Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Middlesbrough's Egyptian striker Mido has slammed the English Football Association after suffering Islamophobic chanting from Newcastle fans during the weekend's 0-0 draw. He said the same thing happened last season, and the FA's refusal to act caused its recurrence. "It happened again because after the first time the English FA did nothing," he told Egyptian […]

"Bayern's only winter signing will be Landon Donovan. We have him on loan until March 15, and we'll take the time to review that. We have a well-rounded, harmonious squad in which I see no great need for changes." Bayern Munich Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge lays out his club's plans for the January transfer window.   […]

"The difference between now and when the likes of Pele, Bobby Moore and George Best came over, is night and day. It was almost like a circus then, with players at the end of their careers, but everything is geared to the future now." Former Everton midfielder Adrian Heath looks forward to his first season […]

"My knee feels a lot better, but the doctors tell me we have to make sure with an MRI or possibly an exploratory scope to see what's going on inside the knee to be 100 percent sure." U.S national team and AGF Aarhus midfielder Benny Feilhaber hopes to resume training soon after missing most of […]

"It is a testament to the new harmony in European soccer, and the willingness of associations and clubs to cooperate for the good of the game, that we are able to deliver to the clubs a tangible benefit for their contribution to UEFA Euro 2008." UEFA President Michel Platini announces that UEFA will pay $55 […]

"We will give away 120,000 tickets to South Africans for the first round of the World Cup. This will include 40,000 tickets to the workers at the various World Cup stadiums." FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke announces a handout from world soccer's governing body.    

Officially, the death toll inside Argentine soccer stadiums over the years numbers 185, writes Joel Richards. According to the organization Salvemos al fútbol (Let’s Save Football) there have been 232 deaths. “The official statistics only include incidents that take place inside grounds,” said Mónica Nizzardo, a lawyer who works with the group. “They ignore victims […]

Former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane resigned Thursday as Sunderland manager, and the club “reluctantly” accepted his decision. Keane had been in talks with club chairman Niall Quinn and the rest of the board over the past couple of days, resulting in his departure. Quinn said in a statement that Keane […]

The global recession could be causing the Vancouver Whitecaps and five other ownership groups bidding for two Major League Soccer franchises to re-consider the $40 million franchise fee that MLS is demanding, writes Bruce Constantineau. He quotes a Sports Business Journal report this week as saying that the Vancouver group won't fully commit to the […]

The departure of Deputy MLS Commissioner Ivan Gazidis will leave a huge gap in the organization, writes Andrea Canales. Gazidis, unlike many of the league's functionaries, is an out-and-out soccer man who can crunch numbers but also knows the game and the league inside out. While Commissioner Don Garber was a good appointment for the […]

RB New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio plans to coach the team next season, writes Frank Giase, and is already working on the shape of his 2009 roster. Reaching MLS Cup last month is allowing him no room for complacency. "When you achieve something good, you cannot just rest on your laurels and think the […]

One of the emerging stars of the U.S. women's team at the U-20 World Cup in Chile is Alex Morgan, 19, who has scored three goals so far to help her country into Thursday's semifinal against Germany. "Whenever the USA goal-getter takes possession, Chile's stadiums erupt with anticipation," according to the world governing body's official […]

The Bulgarian FA (BFU) announced Tuesday it has fired national team coach Plamen Markov, 51, after a poor start to the country’s World Cup qualifying campaign. Markov had taken the team over in January. "Plamen Markov was dismissed unanimously," BFU President Borislav Mihailov told journalists. He did not announce a successor, but said that the […]

The agent of Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, 27, has told Spanish radio that Manchester City, owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, has made a $189 million bid for the player, offering him an annual salary of $16.4 million.  

"The inquiries from other clubs make me a little proud, but next season I’m definitely staying at Hoffenheim." Former St. Louis striking sensation Vedad Ibisevic, 24, who has scored 17 goals in 15 games for Bundesliga leader TSG Hoffenheim this season, pledges his immediate future to the team. The interest has reportedly come from Arsenal, […]

“Premier League officials have signed up to a voluntary investigation into debt levels among England’s top 20 clubs in an attempt to head off threats of regulation by Europe,” writes Kevin Eason. The new 27-member Association of Professional Football Leagues will examine the “financial governenace” of its member leagues and look to propose a voluntary […]

The Scottish FA has confirmed that it has held “tentative” talks with its Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts over launching a bid to host the 2016 European Championship, the first year that the tournament will be expanded from the present 16 to 24 countries.

"You do need time to build things. That's what annoys me because people do try to tear up clubs and managers early in their careers." Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Ince, whose job is reportedly under threat after nine winless games, talks about how Manchester United's patience with Alex Ferguson resulted in long term success.  

"In the past, it's always come down to two teams, but I don't think that'll be the case this season — I expect the 'big four' to take it right to the wire." Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson predicts an exciting finish to the Premier League.    

“[Wayne] Rooney knocked in a corner, I jumped and that was when I heard a shout from [City defender Micah] Richards and simultaneously the sound of a whistle. At that moment I was convinced that the referee had whistled for a foul. I stopped trying to head the ball and score a goal, and I […]

"In principle he has violated two rules. One which concerns affecting the progress of the match and another which concerns inciting disorder. We have to verify the motive and the gestures." Argentine Public Prosecutor Luis Cevasco is studying the goal celebration of Boca Juniors' Juan Roman Riquelme, who after scoring the winning goal against Racing […]

"When will Premier League football clubs learn to stop taking the loyalty of their fans for granted?" Don Foster, the Culture, Media and Sports spokesman for the UK's Liberal Democrat Party, complains that soccer clubs over-charge for beer in stadiums compared with pub prices.  

Tottenham Hotspur is lining up a bid to sign Reading's U.S. goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, reports James Nursey. "[Tottenham manager Harry] Redknapp's scouts have contacted agents for Hahnemann about a bargain switch," he writes. Tottenham's Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, signed from PSV Eindhoven in June for $11.7 million, has been in erratic form all season, and […]

Passing the home of the Philadelphia Eagles, Lincoln Financial Field, on the way to Monday's groundbreaking ceremony for a new soccer stadium in Chester, Pa., Karen Heller mused upon the fact that the stadium had been built "on so much promise and public financing," but is "a place where most fans can't score an Eagles […]

There was an unfamiliar Italian name on the roster when the U.S. Under-20 team held a Spanish training camp a few weeks back, writes John Mantia. Giuseppe Nazzani, it turns out, is an 18-year-old prospect at Serie A club Bologna. He doesn't speak English, but thanks to his mother he qualifies for a U.S. passport. […]