30 November 2004

Bolton Wanderers striker El Hadji Diouf has been given a three-match ban after spitting at Portsmouth's
Arjan de Zeeuw in Saturday's Premier League match.

Diouf was fined €7,000 at Glasgow Sheriff court 14 months ago for committing the same offence against
a Celtic fan during Liverpool's match with the Scottish side and was also accused of spitting at a
Middlesbrough fan during Bolton's match at the Riverside earlier this month.

Kaka' Signs Up With United Nations

Milan midfielder Kaka' has been appointed an 'Ambassador Against Hunger' for the United Nations'
World Food Programme (WFP) whose aim is to halve the number of chronically hungry around the
World to 400 million by 2015. Kaka' was not, as some sources ignorantly reported, raised in the slums
in Brazil but has a middle class background.


29 November 2004

Mourinho Received Death Threats

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho revealed in his autobiography that he received a death-threat via
telephone before Porto's Champions League final with Monaco.

'You think you're the best, you bastard. We won't do anything now because you have a final to play
tomorrow but as soon as it's over, consider yourself a dead man, because we'll get you and as soon
as you get back to Oporto your fate is sealed. You don't have a chance.'


28 November 2004

Eriksson Blames TV Contract For Beckham Inclusion

Sven Goran Eriksson claims stipulations in the FA's $567 million, four year television contract prevent
him from experimenting :

"I should like to experiment but it be difficult. I'm sure a young team in November would do very well.
Who would criticise me? The media. Also I think it's down to TV contracts and things like that, such
as money." 

Eriksson reportedly wanted to give Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing a chance on the left side of
midfield and play Manchester City's Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right but under the terms of the
TV contract English must play their strongest side.


24 November 2004

'Fan' Fined And Banned For Hurling Racist Abuse At Yorke

22 year old Jason Perryman has been fined €1,440 and banned from football grounds for five
years after making monkey chants at Birmingham striker Dwight Yorke as he warmed up
during Birmingham's 3-3 draw at Blackburn.

Ferguson Celebrates 1000th Match With Victory

Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson has spoken of his relief as winning his 1000th game in charge
of the club, against Lyon in the Champions League :

"All day I was a bit nervy I suppose, you think that it could fall flat, that you could lose the game, but
I kept saying to myself 'Look, there's the 999 before it, and in games of football you can lose them' but
I was hoping we would win tonight because it was a great night for me, and the fans were fantastic."


23 November 2004

Anigo Resigns

Marseille coach Jose Anigo has ended his ten month reign as Marseille coach following the club's
2-0 defeat by relegation threatened Ajaccio.

Man Gets 13 Years For Killing England Fan

A Lisbon court has sentenced 31-year-old Vadim Abramov to a 13-year prison term for the murder of
England supporter Stephen Smith during the Euro 2004 football finals. Abramov, who moved to Portugal
from the Ukraine three years ago, stabbed Smith in downtown Lisbon.


22 November 2004

Larsson out for Six Months

Barcelona's injury crisis has deepened with news that striker Henrik Larsson will be out of action for six
months after snapping ligaments and tearing the cartilage in his left knee when attempting a pass
on the turn against Real Madrid. Larsson is the fourth Barcelona player after Edmilson, Motta and Gabri
to suffer knee ligament damage this season.

Muller Tips Guerrero For Greatness

Gerd Muller, one of the greatest strikers of all time, has tipped the club's 20 year old Peruvian striker
Jose Paolo Guerrero for greatness :

"Paolo is going to be one of the greats. He can use both feet, is good in the air and has a natural instinct
in front of goal. He has the knack of being in the right place at the right time like a great striker does.
He can smell the goal which many strikers are unable to do."


20 November 2004

Bayern Report Losses

Bayern Munich have reported losses of €3.4 million for the 2003-2004 season but vice-president Karl-Heinz
Rummenigge is not worried :

"Bayern are a serious and well run club. We do not need capital or a Mr Homm. A sensible approach will
always be our way and we are not the type to go crazy. We only spend what we bring in. Homm is a
major shareholder at Dortmund who have debts of €118 million


19 November 2004

Romanian Coach Quits

Anghel Iordanescu has quit as coach of Romania and will now concentrate on a career in politics.
Iordanescu is a candidate in the Romanian elections due to take place later this month.

Beckenbauer Set To Marry

Frank Beckenbauer (59) has been granted a divorce from his wife Sybille, ending 14 years of marriage,
and will now marry his 36 year old lover, Heidi Burmester. Beckenbaur has two children with Heidi,
Joel Maximilian (4) and Francesca Antonie (1).

FIFA To Investigate Racial Abuse

FIFA will investigate the racial abuse directed at England's black players during Wednesday's friendly
against Spain in Madrid. Monkey noises were heard whenever Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips
touched the ball and the crowd chanted "If you are not ***king black, jump up and down" :

"FIFA will be investigating the circumstances of the two friendly matches between Spain and England
as they come under FIFA's ambit. It will demand explanations from the Spanish football association."

The director of "Let's Kick Racism out of Football", Piara Power, called for a strong response :

"Sanctions should include stopping all Spanish participation in European football until Spain comes
up with an action plan."

FIFA are almost certainly going to do little other than give the Spanish FA and Real Madrid token
fines.

Bosnic Claims Drug Problems are Widespread

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnic, who was released by the club after testing positive for cocaine
and has battled the addiction since claims Adrian Mutu's recent problems are the tip of the iceberg :

"When it came out that I was hooked I was completely shocked by the number of people who came up
to me and whispered, 'join the club'. If certain clubs had any idea when the FA's drugs testers were
visiting I reckon they'd tip their players off in advance. If they were really serious about eradicating
drugs from football they'd carry out the hair test on their players. One hair can show every single
joint, every line and every pill taken over the last three months."


15 November 2004

Mourinho Ridicules Arsenal's Defence

When asked to comment on Arsenal's 5-4 victory over Tottenham Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said :

"Five-four is a hockey score, not a football score. In a three-against-three training match, if the score
reaches 5-4, I send the players back to the dressing rooms as they are not defending properly. So to
get a result like that in a game of 11 against 11 is disgraceful. You can tell me the attackers were
amazing but if that had happened to my defenders in training I'd have sent them away."


13 November 2004

Germans Unveil World Cup Mascot

In a stunning display of originality the official mascot for the 2006 World Cup in Germany will be a lion
called 'Goleo VI' who bears a resemblance to England's World Cup Willy, the 1966 Mascot. Goleo VI will
be able to talk with the aid of a football. According to FIFA the name 'Goleo' comes from the mascot's
father who always called out to his son 'Go, Leo, go!'.


12 November 2004

Liu Jiansheng, the goalkeeper for Liaoning who is being investigated for match fixing has tested positive
for banned substances. He was tested after letting in five goals in a 5-1 loss to Dalian Shide on
September the 26th.


9 November 2004

Mutu Apologises

"There's no justification for what I've done. I want to apologise to all the supporters of the national team.
What the fans have to remember is that I'm not a role model. I was far from living the life of a professional
athlete and I'm the only one who's to blame for what has happened. I'm dependent on football, not on
drugs."

Mutu will train with Romanian first division side Dynamo Bucharest until his suspension ends. 


Liverpool Legend Emlyn Hughes Dies

Former Liverpool and England captain Emlyn 'Crazy Horse' Hughes has died from a brain tumour aged 57.
In a phenomenally successful career Hughes played 650 games for Liverpool between 1966-1979 and
62 times for England. He captained Liverpool to their first European Cup triumph in 1977 and went
on to lift the trophy on another occasion as well as winning the UEFA Cup twice, league championship
and FA Cup four times. Hughes started as a defender before moving in midfield.


8 November 2004

Persistent Ankle Injury Casts Doubts Over Inzaghi's Career

Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi will undergo surgery on his left ankle for the second time in six months
after lasting weeks into his comeback following surgery in April. Inzaghi will be out of action for three
months and some have speculated that his career may be over.

Jol Takes Over At Spurs coach

Martin Jol have succeeded Jacques Santini as coach of Tottenham. Jol was Santini's assistant.


6 November 2004

Aussie Legend Warren Dies

Former Australia captain Johnny Warren, has died aged 61. Warren captained the Aussies in their only
World Cup finals appearance in 1974 and went on to become a television commentator. Warren was
awarded the MBE in 1973 and inducted into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.


5 November 2004

Santini Resigns

Jacques Santini has resigned as coach of Tottenham for "personal reasons" four months after joining
the club. Spurs have scored 6 league goals, the lowest tally in all four English divisions a run of successive
has seen the club slip to 11th in the league.

Stam Out Until New Year

Jaap Stam has been ruled out until the new year after ankle surgery. The Dutch defender has barely
featured for Milan since joining the Italian Champions in the summer.

Sinclair's Season Is Over

Manchester City midfielder Trevor Sinclair has been ruled out for the rest of the season after a scan on
a knee injury revealed a fracture of the femur and ligament damage.


4 November 2004

Mutu Banned For 7 Months

The FA have handed Adrian Mutu a seven month ban for failing a drugs test and fined him €30,000.
Chelsea terminated Mutu's contract last month. Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has criticised
the FA for being 'lenient' :

"Chelsea are extremely disappointed with this verdict. We believe it is far too lenient and sends out
the wrong message about drugs in football. It is also indicative of a lack of direction within the FA
at this time. As a club we can only take the action that we believe is right for Chelsea. However, the
FA have a much wider responsibility to look after the interests of the game as a whole and, in this
case, we believe it has shown itself to be weak over the issue of drugs."

Brown Extends Man United Contract

In a bizarre move Manchester United have extended the contract of their injury prone defender
Wes Brown until 2008. Brown has made just over 100 league appearances for the club in 5 years.


2 November 2004

Kamara Out For Six Weeks

Portsmouth striker Diomansy Kamara is out for six weeks after picking up a knee injury during last weeks
2-0 win over Manchester United.

Cuper Back in Spain

Hector Cuper, sacked by Inter early last season, has taken over as coach of struggling Mallorca.
He replaces Benito Flores who was sacked last week.

Italy's Big Five €320 Million In Debt

Serie A's top five clubs amassed debts of €320 million last season despite taking in 71% of football
revenue in the country. Inter were €97 million in debt, Lazio €86.30 million in debt, Roma €66.80
million in debt, Milan €51 million in debt and after seven years in the black Juve reported debts of
€18.50 million. Roma and Lazio have been forced to sell off their star players in order to balance the
books while Italy's big three can continue to rely on handouts from their billionaire chairman.


1 November 2004

McVogts Resigns

Berti Vogts has resigned as Scottish national team coach after the sides poor results compromised their
chances of reaching the 2006 World Cup finals. Vogts said :

"I must say that the major factor in this decision has been the disgraceful abuse that I have suffered,
especially of late. It has degenerated into a physical nature, especially on recent occasions where
I have been spat upon. This is not acceptable behaviour in a civilised society and I know that the vast
majority of Scots will join me in my disgust at this act by a very tiny minority. The abuse is something
that people in public life must get used to, but now it is having a serious effect upon my home life.
I cannot sit by, as no-one would, to be involved in the abuse that I have to endure and it is this that
has made this very hard decision inevitable."