France's football authorities warned Olympique Marseille yesterday the loan signing of Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was not a simple matter and could take time to sort out.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter underlined that point, yesterday, saying: "The matter must go before FIFA's players' status committee after the French FA have submitted the necessary paperwork."

The deal must have approval from the French league and FIFA if Barthez, first choice for France but third in the pecking order at United, is to play before the transfer window reopens on January 1st.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has called for the FA in England and UEFA to launch a mass drugs testing crackdown to prove the sport is clean. He said some of his top players had never been randomly tested at the training ground in the past six years.

Wenger, whose side face Chelsea today in the Premiership, declared: "In England, you can't say the game is clean if you don't check more regularly.

"There are social drugs and performance-enhancing drugs and you have to make sure that neither of them happen."

Chelsea have found it necessary to again deny they intend bidding for Everton's Wayne Rooney after Stamford Bridge acting chief executive Paul Smith said on radio the teenager "could be on their list".

Everton were apparently furious that a top Chelsea official was still talking about Rooney 24 hours after the London club denied any link - or talks with the Merseyside outfit.

Smith then felt obliged to clarify his marks in a statement on www.chelseafc.com, saying, "Like all people in football we think he is a big talent but he is not a Chelsea target."

A final decision on the format of the play-offs for the 2006 World Cup finals, the qualifying programme and the match schedule for the finals competition will be made in Frankfurt on December 5th, FIFA's executive committee agreed, Sepp Blatter confirmed yesterday.