16 December 2005 Mutu Faces Compensation Claim Juventus forward Adrian Mutu has lost his claim against unfair dismissal after former club Chelsea sacked him after he tested positive for cocaine. A statement by the Court of Arbitration for Sport : "The player's admitted use of cocaine constitutes the 'unilateral breach without just cause' provided by the FIFA regulations and triggers the consequences deriving thereof, no matter whether this breach causes the club to give notice of termination or whether the club continues to hold on to and insist upon performance of the contract despite the player's breach." 'This CAS decision solves the dispute related to the possibility for Chelsea FC to proceed further to seek compensation and sporting sanctions from the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber in this case, with another possible appeal before CAS at a later stage." Bierhoff Bans Players From Commercial Activities "From May 15, 2006, and during the entire World Cup no players will be authorized to write columns for newspapers or be involved in commercial activities on the internet. We've decided to be clear on the issue, before and during the competition we have to be fully concentrated on the results of the team and nothing else." Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff 14 December 2005 Juve Duo Cleared in Doping Case Juventus doctor Riccardo Agricola and managing director Antonio Giraudo have been cleared of sporting fraud by Turin's court of appeal. Agricola was previously convicted of administering banned substances, including EPO, between 1994-1998. Giraudo was cleared at the original trial but the Turin prosecutor asked the court of appeal to reconsider the evidence. Press Round on Taggart Following yesterday's outburst by Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson, in which he accused the press of trying to fragment the club, the tabloids responded in kind. In a piece written by the Daily Mirror's Oliver Holt, the journalist said : "Nasty put-downs, singling out individuals for vicious criticism, sneering, treating people with contempt and lack of respect - Fergie turned it into an art form. His obnoxiousness is tolerated and indulged by everybody at United, of course, because the alternative is to point out to him that his behaviour is boorish, rude and ignorant." Holt then listed a series of quotes made by Ferguson over the years which included, in response to a question from the sports editor of the Daily Mirror asked if he could do something to improve the relationship between the paper and the club, Ferguson saying "Yes, you can fuc* off and die." When Holt asked if Ferguson would be under pressure if United lost to Benfica in what was at the time their upcoming Champions League match against Benfica, Ferguson, sitting next to Ronaldo, was heard to mutter "We've got some right fu*king pricks in here today." The Guardian gave a list of Ten Things The Media didn't do : 1. Encourage the fans to boo the team and perpetually sing Roy Keane's name 2. Suggest they abandon the European Cup-winning 4-4-2 system 3. Write the "Ten Reasons Why Fergie Must Go" feature on www.unitedrant.co.uk 4. Become embroiled in a legal battle over a racehorse with individuals that owned a huge stake in the club 5. Sign Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Liam Miller and David Bellion 6. Sanction the departure of 20 players through transfers, loans or releases last summer 7. Spend £20 million on Diego Foraán and Louis Saha 8. Fail to sign a replacement for Roy Keane then try to make a central midfielder of Alan Smith 9. Decide that it was time that David Beckham and Jaap Stam left the club 10. Fail to sign Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben and Ronaldinho 13 December 2005 Buffon Comeback Delayed Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is not expected to make his first team return until the new year. Buffon injured shoulder ligaments in a friendly against Milan in August. He played in a Coppa Italia tie last month but suffered a toe injury. Buffon is in no rush to return : "I still have a few psychological issues to deal with and I am not physically 100% fit either. If we include the summer holidays, I haven’t really played competitive football for seven months. That is a very long time for a goalkeeper. I will return when I feel ready." Pressure Gets to Taggart Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson showed signs the pressure on the club, following their Champions League exit, Roy Keane leaving and sponsors cancelling their contract, Chelsea's dominance etc, etc was getting to him with a bizarre attack on the press in a radio interview : "They have a hatred of United. It's always been there. It goes with the territory, I suppose, of us being such a high profile club. I understand it a bit but they go too far. They try to fragment the club. I think our fans are aware of that and I don't think they will fall into that trap. When we are at our best the fans are right behind us and that's the only thing that should matter." Bothroyd's Blackouts Charlton striker Jay Bothroyd is to undergo hospital tests after a sudden blackout while driving lead to him crashing his car. Charlton chief executive Peter Varney said : "We are very concerned. The car was travelling at about 10 mph when it hit a post. Jay has no recollection of the entire event. He will now undergo neurological tests to establish why this second blackout (he suffered one six years ago aged 17) has occurred." Dyer Was Suicidal Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer revealed his constant injury problems made him suicidal : "I had been suicidal after the West Brom game in October when I broke down again. I was at an all-time low. That is when the physios, the manager and my family stepped in and kept supporting me, which has got me through. They have been magnificent. I hope to be back sooner rather than later. The team have been struggling and I know I can help when I'm fit. I have obviously had a medical problem that the fans didn't know about. They just kept seeing me break and they are frustrated by it, but they didn't know the full story. Now they do. It was a blessing that the club issued a statement so that everyone now has an explanation to why I kept breaking down. It has taken the pressure off." Di Canio Defends Roman Salute Lazio forward Paolo Di Canio defended his Roman (fascist) salute during Sunday's 1-2 league defeat at Livorno : "I saluted my people with what for me is a sign of belonging to a group that holds true values, values of civility against the standardisation that this society imposes upon us. I'm proud to be able to count on such people and I will continue to salute them in this way. I was the object of very heavy insults throughout the match but I didn't react." The match had strong political undertones paring left wing Livorno with right wing Lazio. Italy's communist party was founded in the port of Livorno in 1921 while Lazio's fans are notorious for supporting fascism and have help aloft banners displaying Swastika. This weeks banners resulted in an €8,000 fine. Livorno were fined €20,000 for numerous offences including throwing a firework at the Lazio team bus. Lazio tried to distance themselves from the controversy : "Lazio repudiates any kind of racism or politicisation of football, both on the pitch and off it and invites its shareholders and its fans to react against any attempt to pollute the language of sport." 12 December 2005 DFB Give Meier Three Month Suspension The DFB (German FA) has suspended former Duisburg coach Norbert Meier for three months and given him a €10,000 fine for head butting Koln's Albert Streit. Rangnick Sacked Schalke have sacked Ralf Rangnick after he said he would leave the club at the end of the season in a post match interview : "One of the main reasons for my decision to quit was that things that should have been kept private were leaked in public." It's believed Rangnick and the club's general manager Rudi Assauer have had a troubled relationship since Rangnick took over last September, and lead the club to a second place finish. Matthaus Tells Italians to Lay off His Balls Former Inter and Germany star Lothar Matthaus has angrily reacted to claims by Italian satellite channel Sky Italia that he manipulated the draw for Italy's group at the World Cup. The channel claimed Matthaus, who was one of several former legends (and Roger Milla) who helped make the draw on Saturday, picked up a ball for Italy's group before putting it back in the bowl and picking out another one. This supposedly confirmed a common held theory (which I subscribe to I might add) that hot and cold balls are used to manipulate the draws in a bid to create matches that will appeal to broader television audiences, on a political and/or footballing level : "The Italians are mad if they think that. I had no idea which ball corresponded to which team. That is utter nonsense." 11 December 2005 Poland Coach Talks Smack 6 Months Early "I have respect for them but am not afraid. We will not be intimidated as Germany do not have the big stars they had in the past. They only have Michael Ballack. I had great admiration for Klinsmann as a player but we will see what he can do as a coach." - Poland coach Pavel Janas 9 December 2005 Zenden Out for Season Liverpool defender Boudewijn Zenden has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering cruciate ligament damage during the clubs Champions League clash with Real Betis last month.