A round-up of today's soccer news in brief
Celtic release Hartley and Vennegoor of Hesselink
TONY MOWBRAY has begun moves to put his own stamp on Celtic by releasing Paul Hartley and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink as he awaits an answer from Marc-Antoine Fortune.
Hartley (32) and 30-year-old Vennegoor of Hesselink have both been told to seek alternative employment following the expiry of their contracts. The Dutchman may be quickly replaced up front by Nancy striker Fortune, who is mulling over offers from Celtic, Hull, Portsmouth and Fulham.
Mowbray hopes his personal relationship with the €4.45 million- rated forward, who he took on loan to West Brom in January, will help sway him towards Celtic.
Hartley and Vennegoor of Hesselink will have to pursue their options after the end of their Celtic careers were confirmed. Hartley has an offer from Iraklis Saloniki while he has been linked with Hearts, Ipswich and Sheffield United, while the Dutch striker has been linked with a return to his homeland or a move to Greece or Croatia.
Burnley keep eye on McCarthy
HAMILTON HAVE confirmed Burnley’s interest in Republic of Ireland under-21 midfielder James McCarthy.
Manager Billy Reid rebuffed an inquiry from Burnley boss Owen Coyle about the 18-year-old, but the Premier League newcomers may test his resolve with an improved offer.
McCarthy is rated at around €900,000 to €1.2 million and has previously attracted interest from Celtic and Premier league side, Portsmouth.
“I don’t deny Burnley have made inquiries about James,” said Reid, “but it’s not right for us at the minute.
“We know how important an asset he is to us.
“There has always been interest in James, it’s the nature of the game, and we keep him informed at all times.
“I expect to see him at the start of pre-season training next week.”
REFEREES HAVE been given the power to halt and even abandon matches in European competitions if there is racist chanting by fans, under new guidelines announced by Uefa yesterday.
Match officials will use a three-step system to deal with racist behaviour in stadiums in all European competitions. The first step will be to stop the match and issue a demand over the public address system for the racist behaviour to stop, and secondly – if it does not stop – to take the teams off the pitch for five to 10 minutes.
If racist chanting continues after that, then the Uefa delegate and referee will have the power to abandon the match.
It was also confirmed that an experiment with two additional assistant referees, one behind each goal-line, would take place in this season’s Europa League group stage.
MICHEL PLATINI has reiterated his concern over the amounts of money changing hands in the transfer market this summer.
Real Madrid’s agreement with Lyon for Karin Benzema takes their close-season spending spree over the €200 million mark following the acquisitions of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul Albiol.
The Frenchman told L’Equipe: “Ronaldo’s transfer stood out for me, but if Real have guarantees from the banks . . . On a personal note, I don’t understand how anyone can spend €90 million on a player. I’m embarrassed.
“But I remember the Maradona transfer from Barcelona to Napoli (in 1984). This would be the equivalent of €6.5 million and I found that vulgar. I think there is something wrong there.
“I don’t like that, and even less given the fact that today players sign contracts only to then go and break them. But, as I said, if clubs have the money, what can I do?”
The Scottish Premier League is seriously considering a combined broadcasting tender from Sky and ESPN as it seeks to fill the void created by Setanta’s collapse before the new season begins.
Sky was installed as the favourite to replace Setanta as the SPL’s main broadcaster after the latter company’s demise last month. ESPN swiftly emerged as the only legitimate competition as it seeks to create a European rights portfolio – and fill air space – but it now seems the pair could combine to launch a five-year package which would match Setantas 60 live games per season. Although any such contract would not equal the €36 million per season which Setanta had been due to pay the SPL for four years from 2011, it is understood the five-year contract could be worth as much as €117 million. That would give the league more than the €14 million it was due for next season under the Setanta deal but less than expected in the four seasons after.
