Turkey punishedTurkey have been ordered to play their next six home matches at a neutral ground and behind closed doors following a fracas at their World Cup qualifier against Switzerland in Istanbul.
Fifa said in a statement yesterday that two Turkish players, Alpay Ozalan and Emre Belozoglu, would be banned for six matches as would Switzerland's Benjamin Huggel who admitted kicking Turkish assistant coach Mehmet Ozdilek.
The sanctions, which apply to official matches and not friendlies, are among the most severe handed out to a national association and will hit Turkey's chances of qualifying for the next European Championship in 2008.
FIFA VERDICT
Turkish Football Federation - Fined 200,000 Swiss francs plus procedural costs of 20,000 Swiss francs.
Alpay Ozalan (Turkey player) - Suspended for Turkey's next six matches and fined 15,000 Swiss francs plus costs of 1,000 Swiss francs.
Emre Belozoglu (Turkey player) - Suspended for Turkey's next six matches and fined 15,000 Swiss francs plus costs of 1,000 Swiss francs.
Serkan Balci (Turkey player) - Suspended for Turkey's next two matches and fined 5,000 Swiss francs plus costs of 500 Swiss francs.
Mehmet Ozdilek (Turkey assistant coach) - banned from taking part in any football-related activity for 12 months and fined 15,000 Swiss francs plus costs of 1,000 Swiss francs.
Benjamin Huggel (Switzerland player) - Suspended for Switzerland's next six matches and fined 15,000 Swiss francs plus costs of 500 Swiss francs.
Stephan Meyer (Switzerland physiotherapist) - Suspended for Switzerland's next two matches and fined 6,500 Swiss francs plus costs of 500 Swiss francs.
Barton set for U-turn
Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton looks set to perform a U-turn and settle his differences with the club this week after handing in a transfer request. Manager Stuart Pearce said: "We feel as though we have made a good offer. We will carry on talking to him and his representative. Perhaps Joey Barton will stay with us for five to 10 years, I certainly hope that, I always have done."
Gerrard injured
Liverpool will be without Steven Gerrard for their Premiership trip to Charlton tonight. The midfielder has a knee injury that needed a precautionary scan this week, and although there is no long-term damage to the problem picked up against Chelsea on Sunday, he will also miss Saturday's trip to Wigan.
McClaren angry
Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren has hit back at ex-winger Jonathan Greening's claim that some Boro players are unhappy with his management style. The Boro boss told BBC Radio Five Live: "Greening's comments disappointed me because he did well at this club. He came from Manchester United reserves and I gave him an opportunity."
Henry 'will sign'
Arsene Wenger is convinced Thierry Henry will remain at Arsenal after being offered a four-year contract extension that would make him the highest-paid player at the club. Wenger reckons the France international will accept the deal on offer. "I think he will stay," Wenger told France Football magazine. "This is my opinion, what I truly believe deep inside."
Lennon to stay
Celtic captain Neil Lennon has ruled out a return to Leicester City as manager. He said: "I haven't even started taking my coaching badges yet. It was very flattering to be linked with the Leicester job, but I still feel I have a lot to offer as player."
Meanwhile, Celtic's forthcoming Premier League away matches against Hibernian, Livingston, Kilmarnock have been moved to Sunday for live coverage on Setanta.
Beckham confident
England captain David Beckham is sure that he will reach an agreement to continue at Real Madrid beyond the end of his current contract. "We'll start to talk about it before the summer. There is a 99 per cent chance I will sign an extension here," the 30-year-old midfielder said.
Cork still searching
Cork City boss Damien Richardson will continue his search for players capable of strengthening his championship-winning squad over the coming days as players from Portugal and Bulgaria arrive for trials with the Turner's Cross outfit, reports Emmet Malone.
City take on Limerick, Galway United and Finn Harps over the next couple of weeks and the hope is that the Portuguese left-sided midfielder and Bulgarian centre half will use the games to earn a deal for next season.
Long lease expected
Limerick look set to acquire a 21-year lease on Hogan Park with club officials and representatives of the trust that owns the ground reported to have agreed the terms of a deal over the past couple of days after protracted negotiations, reports Emmet Malone.
The club, which has received extensive backing in recent times from local businessman Danny Drew, had been seeking to secure long-term control of the 11-acre site in order to draw down grant funding totalling some 400,000 that had been made available for its development.
In brief . . .
Walsall have confirmed the sacking of manager Paul Merson after they were beaten 5-0 by Brentford on Saturday, leaving them 19th in the table
Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd insists he is yet to approach anyone over the vacant manager's job at St James' Park .
Brazilian defender Emerson Thome has parted company with Wigan Athletic.
Brian Kidd has revealed he is looking for a coaching role after recovering from prostate cancer.
Birmingham's Emile Heskey has admited a Football Association charge of improper conduct.
The turbulent nature of Vladimir Romanov's regime at Hearts came to the fore again yesterday when the head coach, Graham Rix, told players that the Lithuanian tycoon was picking the team. The squad planned to meet this morning to discuss how to deal with the news, which has long been suspected by those close to the Tynecastle club.
