May.The investigation into alleged conflicts of interest and accepting gifts also examined how Infantino hired senior advisers, and his refusal to sign a working contract.One leak included a recording of a FIFA Council meeting in May to show Infantino describe an insulting salary proposal from a FIFA-appointed panel. It was for $2 million with none of the multi-million dollar World Cup bonuses paid to Blatter, who got a $3 million basic salary last year.Still, the case also suggested FIFAs culture under Blatter of enjoying a five-star lifestyle and privileged access to heads of state appeared to have carried over to the Infantino era.An internal FIFA memo previously leaked to media said Infantino took flights from the governments of Russia and Qatar, plus former employer UEFA.Infantinos working trip to the future World Cup host nations in April started in a private flight from Switzerland accompanied by Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister and FIFA Council colleague, Torres said in a conference call.After a schedule change for a late-evening meeting with Russias President Putin, Infantinos flight to Qatar was provided by a subsidiary of Russian state-owned energy firm Gazprom, which is a 2018 World Cup sponsor.Torres also gave details of Russian links to Infantinos family visit to the Vatican after attending the Champions League final in Milan in May.An airplane provided by Russian businessman Leon Semenenko, a personal friend of Infantino, had been bought two years earlier from Alisher Usmanov, a Putin ally who is a minority shareholder of English club Arsenal.The indirect ties of the relationship between Mr. Semenenko and Mr. Usmanov were not sufficiently close enough to be considered in the light of the `conflict of interest principle, Torres told reporters.Torres led a preliminary investigation which also looked at Infantino joining UEFA leaders in their hired flight to Slovenia in early May. The Slovenian soccer federation president, Aleksander Ceferin, has since emerged as a candidate in UEFAs presidential election.No evidence suggested Infantino had instructed staff to seek offers of private flight, said Torres, the chief justice of Guams supreme court.Infantinos hiring process and contract stalemate were judged as internal compliance issues rather than an ethical matter, the ethics committee statement said.Infantino was among the more than 20 interviews carried out during the investigation, though Torres did not identify other individuals.The President would like to thank all those who cooperated with the Ethics Committee to ensure that the facts were heard and the truth prevailed, FIFA said in a statement.Torres and FIFAs senior ethics judge, Joachim Eckert, defended their official secrecy, which they said was allowed by the FIFA code of ethics rules and was agreed to avoid distractions and further leaks. They also insisted on their independence from FIFA.There was no pressure put on us to decide the case in favor of Mr. Infantino, Torres said.Infantino was not provisionally banned from office -- in contrast to his former boss, UEFA President Michel Platini, and Blatter during their ethics case last year which led to bans for conflict of interest.Blatter is serving a six-year ban for authorizing an improper $2 million payment to Platini in 2011. Blatter will appeal against his ban on Aug. 25 at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, SwitzerlandPlatini left CAS in May with a reduced four-year ban in a case that led to Infantinos unexpected FIFA candidacy.Complaints against Infantino flowed after senior FIFA officials resigned or were fired, including audit panel chairman Domenico Scala, who oversaw the salary offer, and longtime FIFA finance director Markus Kattner.Since May, a steady flow of leaked details were reported in German-language media.Infantino, a Swiss lawyer, had spoken of carefully orchestrated hysteria after claims of excessive spending billed to FIFA for rental cars, a private driver, a tuxedo, flowers and a mattress for his FIFA-owned apartment in Zurich, and a step machine for his FIFA office.The ethic court said these allegations related to expenses and governance issues had also been investigated but did not lead to any prima facie cases.---Graham Dunbar can be followed on Twitter at (at)gdunbarap Jordan Retro 13 Wholesale . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Cheap Jordan 13 Shoes For Sale . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. http://www.airjordan13nz.com/ . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Air Jordan 13 Retro NZ .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Air Jordan 13 NZ . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees will meet for the first time this season Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at Progressive Field.Both teams are coming off losses on Wednesday. Cleveland fell 12-2 at home to the Detroit Tigers, while the Yankees were shut out by the White Sox 5-0 in Chicago.For the Yankees, the series in Cleveland will conclude a 10-game road trip leading into the All-Star break. The Yankees, mired in fourth place in the American League East, are 2-4 in the first six games of their trip. They lost two of three to the San Diego Padres and dropped two of three in Chicago.The Indians, meanwhile, have been one of the majors most refreshing success stories. They recently had a team-record 14-game winning streak, and Wednesdays 12-2 loss to Detroit was the Indians first defeat at home since May 31 and snapped a 13-game winning streak at Progressive Field.Winners of 16 of their last 19 games overall, the Indians are in first place in the AL Central, 6 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Tigers, and theyve impressed Yankees manager Joe Girardi.Theyre playing extremely well, and I think it all starts with their starting pitching, Girardi said. Theyve pitched extremely well. Their bullpen has done a nice job, and they have young players who are playing well. They are a complete club. They are not going to beat themselves. So it will be a touggh series.ddddddddddddIndians manager Terry Francona says one of the unheralded areas of strength on his team is its base running. Weve been a very good base-running team, which is good because we worked on it a lot in spring training, Francona said. We need to be a team that can score from second on a hit, and go from first to third on a hit.The pitching matchup for the series opener will feature Clevelands Trevor Bauer (7-2, 3.02 ERA) versus New Yorks Ivan Nova (5-5, 5.06). Bauers last appearance, and last win, came in relief. In the Indians 2-1 win over Toronto in 19 innings on July 1, Bauer was pressed into service as a reliever and pitched the last five innings, holding Toronto scoreless on two hits. Bauer has struggled in his career versus the Yankees, going 1/3 with a 4.78 ERA in five appearances.Nova is looking for his first win since June 9. In four starts since, he is 0-2 with a 6.98 ERA while allowing opposing batters to hit .333 against him. In two career starts vs. Cleveland, Nova is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA.The Yankees are 0-3-1 in their last four series vs. Cleveland since the start of the 2014 season. New York was 2-5 against the Indians last year, the five losses being the Yankees most in a season to Cleveland since 2000, when they were also 5-5. ' ' '