Other soccer stories in brief

Ferguson misquoted on Berbatov bid

MANCHESTER UNITED'S Scandinavian supporters club have admitted they misquoted Alex Ferguson in an interview published on their website in which the Premier League champions' manager was said to have confirmed a bid for the Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov.

The interview, published on the united.no website last Thursday but since taken down, had Ferguson quoted to the effect United had submitted an offer for the Bulgarian.

That prompted Tottenham to report United to the Premier League, which in turn led Ferguson to deny making the comments, which quickly reached the English media.

Ferguson claimed the outcome of the complaint would be "very embarrassing" for the London club "because they are basing their complaint on quotes from a newspaper that were never from me".

The supporters' club branch webmaster Steinar Madsen told Norwegian newspaper Aftonposten: "We are to blame in the sense how the interview was presented. Ferguson didn't mention the name Berbatov when he was interviewed by us."

O'Neill dismisses link with Zigic

ASTON VILLA manager Martin O'Neill has dismissed reports linking the Premier League club with Valencia striker Nikola Zigic.

The Derryman was reported to have made a €6.3 million offer for the forward but O'Neill insisted the reports were without foundation.

"There's not a grain of truth in the story that we've put in an offer for the player and I don't know where it is coming from," O'Neill told the club's official website.

"I don't even know who the player's agent is.

"I wouldn't normally comment but there have been so many stories claiming this as fact and people have been quoted.

"They're completely wide of the mark.

"So I felt I had to put the record straight."

Milan deny reports of a €150 million bid for Kaka

AC MILAN have denied receiving a €150 million offer from Chelsea or any other club for Kaka. The Brazilian playmaker is rumoured to be a top target of the London outfit but the Rossoneri are adamant they will not sell their star player.

"The offers for Kaka are only in the newspapers and they make up stories," club vice-president Adriano Galliani said. "Today there are talks of a €150 million offer and tomorrow it will be 200.

"Nothing is true. Neither from Chelsea nor from any other club have we received that kind of offer."

Galliani admitted holding talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich earlier this summer and inquiring about the possibility of bringing Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko back to the San Siro.

"It is true that I was on Abramovich's boat," said Galliani. "It's true that he has had me as his guest and that I asked him for Shevchenko and he asked me for Kaka. But it finished nil-nil as we told him no for Ricky (Kaka) and they said no for Andriy."

 Kaunas book date with Rangers

FBK KAUNAS booked a Champions League qualifying tie with Rangers by seeing off the challenge of the Andorran side Santa Coloma yesterday.

Kaunas won the second leg 3-1 in Lithuania to complete a 7-2 aggregate victory, thanks to goals from Irman Zelmikas and Linas Pilibatis, who scored twice.

Rangers will have home advantage in the first leg against Kaunas on July 30th, the return leg taking place six days later.

The winners of the tie will go into the Champions League third qualifying round, one step away from the group stages.

Crime gang bid for Lazio

A ITALIAN organised crime gang tried to buy Lazio through third parties using funds gained from violence and intimidation, authorities said yesterday.

The plan by the Casalesi clan of the Camorra, the Naples version of the Mafia, came to light as police in Rome served arrest warrants to 10 people including former Lazio player and president Giorgio Chinaglia.

In 2006 Lazio president Claudio Lotito was given police protection after receiving threats from "ultra" fans allegedly trying to intimidate him into selling to a consortium led by Chinaglia.

Chinaglia was charged with market-rigging linked to his bid and had since been a fugitive in the USA. Allegations that the Mafia were behind his bid have only been revealed.

Chinaglia said he represented the Hungarian pharmaceuticals group Richter Gedeon. The company denied any interest.