Literary review

FA finds Man Utd's Keane guilty over autobiography

BOLTON, England (AP) -- Manchester United captain Roy Keane was banned for five games and fined a record 150,000 pounds (US$234,000) on Tuesday after he was found guilty of two charges of bringing the game into disrepute over a vicious tackle in a Premier League game two seasons ago.

The Irish midfielder was summoned to a Football Association hearing at Bolton's Reebok Stadium for saying in his autobiography that he deliberately set out to injure Manchester City's Alfie Inge Haaland.

The FA disciplinary hearing decided that the tackle had been "improperly motivated" and found him guilty of both charges. The three-man committee then imposed the suspension and fine but Keane has the right of appeal against its ruling and must serve notice within the next 14 days.

The ban starts Nov. 4 and that would mean he misses the League Cup match against division one Leicester City and the Premier League games against Manchester City, West Ham, Newcastle and Liverpool. He will return for the match against defending champion Arsenal.

The fine works out as two weeks wages for Keane and is a record handed out by the FA against a player.

Neither Keane nor Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson commented after the hearing but club lawyer and director Maurice Watkins read a statement.

"Clearly after the arguments that have been put forward in Roy's defense we are disappointed with the verdict," he said.

"After such a long day, now is not the time to make quick decisions so we will be reviewing the question of appeal over the next few days."

The danger of an appeal is that the punishment could be reviewed, lengthened and served later in the season which would mean he probably would miss the Arsenal game. Serving it now would mean it would coincide with his recovery from a hip operation and be fit to face the Gunners.

Keane, 31, contended his comments were embellished by his ghostwriter.

The charges stemmed from Keane's two-footed, knee-high challenge on Haaland on April 21, 2001. Haaland hasn't started a match since then.

In the autobiography, ghostwritten by Irish journalist Eamon Dunphy, Keane states that he wanted to get back at Haaland for accusing him of feigning an injury three years earlier.

"I'd waited almost 180 minutes for Alfie, three years if you looked at it another way," he says in the book. "I'd waited long enough. I hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that."

Keane, who received a red card for the tackle, was charged by the FA with making an "improperly motivated" tackle on Haaland and then earning money from it through his book.

But Keane's lawyers claimed his comments in the book were paraphrased by Dunphy, who appeared as a witness at Tuesday's hearing.

Keane sent a series of audio tapes to the FA in advance to prove the issue was embellished by Dunphy's "artistic license", The Times newspaper reported.

"We don't see how Roy has brought the game into disrepute," Keane's lawyer, Michael Kennedy, said before the hearing. "This issue concerns the Human Rights Act and the belief in the freedom of speech."

Keane, who has a long history of red cards and suspensions and also walked out on the Ireland World Cup team in the summer after a dispute with coach Mick McCarthy, is currently sidelined while recovering from a Sept. 3 hip operation.

Lawyer unsure if Ferguson will sue

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -- The lawyer representing Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told Reuters on Tuesday that he was unsure whether his client would sue for defamation following an alleged claim of indecent assault in Cape Town on Friday.

Nadia Abrahams, a 21-year-old computer technician, laid a complaint of indecent assault against Ferguson after she had given him a lift back to his hotel in the early hours of Friday morning.

Director of Public Prosecutions Frank Kahn, who reviewed the evidence to decide whether a charge would be brought against Ferguson, dismissed the claim Sunday, calling it "ridiculous".

"Sir Alex hasn't made any decision on suing the complainants," lawyer Alex Abercrombie said.

"He doesn't have a view on the matter yet. If he was to take legal action it would be a civil case, he would not pursue a criminal case.

"I have no doubt that he would win the case but there are other factors involved when going into litigation.

"He would have to look at his options and decide whether it was worth the inconvenience of flying to South Africa to attend a trial, the publicity that it would attract and whether he would recoup the money?"

Ferguson was in South Africa to assess setting up a link-up between Manchester United and a South African Football Academy team. He returned to England on Monday.

Giggs proud to be Welsh

LONDON (AP) -- If Ryan Giggs had chosen to play for England instead of Wales, maybe he would have won something. Maybe so would England.

A former England player as a schoolboy, Giggs opted instead to play for his home country of Wales. He's never played in a major championship, while England hasn't won any major titles.

Maybe Giggs, who lines up for Wales against Italy in a Euro 2004 qualifying game Wednesday in Cardiff, is England's missing link.

The Welshman became a Manchester United star at age 18, two seasons after England had reached the 1990 World Cup semifinals.

If Giggs had stayed with the English, who were searching for a star winger, England might have been able to build on that Italia 90 performance and Giggs would have a collection of international winners medals.

Instead, the English flopped at the 1992 European Championships and failed even to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. They reached the semifinals of Euro '96 on home soil where Giggs surely would have made a big difference.

After disappointing exits at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, England reached the quarterfinals of this summer's World Cup before losing 2-1 to Brazil. Facing a team down to 10 men for most of the second half, Sven-Goran Eriksson's team simply ran out of ideas.

Giggs, meanwhile, was back home kicking his heels.

The Manchester United star, now age 28, reacted angrily to suggestions that he should have opted for England.

"It still bugs me when people ask if I'd wished I'd played for England," said Giggs, who has a strong Manchester accent. "It's the question that's bugged me more than any other over the last 10 years. I'm Welsh. End of story.

"I was born in Wales, my parents are Welsh and my grandparents are Welsh. The mixup came from the fact that I played for England schoolboys. That's what confuses people. I only did that because I went to an English school.

"The fact is that I would rather go through my career without qualifying for a major championship than play for a country in which I wasn't born and had nothing to do with my parents. That would be just stupid."

By a strange twist, Giggs has never played against England and, despite being the best Welsh player for a decade, has made only 37 appearances for the red dragons.

That's because, to the annoyance of Welsh fans, he is frequently pulled out of friendlies by his club. Almost all his appearances have been in qualifying games for the World Cup and European Championship and Wales has failed to reach the finals of either while he has been playing.

The Welsh go into Wednesday's game against Italy on a six-game unbeaten streak, which includes a 1-0 victory over Germany and a 1-1 tie with Argentina and are confident of beating an Italian team in turmoil with just two wins in nine matches.

"For me to qualify for a major finals would be massive because I've never done it and because the country's never done it since 1958," Giggs said.

"I've been fortunate enough to win so much at United but this is one of the goals I've yet to achieve. I'm like any other player. I want to play in the World Cup. I want to play in the European Championship. I want to play against the best players in the world."

Barnsley sack manager Steve Parkin

BARNSLEY, England (AP) -- Second division Barnsley -- which played in the Premier League four years ago -- sacked manager Steve Parkin on Tuesday.

Parkin is the second manager in division two to be sacked this season -- Tranmere's Dave Watson was fired on Aug. 1.

So far this season, eight other managers have been fired -- Sunderland's Peter Reid in the Premier League, two in the first division and four in the third division.

Parkin took over at Barnsley from Nigel Spackman last November, but the club was relegated from the first to the second division last season.

Barnsley was automatically promoted to the Premier League in 1997 after finishing second in the first division, but was relegated the following year.

The Tykes, who are in financial administration, the last step before bankruptcy, have won only four of their opening 13 games this season and are 17th in the 24-team league. The club lost 4-1 to Bristol City on Saturday.

"The action which has been taken today is believed to be in the best interests of the club," Barnsley said in a statement. "Glyn Hodges, the club's reserve team coach, will have responsibility for playing matters at the club with immediate effect."

Leicester to negotiate with PFA on player wages

LONDON (Reuters) -- Leicester City is to meet the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) on Wednesday to discuss cost-cutting measures which it says are essential for the first division club to avoid going into administration.

Leicester, which was relegated from the Premier League last season, approached their squad last week over a reduction in wages of up to 20 percent as a way of resolving their financial crisis.

"The company is due to meet with the PFA tomorrow (Wednesday) to further discuss cost-saving proposals which the company's directors believe are essential in order to avoid the company and the club being placed in administration," Leicester said in a statement to the stock exchange Tuesday.

The club, second in the first division and aiming for a swift return to England's top flight, have been hit by the rapid fall in media income which accompanies demotion while still paying players Premier League wages.

Leicester has also been hurt by the collapse of pay-TV firm ITV Digital earlier this year, which left many lower league clubs struggling to cope with a substantial shortfall in their income.

The combination of events could not have been worse for Leicester which has just opened a new stadium costing 35 million pounds (US$54.31 million), for which it took out a 28 million pound loan repayable over 25 years.

Further funds

Leicester, which suspended its shares last week, says it remains in negotations with its creditors over a financial restructuring, while looking to raise further funds from shareholders.

"The company is at an advanced stage of negotiations with its main creditors and is hopeful of reaching agreement in the near future," the club said.

"Were all of the above negotiations to be successfully concluded the company would also need to raise further funds by way of an issue of new equity to both existing and new shareholders.

"The company has received conditional support for an element of the required funding and will continue to seek further support for the issue," the club said.

Leicester's share price has fallen to as little as seven pence since the club first made public its financial difficulties earlier this year, valuing the club at just three million pounds.

A year ago the shares were worth 46p each.

Leicester is not alone in their plight. Coventry City, another first division club relegated from the Premier League in 2001, has asked their players to accept a 12 percent salary cut over the next two years.

This would be repaid should Coventry's financial position improve.

Bradford City, demoted from the top flight the same year, was just two months ago facing the prospect of liquidation.

The Yorkshire side went into administration in May after struggling to pay the wages of players such as Italian Benito Carbone, who was earning around 40,000 pounds (US$62,070) a week.

But just before the new season began in August, the club's immediate future was secured after creditors accepted a rescue package.

Pires' Arsenal return closer

LONDON (AP) -- Robert Pires moved a step closer to returning to the Arsenal lineup after playing the full 90 minutes of a friendly game on Tuesday and scoring a goal in a 5-1 victory.

The French international midfielder, who hasn't played since suffering severe cruciate knee ligament damage against Newcastle in March, said he was delighted to have come through the game against Queens Park Rangers without feeling any effects of the injury.

"Six months is a long time to be out so this is a very happy day for me," said Pires, who also was forced to miss the World Cup.

"Physically I feel very good. I'm not tired, obviously it will take a while for the technical side of my game to come back."

Stoke delays search pending compensation

STOKE, England (AP) -- Still lamenting the loss of manager Steve Cotterill to Sunderland, division one Stoke City owners say they can't look for a replacement until they get compensation.

Cotterill left the Britannia Stadium last week to team up with former England coach Howard Wilkinson at Sunderland. He was just four months into a new 3-year contract.

Stoke chairman Gunnar Gislason said it was impossible to line up a successor until the club knew how much it would receive in compensation.

"Sunderland say they are not able to commence talks until Thursday and that was not what I wanted to hear," he said. "I am very disappointed.

"I wanted to begin these talks at the start of the week in order to get things moving.

"By not being able to talk until Thursday we feel we are being held hostage because, until we know when and how much compensation Sunderland are going to be paying, we don't know how strong our position is with regard to what we can offer a new manager," Gislason said.

"We feel that once again Premiership muscle has been used against a First Division club and we are left to count the cost.

"Sunderland have got what they want and are now in a position of strength, whereas we are left to pick up the pieces and rebuild," the Stoke chairman said. "We want them to recognize this and cooperate with us in striving to bring this situation to a swift conclusion."

Rangers' Muscat cleared of elbowing

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Australian international Kevin Muscat has been cleared of elbowing Juanjo Camacho during Glasgow Rangers' game at Livingston last month.

Muscat appeared before the Scottish Football Association's disciplinary committee on Tuesday after the SFA's new review panel watched TV footage of the incident and decided he had a case to answer. He wasn't punished with yellow or red card by the referee.

After watching the tape and hearing evidence, the disciplinary committee issued a statement clearing the player.

"The committee viewed the evidence involving the player and, after consideration of this matter, no action will be taken," the statement read.

Thome returns for Sunderland

SUNDERLAND, England (AP) -- Brazilian defender Emerson Thome and Welsh international Jon Oster are ready to return to action for struggling Sunderland after long injury layoffs going back to January.

Sidelined for nine months, Thome needed two knee operations while Oster has been out of action since February after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage.

Both were due to make their comebacks in a reserves game on Tuesday while another international player, Sweden's Stefan Schwarz, was expected to make his first appearance of the season.

If all three come through the game, then Sunderland will have a much stronger squad when new manager Howard Wilkinson takes charge for his first game against West Ham on Saturday.

"As far as I am concerned, we will start off with a clean sheet of paper," said former Leeds United manager Wilkinson, who quit as the Football Association's director of football to take the Sunderland job.

"It is not until you start working with players that you begin to get to know them as intimately as you need to.

"But it's a fact of life. If you've got somebody who you think you no longer has a contribution to make and you can get a fair return, then you have to consider letting them go.

"I haven't been told I have to sell players, but it comes with the territory. Having said that, it's not as easy thing to do because there is no money out there," said Wilkinson, who replaced the sacked Peter Reid.

"The squeeze is hitting everyone, people thought it was just the Football League, but it's creeping up and affecting Premiership clubs."

Cheyrou chose Liverpool to become more aggressive

PARIS (Reuters) -- Liverpool midfielder Bruno Cheyrou said he left France for England this season in order to become a more aggressive player.

"I left to improve my ability to be involved and aggressive in the good sense of the word," he told sports daily l'Equipe's Web site.

"To achieve this, the Premier League is ideal, totally different from the French first division.

"Referees let the game develop more. In France, we have a tendency to fall easily and the referees whistle more quickly," he said.

Cheyrou has struggled to find a regular place in Liverpool's squad but he said he is fast improving.

"The lack of commitment is something [Liverpool manager] Gerard Houllier criticized me for, but I got the message," he said.

"It's something Vahid Halilhodzic was also reproaching me for when I was at Lille. I'm working hard to improve in that respect," he said.

Cheyrou said Houllier had signed him from Lille this season in order to steady his midfield.

"Last year, Liverpool were blamed for playing a too straightforward, too British style of play by kicking long balls towards [Emile] Heskey, who would pass to [Michael] Owen, who would score.

"By recruiting players like myself or El Hadji Diouf, Houllier wanted to bring more fluidity, to improve the construction of the game," he said.

Cheyrou, who was selected by French manager Jacques Santini for the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Slovenia and Malta, said he was not yet a first choice player for Liverpool.

"We play so many matches that you can't say you're first choice," he said.

"You have to earn your place in a team like Liverpool. Even Owen or Gerrard will be on the bench during the season."

 

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Reuters contributed to this report.