A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Bulgaria fined €40,000 by Uefa
The Bulgarian Football Union have been fined €40,000 by Uefa for incidents during the Euro 2012 qualifier against England on September 2nd, European football's governing body have announced.
The punishment is related to “discriminatory” chanting by Bulgarian fans and for the lighting and throwing of fireworks during the clash in Sofia, which England won 3-0.
A Uefa statement read: “The BFS was facing charges of discriminatory behaviour relating to chanting by home supporters during the Group G game in Sofia on September 2nd as well as charges relating to the setting-off and throwing of fireworks. An appeal may be lodged against the verdict of the Uefa Control and Disciplinary Body within three days of the dispatch of the reasoned decision.”
Warnock 'would drive' Taarabt to PSG
QPR manager Neil Warnock would drive Adel Taarabt to France himself if Paris St Germain offered €20 million for the maverick forward.
Taraabt, who has been linked with a move away from Loftus Road, is set to miss QPR’s trip to Stoke today after spending the week away on international duty.
The 22-year-old was brought off at half-time in QPR’s 3-1 defeat at Tottenham and was then left out of the starting line-up for the home defeat by Manchester City.
Warnock admitted Taarabt has not fitted in as well this season. Asked whether QPR would sell if PSG hardened their reported interest in Taarabt, Warnock said: “I would drive him over if they offered us £20 million.”
Celtic groups not to meet police
LEADERS OF two Celtic supporters groups turned down the offer to meet with assistant chief constable of Strathclyde Police, Campbell Corrigan, to discuss fans’ behaviour.
Celtic have been charged by Uefa for “illicit chanting” during a game against Rennes and are under investigation by the Scottish league for alleged pro-IRA chants in a match against Hibernian. One fans’ group, The Green Brigade, refused to meet with Corrigan.
Moves to bring resolution to the problem suffered another blow yesterday when the Celtic Supporters Trust said: “We were extremely disturbed to find that there was inflammatory and misleading coverage of the proposed meeting. It gave the impression that we were being summonsed to discuss bad behaviour by Celtic supporters. This is not what the meeting was intended to be about and it is not possible to have a constructive dialogue under these circumstances.”
Ferguson looks to keep Berbatov
ALEX FERGUSON has confirmed Manchester United are likely to activate a clause in Dimitar Berbatov’s contract that will keep him at Old Trafford for another year.
The €36 million record signing has found his appearances limited this season as both Javier Hernandez and Daniel Welbeck have forced their way into Ferguson’s plans.
This has led to speculation Ferguson may look to unload the 30-year-old during the January transfer window.
However, the United boss insists that will not happen. Instead it seems Ferguson is more likely to offer the additional year, which United have the unilateral option to do.
“Dimitar is still in my thoughts,” said Ferguson.
“He is an outstanding footballer and we will give him the extra year.”
Bale flattered by Barcelona interest
TOTTENHAM winger Gareth Bale is flattered by interest from Barcelona.
Reports in Spain suggest the Spanish giants could make a move for Bale, though the club have stated they will not pay over the odds for him.
Spurs value Bale at €58 million but the 22-year-old Wales international insists he is content at White Hart Lane, where his contract expires in 2015.
“It’s always nice being linked with clubs such as Barcelona – it’s great to be linked with a team like that,” he said. “I’m enjoying my football at Spurs and I don’t really take much notice of what is written about interest from other clubs.”
Bale is determined to help Spurs return to the Champions League – a target he believes is achievable.
The north London club, who host Aston Villa on Monday night, sit outside the top four on goal difference alone and have a game in hand on fourth-place Chelsea.
Mancini rules out Tevez return to City team
MANCHESTER City manager Roberto Mancini appeared to close the door on a return for outcast Carlos Tevez yesterday, saying there was no way back for the striker who is in Argentina without the club’s permission.
Mancini had offered the Argentine an olive branch earlier this month by saying that if he apologised for refusing to warm-up in their Champions League match against Bayern Munich in September things could go back to normal.
That option receded yesterday, when Mancini was asked at a news conference if Tevez could return to play for City. “No, I don’t think (so),” the Italian replied.
Mancini has reverted to the stance he expressed after that game in Munich, when he said the player was “finished” at the club, which suspended him after the incident and fined him following an internal review. Tevez failed to show up for training last week saying he had gone to visit family in his homeland.
