Mick McCarthy's Republic of Ireland will not have to face Germany's Mehmet Scholl in their World Cup Group E meeting in June after the player yesterday gave up in his battle for fitness. "Given my poor health, I wouldn't be able to help the national team or coach Rudi Voller," he said last night.
Sebastian Deisler, another of Germany's creative influences, is also a doubt because of a nagging thigh-muscle injury.
Meanwhile, Manchester City hope to make another German international, Stefan Effenberg, their first major signing after gaining promotion as champions from the first division.
Bayern Munich's playmaker, 33, will be available on a free transfer when the Bundesliga season finishes on Saturday week, and City, who face stiff competition for his signature from Fulham and Spurs, are hoping he will see the newly-promoted club as a suitable refuge after last week's furore in Germany when he said that people on state benefits were lazy and did not deserve to receive government money.
The English Football League is interested in buying ITV Digital to stave off a potential crisis. The broadcaster owes the League £178.5million over the next two years for exclusive television rights it bought last summer. But, with the station already in voluntary administration, ITV Digital was put up for sale as a going concern on Monday. And yesterday it emerged the League would consider going into partnership with another broadcaster to acquire the station.
