Today's other stories in brief
Givens names strong under-21 squad
DON GIVENS yesterday named what he reckons to be a good panel of 18 players for the friendly international against Spain in Waterford next week and the opening game of Ireland's 2011 European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign against Turkey on March 31st in Cork.
“It’s a strong squad and we have good players in every position,” says the manager. Indeed, the team has done well to secure draws against Portugal and Germany since beating Lithuania late last year but Spain may represent another step up for the Irish as they are likely to arrive with most of the team that qualified for this summer’s finals without dropping a single point.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SQUAD: Redmond (Eastwood Town), Henderson (Bristol City), Moloney (Nottingham Forest), Spillane (Luton Town), Nolan (Preston North End), Lowry (Aston Villa), Coleman (Everton), Gleeson (Wolves), McCarthy (Hamilton Academicals), Garvan (Ipswich Town), Liddle (Carlisle United), Judge (Plymouth Argyle), Meyler (Sunderland), O’Toole (Sheffield United), O’Shea (Galway United), Carey (Bohemians), Sheridan (Motherwell), Scannell (Crystal Palace).
BBC apology for 'rape' comment
THE BBC apologised yesterday after one of its football pundits compared a tackle by a Chelsea player to rape. Alan Pardew (above) was describing a challenge by midfielder Michael Essien during Match Of The Day.
Pardew said: “He’s a strong boy. He knocks him off – he absolutely rapes him.”
The BBC issued a statement yesterday which said: “Alan Pardew apologises unconditionally for any offence caused by remarks he made in the Match of the Day 2.”
Italy open to joint Euro 2016 bid
ITALY WOULD be willing to co-host Euro 2016 with fierce rivals France, the Italian soccer federation president said yesterday but the French poured cold water on the notion, saying they wanted to go it alone.
Uefa said last week that Italy, France and Turkey were considering single bids, with Norway and Sweden looking at co-hosting the championship, which will be the first to have 24 teams.
“We do not have a problem with a joint bid for Euro 2016. If it were France, it would be a friendly and neighbouring country. If it were not technically and politically possible, we would go ahead alone,” Giancarlo Abete said.
Meanwhile, England’s official bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals was delivered to Fifa yesterday. David Triesman, chairman of the FA and of the bid committee, said: “Today marks another step forward on our journey to bring the World Cup to England and our team are focused on delivering the best bid possible to Fifa.”
Kinnear expected back next month
NEWCASTLE UNITED manager Joe Kinnear remains on course to return to work next month as he continues his recovery from heart surgery.
There were suggestions at the weekend the 62-year-old had suffered a setback after undergoing a triple heart bypass in February.
However, Newcastle insisted Kinnear had only caught a chest cold and is still on course to be back in harness for either the Premier League trip to Stoke on April 11th or the visit to Tottenham a week later.
Caretaker manager Chris Hughton, who is in regular touch with the man who was appointed as interim boss in September last year, is expecting that to be the case. Hughton also said: “Joe is still in that period where his rehabilitation has gone very well. But he has had big surgery and there are days when he is better than other days.”
Newcastle have also dismissed claims Terry Venables could be drafted in amid fears Kinnear may not return before the end of the season.
Walcott gets Wenger seal of approval
THEO WALCOTT can cast the tag of teenage tearaway to one side at last. England’s brightest attacking talent turned 20 yesterday and will rip into Hull City in this evening’s FA Cup quarter-final, revived by a glowing assessment of his development over the last 12 months.
“Compared to one year ago, well, there is no comparison,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. “People sometimes have problems accepting that, at this age, every three months you improve. You can never predict just how much higher you will go, but there is certainly still a lot more to come from Theo.”
Walcott is expected to start and after a 120-minute epic against Roma in midweek and a 4-0 win over Blackburn on Saturday, Wenger is ready to rest Gael Clichy in favour of Kieran Gibbs, while Lukasz Fabianski will take Manuel Almunia’s place in goal after the latter injured his ankle against Blackburn.
West Ham and Sheffield end long-running Tevez saga
WEST HAM and Sheffield United yesterday vowed to build a “positive ongoing relationship” as they attempted to draw a line under the fractious Carlos Tevez affair with a settlement that could be worth up to €22 million to the Yorkshire club.
The out-of-court settlement was confirmed on the day that Lord Griffiths, whose criticism of West Ham’s conduct swung the pendulum in Sheffield United’s favour in their fight for compensation, was due to reconvene his independent tribunal. That will now be disbanded.
The agreement concludes a legal tussle that has been ongoing since Sheffield United were relegated in 2007 after Tevez’s goals helped keep West Ham up, despite the club having earlier been fined by the Premier League for breaking rules on third-party player ownership.
It is understood that West Ham have agreed to pay Sheffield United €16 million over five years, with an extra bond of €6 million payable in the event of the club being sold within a certain time period.
With West Ham’s owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson under pressure to sell the club as a result of the collapse of his businesses in Iceland, it is highly likely the clause will be invoked.
The club will hope that the removal of the uncertainty surrounding the club’s potential liability, together with a court ruling last week that protected Gudmundsson’s holding company Hansa from bankruptcy for another three months, will give the sale process fresh impetus.
