Today's other stories in brief
FAI delegation heads to Derry
FAI CHIEF executive John Delaney will lead a delegation from the association today to Derry City where a meeting with representatives of the club’s Supporters’ Trust will be top of the agenda.
League director Fran Gavin, and licensing department officials Padraig Smith and Richard Fahy will also travel north and the hope is that some progress can be made towards the establishment of a basis for City’s re-entry into the league.
Raul defends Pellegrini
REAL MADRID forward Raul has come out in defence of coach Manuel Pellegrini in the wake of the club’s embarrassing Copa del Rey exit at the hands of minnows Alcorcon on Tuesday.
Seeking to overturn their humiliating 4-0 first-leg loss against their third tier neighbours, Madrid could only manage a 1-0 victory in the return meeting at a full Bernabeu.
The fans were not slow to vent their anger, and Pellegrini also found himself under heavy fire for substituting the impressive Lassana Diarra midway through the second half.
But Raul believes the former Villarreal coach will turn things around. “Real Madrid has managed to pull through several complicated situations in its history,” Raul said.
“When things don’t go well there isn’t just one person in particular who’s to blame; it’s all of us.
“We still have faith in the coach and in his work.”
Bosingwa out for three months
CHELSEA will be without their first-choice right back Jose Bosingwa for three months after the club announced that the Portugal international has undergone surgery to his left knee.
The 27-year-old has not played for the club since the 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa last month, when he suffered the injury and was replaced.
The news is a further blow to the manager Carlo Ancelotti, who is likely to lose Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and Mikel John Obi in January for up to four weeks due to the African Cup of Nations which runs from January 10th to January 31st.
Given that Ancelotti will now be without at least five front-line players at the turn of the year, last week’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to suspend the club’s transfer embargo from Fifa over the Gael Kakuta affair during the January transfer window appears ever more crucial.
Ferguson to maintain stance on referees at hearing
ALEX FERGUSON’S attempt to show the FA he genuinely regrets accusing Alan Wiley of not being fit enough to referee high-profile matches will not prevent Manchester United’s manager questioning the physical condition of the Premier League’s match officials when he attends a disciplinary hearing in London today.
Ferguson is facing a charge of improper conduct after his criticisms of Wiley’s performance in United’s 2-2 draw against Sunderland on October 3rd, when he accused him of being “not fit”.
Ferguson hopes to receive only a fine and a suspended touchline ban.
He will try to persuade the independent four-man panel that his comments had not been meant as personal against Wiley and he will also argue that there are authentic reasons to be concerned about the physical condition of the Premier League’s referees.
Robinho sets up Barcelona meeting
ROBINHO, MANCHESTER City’s unsettled striker, has reiterated that he wants to leave the club and has instructed his father, Gilvan de Souza, to set up a meeting between officials from Eastlands and their counterparts from Barcelona.
Although the official line from City is that they have no intention of meeting the Catalan club or entertaining the idea of losing one of their better players, there are moves behind the scenes by Robinho’s camp to arrange talks.
Chris Nathaniel, the powerbroker who acts as one of Robinho’s advisers, is in Abu Dhabi, as is a delegation from Barcelona, who will watch City play the United Arab Emirates national team this evening.
Benayoun and Riera hamstrung
RAFAEL BENITEZ’S fears over the fitness of Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera have been confirmed after the Liverpool midfielders were diagnosed with torn hamstrings that could sideline them for a month.
The Liverpool manager immediately suspected hamstring tears after the duo limped out of Monday’s draw with Birmingham City.
Scans have confirmed Benitez’s worries and, although the club have refused to put a timeframe on their recovery, they are expected to be out for three to four weeks.
Benayoun and Riera will almost certainly miss the home game with Manchester City on November 21st plus the Champions League trip to Hungary to face Debrecen three days later.
