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French roundup Tapie says Marseille on the brink of implosion
PARIS (Reuters) -- Infighting at Olympique Marseille is slowly destroying the French first division club, sports director Bernard Tapie was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "In Marseille, the floor is littered with banana skins. Sometimes, I have the feeling that some people are trying to tear everything down," Tapie told the daily Le Parisien. The former soccer tycoon and politician, who was jailed for match-fixing after his last spell at the club in the 1990s, did not name his opponents. But Tapie has been publicly at odds with financial director Pierre Dubiton ever since club chairman Pierre Louis-Dreyfus asked him to return last season. The feud reached its height during the transfer campaign as Dubiton refused to pay for some of the recruits Tapie had approached. Marseille managed to stay up last season but are already struggling in the current campaign and lie third from bottom without a win in their first five matches. "Dreyfus has all the means to solve Marseille's problems," Tapie said. "Either he does what he has to do and appoints reliable people and OM will survive, or doesn't and OM will deteriorate to the point of implosion." Financial deal will allow PSG to compete in UEFA CupPARIS -- French television group Canal Plus officially reduced their majority stake in Swiss club Servette to allow Paris St Germain to compete in the UEFA Cup, the French first division club announced on Tuesday. Canal Plus have a stake in both sides and UEFA rules state that two clubs under the same ownership cannot take part in the same competition. "The recomposition of Servette's capital will allow us to play in the UEFA Cup," PSG Chairman Laurent Perpere said on the club's official Web site. Under terms of the deal sealed on Tuesday by a Servette's shareholders meeting, Canal Plus, a unit of Vivendi Universal, sold 30 percent of their 51 percent holding in Servette to French businessman Michel Coencas. No more details were immediately available. PSG qualified for the UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup after Servette Geneve had qualified directly at the end of last season. Monaco put Panucci on transfer listMONACO -- Monaco coach Didier Deschamps has put Italian defender Christian Panucci on the transfer list. "Christian Panucci has been placed on the transfer list and he will not train with the Monaco squad. I am in charge of the team and have no further comment on my decision," Deschamps told reporters on Tuesday. Newspapers have reported problems within the Monaco camp as the side slumped to 17th in the 18-strong league with just two points from five games. Panucci arrived in the principality in January and signed a five-year contract in May.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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