Today's other stories in brief
Pardew cleared
Alan Pardew left English Football Association headquarters with mixed emotions yesterday after being cleared of improper conduct for his touchline confrontation with Arsene Wenger but failing to overturn a red card shown to Osei Sankofa at Arsenal and seeing the Charlton Athletic defender's ban extended by a match, Jon Brodkin writes.
That two-game suspension leaves Charlton without a recognised right-back for their Premiership game at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday week and will have tempered Pardew's joy at being exonerated by an FA disciplinary commission for the spat with Wenger.
The commission found the charge of improper conduct was "not proven" and that effectively means it concluded that all blame for the incident, which occurred while Pardew was in charge of West Ham United, lay with Wenger.
The Arsenal manager pleaded guilty to a charge of improper conduct for his aggressive and confrontational behaviour and was last month fined £10,000, severely censured and warned as to his future conduct.
The set-to involving Wenger and Pardew at Upton Park on November 5th culminated in them having to be separated by the fourth official. It was sparked by Pardew's celebrations of a late goal by Marlon Harewood. Pardew, though, will be furious, with the outcome of a separate hearing into Sankofa's red card.
A disciplinary commission decided Charlton's claim for wrongful dismissal was "frivolous" and gave Sankofa an extra one-match ban under provisions brought in as part of the FA's fast-track disciplinary system.
The 21-year-old is believed to be the first Premiership player to suffer that fate.
Morgan banned
Sheffield United captain Chris Morgan has been found guilty of violent conduct and banned for three games by the Football Association. Morgan was charged after appearing to punch Robin van Persie in the victory against Arsenal on December 30th. He denied the charge yesterday but a disciplinary commission decided to suspend the defender. Morgan will miss tomorrow's FA Cup third-round clash with Swansea City and the Premiership matches against Portsmouth and Reading.
Cech eyes return
Jose Mourinho's hopes of having Petr Cech back to face Liverpool on January 20th depend on the outcome of tests the goalkeeper has to undergo at the hospital where he underwent surgery on a depressed fracture of the skull in October.
Cech will return to hospital within the next week to seek approval to resume full training without protective headgear. If everything goes to plan, Mourinho has said, he expects the 24-year-old to return at Anfield.
That would mean the Czech international coming back just over three months after his skull was fractured at the Madejski Stadium in a collision with Reading's Stephen Hunt.
Bates linked with deal
Leeds United are to take up the option of purchasing Elland Road from the stadium's landlords once the current burden on their wage bill eases after this season. They are understood still to be paying onerous fees for players who left the club during and after their Premiership collapse three seasons ago. "This is the last year of Peter Ridsdale's excesses," said the Leeds director Mark Taylor.
The stadium changed hands in March 2006 but documents have only lately been lodged with the land registry. These indicate that the new landlord is a company called Teak Trading Corporation, registered in the British Virgin Islands. This has led to speculation the chairman, Ken Bates, who has a history of conducting business in the tax-haven islands, is behind the deal. But Taylor rejected the rumours, describing them as "ludicrous", stating neither Bates nor any of his associated companies has an equity interest in the firm.
Indeed, Taylor said Leeds had not been informed of the identity of their new landlord.
In brief . . .
Gareth Southgate has reaffirmed his desire to keep Mark Viduka, who has six months left on his contract, at Middlesbrough but admits it is far from certain the Australia striker will still be at The Riverside next month . . . Southampton have offered 17-year-old Gareth Bale a one-year contract extension in an effort to stave off interest from Manchester United and Tottenham for the defender . . . Charlton are looking to bring Alexei Smertin back to the club. The Dynamo Moscow midfielder enjoyed a loan spell at The Valley in 2005-2006.
