26 May 2006

Schalke Fined

Schalke have been fined €12,600 as punishment for the behaviour of their fans at a UEFA Cup tie against Espanyol in Barcelona. Several Schalke fans have been found guilty of provoking fighting in the stands and GBH.

Scan Results Throw Doubt on Rooney's World Cup Participation

The results of a scan on Wayne Rooney's foot revealed that player can only resume full training on the 14th of June at the earliest, pending the results of another scan.

Barca President Sick of Cradle Snatching

"We are a club that has invested €7 million in the youth policy and now it causes us a great problem that English clubs pay attention to our youngsters before, they did it with French clubs and now it seems that they come to us. British clubs offer astronomical amounts to juveniles of 14, 15 and 16 years, amounts that, ethically, we cannot match. It happened to us with Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and now it is happening to us with Fran Merida (wanted by Arsenal). What happens is that English clubs do not have their own youth systems and need to look at those who play for other teams." - Barcelona president Joan Laporta

Coupet & Domenech in Bust-Up

France coach Raymond Domenech had confirmed reports that he engaged in a row with goalkeeper Gregory Coupet :

"Yes there was a problem between us and we had a heated exchange. He lost his head - that happens. A World Cup is not easy to handle. Everyone has to deal with the stress. He left and came back by himself. It all happened very quickly but the problem has been resolved. We spoke about it between ourselves and as far as we are concerned the matter is now over. End of story."

Coupet, arguably the best goalkeeper in the World, is furious at being named as the team's second choice behind 34 year old clown Fabian Barthez who is popular with the old guard in the team. In 2002 France's miserable defence of the World Cup ended in the group stages after coach Roger Lemerre's decision to field ageing players such as Christophe Dugarry, Marcel Desailly, Frank Lebouef and Youri Djorkaeff backfired.

Ballack To Aid UN Fight Against Aids

Germany captain Michael Ballack has been appointed as a special representative for the UNAIDS - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Ballack, who joined Chelsea last week, said :

"AIDS is everyone's business. Sport and especially football can help break social barriers and fight stigma and HIV," said Ballack, who is currently training in Switzerland with Germany's squad for next month's World Cup. Through sport young people can become more self-confident and protect themselves from HIV. I want today's youth to know the facts about HIV and AIDS."

"In my new role as UNAIDS Special Representative, I will help save lives by engaging the sports world to take action against AIDS."

UNAIDS executive director,  Peter Piot added :

"I am proud to have Michael Ballack on board as a UNAIDS Special Representative. Through his dedication and eagerness to make a difference, I know he will be a strong voice on HIV and AIDS. Mr Ballack's talent and commitment will inspire young people to be smart about HIV."

Moggi Tries To Shift The Blame

Disgraced former Juventus director Luciano Moggi has tried to shift the blame on his involvement in the match fixing scandal by claiming everyone is involved :

"I, like my other colleagues, wanted only to assure myself that referees who were enemies of Juventus did not take the field and that all the matches would be taken charge of by serious professionals, who were good and above all impartial."

"I will tell you one thing. For years, every day of the week, the refereeing selectors received calls from the presidents and directors of clubs at all levels, starting from Meani (Milan referee liaison Leonardo Meani) and (Inter President Giacinto) Facchetti. These certainly weren't friendly calls because everyone always has something to complain about. It wasn't me who invented this football, it is the system that has always worked like this."

Inter Dragged Into Scandal

Italian newspapers have published transcripts of a conversation between Inter president  Giacinto Facchetti and vice president of the referees commission Pierluigi Pairetto in which Pairetto tells Facchetti the names of the referees ahead of Champions League ties against Valencia and Anderlecht in the 2004-2005 season. Under UEFA rules clubs can only be informed of their referee for European matches 48 hours before to kick-off.

Bladder Puts His Foot In His Mouth

When asked to comment on the match fixing scandal FIFA President Sepp Bladder said :