Lifted …
The three-game suspension of Hamburg's EMILE MPENZA from the German Cup. The Belgian star was red carded in HSV's controversial 4-2 loss to Third Division Paderhorn in the first round of the German Cup last summer. Referee Robert Hoyzer has since acknowledged he had engineered the Paderhorn win as part of a match-fixing scheme with Croatian gamblers. Hamburg took a 2-0 lead before losing after Hoyzer sent off Mpenza and awarded Paderborn two controversial penalties. Hamburg will receive two million euros ($2.57 million) and be allowed to host an international friendly as compensation for the defeat.
Banned …
FRANCOIS CICCOLINI, coach of French club Bastia, for two games for racist remarks aimed at Paris St. Germain's Albanian midfielder, Lorik Cana. Ciccolini's remarks were caught on television because the game, played Feb. 26, took place behind closed doors, allowing television viewers to overhear comments usually covered by crowd noise.
Stripped …
Bolivian club THE STRONGEST's 2004 Clausura title after it was discovered Argentine goalkeeper Marcelo Robledo's claims of Bolivian parentage proved to be false. The La Paz team was deducted eight points, meaning runner-up Oriente Petrolero would be awarded the 2004 title.
Sentenced …
To 12 months and eight months, respectively, in a juvenile facility Manchester United youth players MADS TIMM and CALLUM FLANAGAN, who injured two people during a high-speed road race. Teammate Philip Marsh, a passenger in Flanagan's car, was also injured and had to be cut from the wreckage.
Fined …
LUIS ARAGONES by the Spanish soccer federation for racist comments about French star Thierry Henry. The 3,000 euro ($3,960) fine was the result of a drawn-out investigation into Aragones uttering the racist comment while talking to Henry's Arsenal teammate Jose Antonio Reyes, last October, during a training session, with a TV crew capturing the coach's outburst. The 66-year-old coach later dug himself into a deeper hole by referring to Reyes as "a gypsy" when attempting to justify his remark.