News: Steve Finnan looks set to miss another international date after Liverpool confirmed he is still suffering with a shoulder injury picked up in the first leg of the UEFA Cup tie against Marseille two weeks ago.
The defender has had a succession of injury problems since moving to Anfield from Fulham.
"It's more serious than we first thought," Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier said. "But we are hoping he might be alright for the Blackburn game on April 4th."
Galway United yesterday expressed disappointment with a decision by a transfer tribunal to order Derry City to pay €22,000 for Alan Murphy, the striker who moved from Terryland Park to the Brandywell during the summer.
United had been seeking between €48,000 and €56,000 but missed out on the larger payment because of "a clerical error", involving a registration form.
United official Phonsie Nagle said 10 per cent of the fee would be given to Ballinrobe FC, the club Murphy played with until he was 16.
FAI chief executive Fran Rooney has welcomed suggestions from UEFA that Dublin could host a Champions League final after the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road. Senior UEFA officials told Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue the plans for the stadium are of the standard for the event when they met on Tuesday. "The prospect of hosting a major European final could provide a tremendous showcase for the city and the country," Rooney said.
Shelbourne chief executive Ollie Byrne said there were no club officials at the meeting in which a deal was brokered to end the dispute between Shelbourne and Derry City midfielder Ciarán Martyn over his decision to stay at the Brandywell rather than honour his pre-contract agreement with the Tolka Park club.
Byrne revealed Tadgh O'Halloran, acting as a human resources consultant to the FAI, chaired the meeting and subsequently informed the club the player's agent, Drury Sports Management (DSM), would pay the compensation of €7,500 demanded by Shelbourne.
"Nobody from this club was involved in the negotiations that eventually produced the deal," he said. "We left it to the FAI to resolve on our behalf and we were told afterwards the player's agents would be picking up the cost." Byrne was reacting to a report in Tuesday's Irish Times that Shelbourne obliged Martyn to pay the €7,500. A DSM representative has denied the company would be paying the money.
Meanwhile, Byrne said the club would appeal the league's decision not to register Alan Cawley.
UCD have claimed they are entitled to compensation for the player but Shelbourne maintain they were entitled to sign him for free and have vowed to fight any attempt to bring the case to a tribunal.
