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International Roundup League chiefs call for uniform transfer windowPosted: Tuesday May 27, 2003 1:21 PMUpdated: Tuesday May 27, 2003 7:55 PM GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- The heads of Europe's top 14 soccer leagues on Tuesday called for a uniform transfer window. The Association of European Leagues, which met at Glasgow's Hampden Park, said it would ask European governing body UEFA to simplify the transfer window. "The issue is to have a common date for the expiry of the transfer window," said Lex Gold, chairman of the Scottish Premier League who conducted the meeting. "Technically this is an inside thing, but for example, at the moment the Italian league have an expiry date of Aug. 30 while the English one is Aug. 31, so it's a question of looking to see whether we as a group would be looking to unify the transfer windows."
The AEL meets every three months to discuss changes in European soccer. "The significance of this is that it enables all the major leagues of Europe to come together and discuss issues of common interest and forge a common line," Gold said. "UEFA are sufficiently interested in this that they send a representative, so that they know what's happening -- and the more of that we can get the better." Representatives from Germany, England, France, Italy and Spain were at the meeting. Ramat Gan stuns Beer Sheva to win Israeli CupTEL AVIV (Reuters) -- Second Division side Hapoel Ramat Gan caused a major upset to win the Israeli State Cup by beating premier league side Hapoel Beer Sheva in a penalty shootout on Tuesday. Ramat Gan, who have not won a trophy since winning the Israeli league in 1964, became the first side from a lower division to lift the coveted cup since its inception in 1928. They will be one of Israel's representatives in next season's UEFA Cup. "Once we made it to the final I really believed that we could do it," said Ramat Gan coach Eli Cohen. "After the first 30 minutes we were clearly the better side on the day," he added. "Europe here we come, we'll welcome any opponents," said goalscorer Ophir Halawani. The teams ended the match level at 1-1 after extra time. Ramat Gan took the lead in the 55th minute against the run of play when Ophir Halawani slotted the ball past goalkeeper Assi Rahamim. They were just four minutes away from a stunning upset in 90 minutes when Ophir Haim put Beer Sheva back on level terms. In the penalty shootout only Beer Sheva's Rami Eliahu missed his spot kick as Ramat Gan's tired and relatively inexperienced players all put their shots away clinically. "We are deeply disappointed. We have let down tens of thousands of people, many were here and many more were awaiting our return with the cup in Beer Sheva," said losing coach Michael Kadosh. A tearful Ophir Haim, the scorer of Beer Sheva's equalizer, said: "What losers we are, I promised my wife we would bring the cup home but I let them all down, I don't know how I'll be able to go back home." The victory stunned the vast majority of the fans who travelled some 100 kilometres from the southern desert city of Beer Sheva. When Ramat Gan captain Tomer Kaduri lifted the trophy the cheers of the 5,000 ecstatic supporters were barely audible in the half-full 45,000-seat arena. Cementarnica 55 Skopje lifts first Macedonian CupSKOPJE (Reuters) -- Cementarnica 55 Skopje lifted the Macedonian Cup for first time on Tuesday after they beat Sloga Jugomagnat Skopje in a penalty shootout in heavy rain, which delayed the match by 30 minutes. The teams ended the match level at 4-4 after extra time on a waterlogged pitch and Cementarnica won 3-2 in a penalty shootout. Sloga Jugomagnat went ahead with an early goal through Lubisha Savic from close range in the third minute, but Cementarnica fought back and Nigerian Cinedu Blesaig levelled in the 32nd minute. Striker Zanko Savov grabbed Cementarnica's second five minutes before the interval and the third scoring from the penalty spot four minutes later after Vadair Dossantos was fouled. Dossantos scored the fourth goal for last year's runners-up in the 68th minute. Striker Arden Nuhiji returned Sloga Jugomagnat hopes for winning the trophy after he struck home twice from 25-metre free kicks in the last minute of the first half and seven minutes after the break, and Cementarnica defender Dragi Stepanovski helped them level with an own goal nine minutes from time. In the penalty shootout only Cementarnica Dejan Dimitrovski missed his spot kick and goalkeeper Ljubcho Kmetovski saved three spot kicks from Sloga Jugomagnat players. Before the match there were clashes between local police and fans, as they were trying to take seats under the roof of stadium's central stands. One policeman and several fans were injured. Euro 2004 stadiums behind scheduleLISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Construction work on three stadiums for next year's European soccer championship is running up to 10 weeks behind schedule, a senior official said Tuesday. However, the stadiums' developers have pledged to speed up the building work and the tournament is not threatened, sports minister Jose Luis Arnaut told reporters. New stadiums being built at Braga and Aveiro are currently 10 weeks late, Arnaut revealed. The stadium at Leiria, which is being remodeled, is about one month behind schedule, he said. Each stadium has 30,000 seats and each is to host two group games during Euro 2004, which is being held in Portugal. Portugal has earmarked 10 stadiums for Euro 2004. There are to be 31 games in the June 12-July 4 tournament, the biggest international sports event ever in the country. UEFA, European soccer's governing body, says all stadiums slated for the competition must be ready by September so they can be tried out over next season's Portuguese championship. Larsson wants to finish his career in SpainGLASGOW, Scotland (AP) -- Prolific Celtic striker Henrik Larsson wants to finish his career in Spain after his contract with the Scottish club expires at the end of next season. "I'm going to complete my Celtic contract and play in Scotland for one more year," the 31-year-old Larsson told The Scotsman newspaper Tuesday. "I hope it goes well. But it would be a dream for me to finish my career with a couple of years in Spain. It has the best league in the world and I like the weather there. "I think my family would enjoy the lifestyle. I have been thinking about this for a while but let's wait and see if there is any interest." Larsson joined Celtic in 1997 from Dutch club Feyenoord and helped the club to back-to-back Scottish Premier League titles in 2001 and 2002. This season, Celtic was edged for the title by Rangers, but Larsson was a standout in the club's 3-2 loss to Porto in the UEFA Cup final. Larsson scored 43 goals for Celtic this season, including 11 in Europe. He said his decision to retire from Sweden's national team, made public Monday, was because he wanted to spend more time with his family. "I have done my time with the national team and there are plenty of good young players who can take my place," Larsson said. "People may think I have made this decision because Celtic lost the UEFA Cup and the league, but that's not the case. "I just don't want to spend the time away from my family anymore." Russian league bans referee for use of video replayMOSCOW (Reuters) -- FIFA referee Valentin Ivanov has been banned for two months for using a video replay before disallowing a goal in last week's Russian Cup semi-final between Rostov and Anji Makhachkala. On May 21, Russia's top referee overturned his own decision to award Rostov a goal after watching a video replay. Rostov later scored another goal and won the match 1-0. Although video replays are widely used in some international sports -- including American Football, rugby and cricket -- the use of such technology is banned under FIFA and UEFA laws. Ivanov denied the charge at first, but a front-page photo in Russia's leading sports daily, Sport-Express, on the following day clearly showed him looking into the video camera. He later said he had been shaken up by a fight, which broke out between the two teams shortly after Essau Kanyenda appeared to put Rostov ahead 1-0 in the 55th minute. The match was stopped for more than 20 minutes as Ivanov went to Anji's bench to watch the replay. When he came back on the pitch he disallowed the goal for handball. Rostov eventually won the match 1-0 thanks to another goal by Malawi striker Kanyenda with 15 minutes remaining. This time the goal was ruled good and no protests were made. But Russian referee chief Nikolai Levnikov on Monday announced a decision by the league's disciplinary committee to ban Ivanov for the remainder of the first half of the season. Ivanov officiated a Champions League semi-final, first leg match between Italy's AC Milan and Inter earlier this month. He is scheduled to referee in next month's Confederation Cup, involving World Cup winners Brazil, Turkey, France, the U.S., Colombia, New Zealand, Japan and Cameroon. Nedved back for Czechs' Euro qualifierPRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Juventus star Pavel Nedved will lead the Czech national soccer team in a EURO 2004 qualifier against Moldova next month. Nedved, whose goal against Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals earlier this month helped lift Juventus to the final of Europe's most prestigious club competition, is back in the 18-man squad after a one-match absence. He was left off the Czech roster for a friendly against Turkey in April because of club duties at Juventus. Coach Karel Bruckner's other choice in the midfield, Tomas Galasek of Ajax Amsterdam, who also missed the match against Turkey, has recovered from his injury and was also called up for the qualifier. Borussia Dortmund's towering striker Jan Koller, who underwent an unspecified surgery after the end of the Bundesliga, should be fit for the match, said Vit Pavlusek from the Czech Soccer Federation's communication department on Tuesday. Other stars on the Czech team for the June 11 match in Olomouc include Tomas Rosicky of Dortmund, Milan Baros of Liverpool and Karel Poborsky of Sparta Prague. The Czechs are so far unbeaten in their campaign to qualify for next year's European Championship. They lead Group 3 on goal difference, ahead of the favored Netherlands. Both teams have 10 points. Austria is third with six points, followed by Belarus with three points and Moldova with zero. All teams have another four matches to play. Czech Republic Squad: Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Rennes), Jaromir Blazek (Sparta Prague). Defenders: Rene Bolf (Banik Ostrava), Zdenek Grygera (Sparta Prague), Tomas Hubschman (Sparta Prague), Marek Jankulovski (Udinese), Tomas Ujfalusi (Hamburger SV), Roman Tyce (Munich 1860). Midfielders: Tomas Galasek (Ajax Amsterdam), Patrik Gedeon (Slavia Prague), Pavel Nedved (Juventus), Karel Poborsky (Sparta Prague), Tomas Rosicky (Dortmund), Vladimir Smicer (Liverpool). Forwards: Milan Baros (Liverpool), Jan Koller (Dortmund), Vratislav Lokvenc (Kaiserslautern), Jiri Stajner (Hannover). Croatia boss sticks to tried-and-tested squadZAGREB (Reuters) -- Croatia coach Otto Baric stuck to the squad which put their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign back on course for the tie against Estonia next month. But he will be missing influential Juventus central defender Igor Tudor who will miss the June 11 match in Tallinn because of suspension. It is also uncertain if Bayern Munich defender Robert Kovac will recover in time from an injury sustained last weekend in the last round of the German season. Chelsea midfielder Mario Stanic was also omitted after he told Baric he wanted to retire from international soccer. His last appearance for Croatia was last month's 2-1 victory in a friendly against Sweden in Stockholm. "The match in Tallinn will be a very serious and tough one and we have to play very strongly in order to win. It is a good warning that Estonia conceded only one goal in games against Belgium, Bulgaria and us," Baric told a news conference. Estonia held Croatia to a goalless draw last September in Osijek. After that disappointing result, Baric's team lost away against Bulgaria (2-0) but beat Belgium (4-0) and Andorra (2-0) at home to revive their chances of qualifying. Croatia are trailing Bulgaria by three points in Group Eight with seven points from four games, but are one point ahead of Belgium and two clear of Estonia. Squad: Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (Hajduk Split), Tomislav Butina (Dinamo Zagreb) Defenders: Dario Simic (AC Milan), Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin), Boris Zivkovic (Bayer Leverkusen), Stjepan Tomas (Como), Mario Tokic (GAK Graz), Robert Kovac (Bayern Munich) Midfielders: Darijo Srna (Hajduk Split), Giovanni Rosso (Maccabi Haifa), Niko Kovac (Bayern Munich), Jerko Leko (Dinamo Kiev), Marko Babic (Bayer Leverkusen), Danijel Hrman (Varteks Varazdin), Milan Rapaic (Hajduk Split) Forwards: Dado Prso (Monaco), Ivica Olic (Dinamo Zagreb), Tomislav Maric (Wolfsburg), Ivica Mornar (Anderlecht), Marijo Maric (Kaernten), Bosko Balaban (Dinamo Zagreb) Schaellibaum named new Servette managerGENEVA (Reuters) -- Nationalliga A side Servette announced former Swiss under-21 international coach Marco Schaellibaum as their manager for the 2003-04 season on Tuesday. Schaellibaum asked to be released from his contract with Young Boys on Monday after leading the club to UEFA Cup qualification for the first time since 1993. There had been doubts that Young Boys would release 41-year-old Schaellibaum from his contract which was due to run until the end of next season and only signed in March. Schaellibaum, who has been on the coaching staff at Young Boys since 1999, was made first-team manager after Freddy Bickel stepped down in December following police investigations into alleged forgery. He said earlier that he had been unhappy with his contract at Young Boys after stepping up to become manager. Brazil confirms friendly in NigeriaRIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- World champions Brazil have confirmed that they will travel to Nigeria to face the Super Eagles in a friendly on June 11. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said in a statement on its website on Tuesday that the match will be a warm-up for the Confederations Cup in France, which starts a week later. The squad for the game and the Confederations Cup was due to be named later on Tuesday. Brazil are still searching for their first win since Carlos Alberto Parreira began his third spell as their coach in January. So far, they have drawn 0-0 with China and Mexico and lost 2-1 to Portugal. Brazil's last visit to Africa for a full international was in December 1997 when they beat South Africa 2-1. They also played away to the Bafana Bafana the year before that, winning 3-2 after fielding their Olympic team. Previous to that, Brazil played full international friendlies away to Algeria and Tunisia in 1973, Algeria in 1965 and Egypt in 1963 and 1960. Belgium picks old guard in squad for qualifiersBRUSSELS (Reuters) -- Belgium coach Aime Anthuenis picked the old guard of Nico Van Kerckhoven, Didier Dheedene and Philippe Clement in his squad for next month's Euro 2004 Group Eight qualifiers against Andorra and Bulgaria. "It is not a return to the past but these are men who know what it's about. We will certainly be able to use them in Sofia," Anthuenis was quoted as saying in the Belgian media. Belgium are third in the group three points behind leaders Bulgaria and a point adrift of Croatia after four matches. Andorra are bottom with no points from their three games so far. Belgium face Bulgaria in Sofia on June 7 and Andorra in Ghent on June 11. One day after his first call-up since the 2002 World Cup, left back Kerckhoven on Tuesday dropped out of the Belgian squad. Antheunis had brought the 32-year-old Schalke 04 defender back to the squad to add some experience to his defensive line after Belgium lost 4-0 to Croatia last month. It was unclear who would replace Van Kerckhoven ahead of the June 7 qualifier in Bulgaria. Belgium is currently third behind Bulgaria and Croatia and is looking for a win in Sofia to claw its way back into contention in Group 8. Van Kerckhoven was on the Red Devils squad that lost to Brazil in the second round of the World Cup last year. After a long injury layoff, he regained his form during the Bundesliga season and looked set to regain his place on the national team. But early Tuesday, his left knee started acting up again. "It has suffered too much during a long season," said Belgian team spokesman Nicolas Cornu. Antheunis will again have to miss Celtic defender Joos Valgaeren, who suffered a concussion during last week's UEFA Cup final loss to FC Porto. Squad: Goalkeepers: Geert De Vlieger (Willem II, Tilburg, Netherlands), Frederic Herpoel (AA Ghent) Defenders: Eric Deflandre (Olympique Lyon, France), Daniel Van Buyten (Olympique Marseille, France), Peter Vander Heyden (Club Bruges), Olivier De Cock (Club Bruges), Timmy Simons (Club Bruges), Nico Van Kerckhoven (Schalke 04, Germany), Didier Dheedene (Austria Vienna, Austria) Midfielders: Walter Baseggio (Anderlecht), Gaetan Englebert (Club Bruges), Bart Goor (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Tom Soetaers (Roda JC, Netherlands), Philippe Clement (Club Bruges), Gaby Mudingayi (Ghent) Forwards: Thomas Buffel (Feyenoord Rotterdam, Netherlands), Emile Mpenza (Schalke 04, Germany), Sandy Martens (Club Bruges), Wesley Sonck (Racing Genk), Mbo Mpenza (Mouscron) Unpaid Romanian team demand freedom of contractBUCHAREST (Reuters) -- Players of relegated Romanian side Sportul Studentesc Bucharest who are owed more than a year's wages have asked the Professional Soccer League (LPF) for their freedom of contract, a LPF official said on Tuesday. "Almost the whole team, or 18 players, have yet to receive a total of more than $200,000 for the 2001-2002 season," LPF General Secretary Valentin Alexandru told Reuters. He said the LPF would soon decide on the matter. Romanian soccer has suffered from a chronic lack of funds in the last few years and dozens of first and second division players staged an unprecedented demonstration over unpaid wages in the streets of Bucharest in December. Sportul Studentesc, 15th in the first division, lost 4-3 away to Steaua Bucharest on Saturday and were relegated along with bottom team UT Arad before Wednesday's final round of matches. They are four points behind 14th-placed Poli AEK Timisoara. Trinidad team departs for African tourPORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) -- Trinidad and Tobago's new head coach said he hoped to lead his squad to a higher level of play as the team departed for an African tour Monday. Trinidad's 20-man team faces Kenya on May 31 in Nairobi, the Kenya Olympic squad on June 7, Botswana on June 10 in Gaborone, and South Africa on June 15. Coach Stuart Charles Fevrier, who began earlier this month, said he was particularly looking forward to the clash with South Africa. "This is not just about winning. We will also welcome victories, but my main aim is to play good football and develop as a team," he said at the airport before the team's departure. "I will use the matches to look at players at the higher level and against stiffer opposition to see how they handle those situations. We will use the training sessions to get the players acquainted to my style of play and to help build relationships with them." Charles Fevrier, who led W/Connections to Trinidad championships in 2000 and 2001, also said he will dedicate considerable time to building relationships with those on the team. The tour was originally designed as a buildup to the team's participation in this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament in July. But the team failed to qualify, and now the focus is on rebuilding the team ahead of the next World Cup and Olympic Games qualification series. The squad has an average age in the low 20s, includes four members of Trinidad and Tobago's Olympic team, and five foreign-based players, including strikers Colin Samuels of Scottish team Falkirk, and Hector Sam of English second-division Wrexham, and goalkeeper Clayton Ince of English first-division Crewe Alexandra.
Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. |
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