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World Soccer Headlines Swiss block Yugoslavia's Euro 2000 cash reward
Posted: Saturday July 08, 2000 12:57 PM
(CNN text) -- Payment of the 7.8 million Swiss francs ($3.4 million) owed to Yugoslavia for Euro 2000 exploits - they reached the quarter-finals - has been blocked. Swiss authorities will not pay the Yugoslav Football Association (FSJ) until its independence from the regime of Slobodan Milosevic is proved. FSJ secretary Branko Bulatovic said the Swiss had been asked to establish if there were any financial links with Yugoslav authorities, but claimed his organisation was 'fully independent'. FERDINAND TRANSFER STORIES RUBBISHED West Ham manager Harry Redknapp has rubbished stories suggesting defender Rio Ferdinand is poised for a 10 million pounds sterling ($15m) move to English Premiership rivals Leeds. The London club are angry that rumours persist about Ferdinand and chairman Terry Brown said: 'These reports are nonsense. Nobody at the club has had any contact with anyone at Leeds.' Redknapp added: 'We are not selling our best players. We are a big club and we are trying to compete.' BRADFORD PAY RECORD FEE FOR HOPKIN English Premiership club Bradford City have paid a club record 2.5 million pounds ($3.79m) for Leeds' Scottish international midfielder David Hopkin. Hopkin signed a four-year deal while Bradford's previous top fee was the 1.4 million pounds ($2.12m) spent on Leeds defender David Wetherall last season. 'I could quite happily have stayed at Leeds but I decided I wanted a new challenge. When I realised how much the chairman and manager wanted me I signed straight away,' said Hopkin. UEFA REVIEWS PORTUGUESE SUSPENSIONS European governing body UEFA meets next month to review lengthy bans given to Portuguese trio Abel Xavier, Nuno Gomes and Paulo Bento after Euro 2000 defeat. Defender Xavier, who plays for Everton, has been suspended for all matches in UEFA competition for nine months. Nuno Gomes (Benfica) was banned for eight and Real Oviedo's Bento for six. Everton have appealed on the grounds that it is 'fundamentally wrong to punish a player at club level for an incident on the international stage.' TAIBI'S RETURN IS CONFIRMED Goalkeeping misfit Massimo Taibi has confirmed he is returning to Italy to play for Serie A club Reggina. Taibi joined them on loan from English Premiership champions Manchester United towards the end of last season after he failed to make an impression at Old Trafford. He is returning to his native country after agreeing a 2.5 million pounds sterling ($3.75m) switch. 'I am pleased everything is concluded and I can get my career back on track,' he said. GERMAN MAGAZINE MIGHT BE SUED German football officials are thinking about legal action against a satirical magazine over hoax letters offering bribes to FIFA delegates. German Football Federation (DFB) general secretary Horst Schmidt said the hoax - made on the eve of the World Cup 2006 vote by monthly magazine Titanic - had damaged both his organisation and and country. 'The DFB is considering legal steps against Titanic,' he said. 'The limits of satire have been far exceeded.' UEFA CHIEF WANTS ROTATION SYSTEM UEFA chief Lennart Johansson 'strongly favours' support for an African nation to host the 2010 World Cup. The day after Germany beat South Africa for the 2006 finals, he said he wants a reform of the current bidding process through the use of a rotation system. 'We must act now to take away the unecessary tension and division caused by the current system,' said Johansson. 'The experience of the campaign to host 2006 has confirmed my belief in the need for a rotation system.' Available on television sets in over 50 million cable and satellite households in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and in 1 million hotel rooms, CNN text complements CNN's unsurpassed 24-hour television coverage with text-delivered content available instantly at the press of a button on viewers' remote controls.
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