A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Fifa to widen bribery investigation
THREE Fifa executive committee members and up to 15 Caribbean associations could face a new investigation over the bribery scandal that saw Mohamed Bin Hammam banned for life.
Judge Petrus Damaseb, the deputy-chairman of Fifa's ethics commission, has asked secretary general Jerome Valcke to consider a new probe into some of those that attended the meeting in Trinidad on May 10 and 11 where the cash gifts were said to have been paid.
The three Fifa members who accompanied Bin Hammam on his private jet were Manilal Fernando from Sri Lanka, Worawi Makudi from Thailand and Egypt's Hany Abo Rida.
All three have told investigators they did not see cash gifts being offered. Of the 24 associations from the Caribbean Football Union at the meeting, where Bin Hammam was speaking about his campaign to be Fifa president, nine told investigators they were given or offered cash gifts of $40,000 each.
Angry McCoist demanding an apology from the BBC
ALLY McCoist has refused any interviews with the BBC, with the Rangers manager adamant he will not cooperate with the broadcaster until he receives an apology for a news item aired on Friday.
At his pre-match press conference for Saturday's match against Hearts, McCoist was questioned by a BBC news reporter about sectarianism and violence surrounding Old Firm fixtures. The 48-year-old insisted he has no qualms about discussing such topics but believed the way the BBC television package was edited portrayed him in an unfair light.
"I won't speak to anyone from the BBC until I get an apology for a broadcast which went out on Friday night which, in my opinion, was appalling," McCoist said.
"Having worked in television for a good number of years, I know exactly what went on."
Before and after the Hearts game, McCoist's first competitive match in charge, the Rangers manager refused to be interviewed by anyone from BBC 5 Live or BBC Scotland. The package which angered him so much was produced in Scotland for BBC television's network news.
"The whole thing was put together to show I had a flippant attitude towards either religious bigotry or trouble between Old Firm fans. As most people know I don't have a flippant attitude towards those subjects. There was a comment [ on air]: 'Well, it might not bother Ally McCoist,' but it does bother Ally McCoist."
Turkish season disrupted by inquiry
THE start of the Turkish season has been delayed a month until September 9th because of the investigation into match-fixing allegations involving some of the country's top clubs, Turkey's football federation announced yesterday.
A Turkish court has already jailed pending trial 31 people, including the chairman of champions Fenerbahce and the coach and deputy chairman of Besiktas on charges of match fixing. The scandal has plunged the start of the new season, due to start on August 5th, into chaos.
Media reports have said the Turkish Cup final between Besiktas and IBB (Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor) is one of 19 games highlighted in the police investigation. Besiktas won 4-3 on penalties. Another match under scrutiny was Fenerbahce's 4-3 win over Sivasspor which clinched the title on the final day of the season.
Wenger close to selling Eboue
ARSENE Wenger is close to raising €5.7 million through the sales of Emmanuel Eboue to Galatasaray and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to Ipswich Town as he enters what may be the defining week in the Cesc Fabregas saga. The manager has identified the areas of his squad that need refreshing and Eboue is set to depart for €4.5 million.
Wenger appeared to lose patience with the Ivorian towards the end of last season after he conceded a last-gasp penalty at home to Liverpool.
Eboue did not travel on the tour of east Asia, with Wenger citing a calf injury as the reason. But he was also left at home when they went to Germany last Friday to enable him to finalise his transfer. Wenger will move Emmanuel-Thomas, the 20-year-old reserve-team attacking talent, to Ipswich for €1.2 million and he also hopes to sell Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia before the end of next month.
