A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Stekelenburg keen on United move
HOLLAND goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has admitted he would be “insane” if he did not want to play for Manchester United, but insists the only offer he currently has on the table is to stay at Ajax. With Edwin van der Sar due to retire at the end of the season, the man who replaced him in the Dutch national team has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford.
After celebrating claiming the Eredivisie title with Ajax on Sunday – during which he echoed Sergio Ramos by dropping the trophy – Stekelenburg said he is considering a new contract offer from the Amsterdammers, but admitted he would like to hear from United.
He added: “Anybody who does not want to play for Manchester United would be insane.”
West Ham may look to Hughton
FORMER Republic of Ireland defender Chris Hughton – who guided Newcastle back to the Premier League before his untimely axe at St James Park earlier this season – and Watford boss Malky Mackay are both expected to be in the frame for the West Ham managers job.
Paulo di Canio achieved cult status at the club during a four year spell but is not expected to figure due to his lack of experience as a manager.
Bilyaletdinov red card appeal fails
EVERTON’S Russian midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov will miss the last game of the season and the first two matches of next season after the club’s appeal against his red card at West Brom on Saturday was dismissed. The 26-year-old was shown a red card for what referee Anthony Taylor deemed to be a high challenge on midfielder James Morrison after 77 minutes.
“The Blues were informed on Tuesday afternoon that referee Anthony Taylor’s decision would be upheld, thus ruling Bilyaletdinov out of Sunday’s Premier League finale against Chelsea, as well as the first two games of next season,” the club said. “The appeal was dismissed in spite of Morrison providing a statement in support of the Everton player.”
Ferguson and Ancelotti get warnings from FA
MANCHESTER United boss Alex Ferguson and Chelsea counterpart Carlo Ancelotti have both received warnings from the FA for making comments about Howard Webb before their recent league clash.
Both managers made positive remarks about World Cup final referee Webb ahead of the May 8th meeting of the title rivals at Old Trafford, contravening FA regulations which prohibit any comment – good or bad – about referees prior to games.
The FA yesterday warned Ferguson as to his future conduct before issuing an identical judgment on the Chelsea manager. Ferguson had said in the build-up to the match, which his side won 2-1: “We are getting the best referee, there is no doubt about that. But (getting a bad decision) is definitely our big fear. We have the players to do it all right. We just hope it’s our turn for a little bit of luck.”
Healy left out of North’s squad
NORTHERN IRELAND’S record goalscorer David Healy (31) has been omitted from Nigel Worthington’s squad for the Nations Cup games in Dublin later this month. The Rangers striker has started just two games for the Scottish champions since moving from Sunderland for more regular football in January.
He was left out of the squad that faced Morocco in a November friendly, but was recalled for February’s Nations Cup defeat to Scotland. He was suspended for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovenia in March.
Meanwhile, Worthington has called up three new faces – 17-year-old Josh Carson, Stuart Dallas (20), and Jordan Owens (21) – for the matches against the Republic of Ireland (May 24th) and Wales (May 27th). Conspicuous by his absence, however, is left-sided Newcastle player Shane Ferguson, who looks increasingly likely to become the latest Northerner to opt to play for the Republic.
Blatter says England have sour grapes
SEPP BLATTER, the Fifa president who appears increasingly sure he will secure a fourth term, has hit out at the British media for being “very critical” and accused the English 2018 bid team of sour grapes. After the Confederation of African Football became the fourth continent to urge its members to back Blatter, the 75-year-old said: “I can’t lose. I have confidence in myself and confidence also that the associations will choose me for another four years.”
“The British press have always been very critical regarding football and Fifa. Of course there is the fact that England didn’t get the World Cup. But perhaps you have to analyse why,” he said. “The English say: ‘If we’d been told that the World Cup was going towards new territories, we wouldn’t have bid.’ If they’d followed the policy of the Fifa president, they would have seen that the World Cup was in the process of circulating, in Asia (2002), South Africa (2010), Brazil (2014) . . .”
