Live Football

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is expected to escape a Football Association charge despite his scathing comments about referee Steve Tanner.

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The Football Association have confirmed England’s friendly against European champions Spain will take place in Seville on February 11.

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Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has hailed Fabio Capello for getting rid of the “funfair” culture surrounding the England side.

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Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has warned clubs to be ready for more detailed disciplinary verdicts to be made public.

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Football Association chairman Lord Triesman would welcome Fabio Capello extending his stay as England manager for as long as he wanted.

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England boss Fabio Capello wants the Football Association to offer Stuart Pearce a new contract for the rest of the 2010 World Cup campaign.

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Manchester United assistant boss Mike Phelan has been branded as unimpressive and unreliable by a Football Association disciplinary panel.

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The Football Association have announced that the January transfer window has been extended and will close at 5pm on Monday, February 2.

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divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/34102?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+United+furious+as+Evra+banned+for+Stamford+Bridge+altercationch=Footballc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Manchester+United+%28Football%29%2CChelsea+%28Football%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CPremier+Leaguec6=Dominic+Fifieldc7=2008_12_05c8=1129770c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Manchester+Unitedc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FManchester+United” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpManchester United have reacted furiously to a Football Association regulatory commission’s decision to ban Patrice Evra for four games and fine the full-back £15,000, sanctions the club immediately denounced as “excessive”, for his part in the ugly post-match altercation with a Chelsea groundsman following the side’s Premier League defeat at Stamford Bridge in April./ppThe four-man commission imposed the punishments on Evra after ruling that the Frenchman had attacked the Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell as the players conducted their warm-down on the pitch. Chelsea were fined £25,000 for failing to ensure Bethell conducted himself in an orderly fashion but an allegation made by a member of the visiting team’s staff that the groundsman had “engaged in racist conduct or language” was not proved. Chelsea, who had consistently denied the claim, were cleared of that charge./ppWhile there was a sense of vindication at the London club, United were moved to condemn the sanctions imposed upon their defender. The club released a brief statement confirming: “Manchester United notes the announcement from the FA and is disappointed with the decision and in particular considers the sanctions against Patrice Evra excessive. Manchester United and Patrice will consider all options once there has been an opportunity to digest the full reasons for the decision.”/ppThat hinted at a potential appeal with Evra — already banned from the game at Tottenham Hotspur on December 13 — now due to miss Premier League matches against Stoke and Middlesbrough, the FA Cup third-round tie with Southampton and the first leg of United’s Carling Cup semi-final next month./ppThat will leave the France international without a competitive game, other than the Club World Cup in Japan, between next Wednesday’s Champions League tie with Aalborg and Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford on January 11./ppEvra had admitted pushing the Chelsea head groundsman in the chest, then running back to confront Bethell after the incident had appeared to calm down. The commission also ruled that he had struck Bethell on the side of the head. Chelsea, who described the incident as “regret­table”, are unlikely to appeal./pp”Chelsea always strenuously denied the racist allegation and that position has been totally vindicated by the FA,” said the London club in a statement. “Alleging racism is one of the most serious accusations that can be made in football. Chelsea has a zero tolerance attitude towards racism and is fighting hard with the rest of football to rid all forms of discrimination from the game.”/pdiv style=”float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;”ullia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchesterunited”Manchester United/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chelsea”Chelsea/a/lilia href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague”Premier League/a/li/ul/diva href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a
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divimg alt=”" src=”http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/68274?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+New+moves+to+control+teenage+transfersch=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Football%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+usefulc6=Matt+Scottc7=2008_12_05c8=1129280c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=c13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2F” width=”1″ height=”1″ //divpFifa has drawn up a new set of controls limiting the transfer of teenagers. From January 1 all international transfers involving players under the age of 18 would first require the approval of a committee that will investigate the circumstances of the move./ppExisting rules state that players may only move in the event of their families relocating for non-football reasons but clubs are getting round the regulations with job offers for parents, something the committee will seek to stamp out. With several unauthorised academies springing up in African and Asian territories, which have in effect set up a market in the traffic of youngsters, Fifa has also taken steps to bring them under its jurisdiction by requiring them to register as clubs within football-association structures. “An awareness campaign director at minors’ countries of origin will [also] be launched, to draw the attention of public authorities, parents and minors to the social dangers posed by the issue of minors in football today,” said the Fifa directive./ppFurther discussion will also be held with the international players’ union, Fifpro, over the introduction of an obligation for 16-year-olds to sign contracts lasting five years, 17-year-olds four years and 18-year-olds three years. That would ensure developing clubs retain transfer rights over their players for longer./ph2A whole new ball game/h2pThe Premier League has advertised its invitation to tender for the next domestic broadcast-rights deal, from season 2010-11 to 2012-13. The league hopes interest from the US broadcast giant ESPN will help retain competition for domestic rights, which achieved pound;2.1bn from Sky and Setanta for the current deal. Its late withdrawal from the bidding process for Bundesliga rights might suggest a pooling of resources for a fresh Premier League bid. The tender will allow broadcasters to show football on new broadband products. Sky launched yesterday access to its Sky Player internet service to subscribers who do not have satellite dishes and ESPN has invested in its internet presence./ph2Gold at a price/h2pGordon Brown’s commitment to the so-called “golden decade” of sport will meet its sternest test as the International Rugby Board seeks pound;80m in financial guarantees to underwrite England’s bid for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The IRB’s chief executive, Mike Miller, told the sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, and the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Francis Baron, at a meeting on Wednesday that it has such government guarantees - an insurance policy for ticket sales - from South Africa, Italy and Russia. Some 2.25m tickets were sold in 2007 in France and England’s hosting would be similarly popular. However, one conundrum facing the government would be that, with live bids for the 2018 World Cup of football and the 2019 Cricket World Cup, other sports’ governing bodies might seek similar or more expensive guarantees if it meets the IRB’s demand./ph2Blowing the whistle/h2pBrian Mawhinney has evicted the British National Party’s publications offshoot from its rented offices. Lord Mawhinney, the Football League chairman, discovered that the BNP had been trading for two months under the name Excalibur in premises belonging to Evans Easyspace, one of the companies he serves as a director, and immediately turned them out. “When it was discovered that it was just a cover for the BNP the lease was terminated,” said Mawhinney./pa href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk”guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href=”http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html”Terms Conditions/a | a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html”More Feeds/a
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Original post by Matt Scott