A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Venables okay by Dunne
Richard Dunne has backed Terry Venables as a potential Republic of Ireland coach. While the 26-year-old Dubliner has no major preference among the leading candidates, he has already taken soundings from Gary Kelly and Ian Harte, who have both experienced life under Venables - and the feedback was very encouraging.
"I have spoken to a couple of the lads who worked with Terry Venables at Leeds," said Dunne.
"They really enjoyed his training and tactical ideas. He seemed to treat everyone with respect and they felt he was a good man to work for.
"Ireland doesn't need a big-name appointment but we do need someone who can excite people and get the public behind the team. Terry Venables is capable of doing that and if he was appointed I am sure it would go down well with the rest of the squad."
Now bookies go for Keegan
Irish bookmakers Boylesports have cut the odds on Kevin Keegan to become the next Ireland manager, following a huge move in the market. The former England boss was 20 to 1, but moved to odds of 10 to 11, all in the space of an hour after there was a huge surge in betting.
Crooked referee goes to jail
The German football world was in shock last night after a Berlin court sentenced match-fixing referee Robert Hoyzer to two years and five months in prison, writes Derek Scally.
Hoyzer, 26, admitted throwing second-division matches after accepting €67,000 in bribes from the owner of a Berlin betting shop. His lawyer announced an appeal of the verdict that surprised even state prosecutors, who had called for a suspended sentence.
Ante Sapina, a Croatian-born betting shop owner was sentenced to two years and 11 months for managing a system of bribes, match-fixing and targeted bets on 23 games that yielded him and two brothers over €2 million.
The match-fixing idea was hatched on a drunken night in a Berlin bar in May last year and came to light 10 months ago. Sapina suggested during the trial that Hoyzer came up with the match-fixing idea and was a "big player" in the system. Hoyzer said Sapina baited him with promises of easy money and that he was a victim of the fixing ring, a version of events rubbished by judge Gerti Rakmer.
"There was no evidence that Robert Hoyzer was specifically lured in by the Sapinas and that he was a victim of the (Sapina) family," she said in her verdict. "In our opinion it was less a childish prank, as the state prosecutor suggested, but a crime by adult perpetrators."
Hoyzer co-operated with the authorities and implicated others during the investigation. He has been banned for life from refereeing and is to write a book about his experiences.
Hoyzer told the court that "utopian" amounts of money were involved in the scam. Ante Sapina bet €240,000 on a match fixed by Hoyzer between SC Karlsruhe and MSV Duisburg, netting €870,000. He won €300,000 for a € 26,000 bet on a match between Holstein Kiel and FC Chemnitz.
The most spectacular match fix came in a German Cup match between SC Paderborn and SV Hamburg in August last year. Underdogs Paderborn won 4-2 after Hoyzer awarded the side two penalty kicks and sent off a Hamburg player.
Ante Sapina's two brothers Filip and Milan received one year and 16-month sentences respectively. Another defendant, ex-referee Dominik Marks, was given an 18-month suspended sentence for throwing three matches, for which he received €7,000 in bribes.
German football authorities welcomed the verdict. "The threat of two and a half years in prison will certainly make one or two people think before trying to influence a football match," said Theo Zwanziger of the German football association (DFB).
Clichy adds to Wenger woes
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is set to be without his two first-choice left-backs until at least Christmas after Gael Clichy was ruled out of action for "three to four months".
Clichy, who has been covering for the injured Ashley Cole for the past six matches, has suffered exactly the same injury as the England international - a stress fracture in his right foot.
That leaves the Arsenal boss without an experienced left-back for at least the next five weeks, with key league games coming up against Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Newcastle and Chelsea.
In brief . . .
Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham insists he will be fit for tomorrow's Primera Liga clash against Barcelona despite departing training yesterday with a back problem. The England captain was forced out of a practice match and immediately requested treatment from club physios. However, both club and player believe he will be able to play in the crunch clash at the Bernabeu. Former Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy has taken over as caretaker manager of Conference club Morecambe. McIlroy, 51, managed Northern Ireland between 2000-3 before taking the reins at Stockport until 12 months ago.
The announcement follows the enforced absence of Morecambe boss Jim Harvey, who suffered a heart attack just before his side's 1-0 defeat against Cambridge last weekend.
Harvey, who was McIlroy's assistant with Northern Ireland, is expected to be sidelined for around three months.
