Soccer news in brief
Hoolahan out for six weeks
Norwich winger Wes Hoolahan has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The former Shelbourne attacking midfielder was substituted at half-time of the 1-0 win over Plymouth last weekend with ankle ligament damage and a scan has revealed he will be out for at least six weeks.
“It’s a devastating blow in our current situation,” said manager Bryan Gunn.
Tonight’s Soccer (kick-offs in Irish-time)
Uefa Cup(Last 16, second leg) – AaB v Manchester City, 8pm; Braga v PSG, 8.30pm; FC Metalist Kharkiv v Dynamo Kiev, 5pm; Galatasaray v Hamburg, 7.30pm; Shakhtar Donetsk v CSKA Moscow, 5.30pm; Zenit St Petersburg v Udinese, 5.30pm.
Leinster Schoolboys Junior final– De La Salle Dundalk v St Kieran's College, Kilkenny, Oscar Traynor Centre, Coolock, 1pm.
Scottish clubs to discuss second tier
Scottish Premier League clubs will discuss proposals to create a second tier at a Hampden meeting today.
The gathering has been described as a “sense checking day” and there will be no vote on the issue. If there is a mood for change, the SPL may move quickly to set up talks with the Scottish Football League.
A Scottish FA arbitration panel recently concluded such an expansion would not breach a prior agreement between the SPL and the SFL. The suggestion of a new top-flight structure of 22 clubs playing in two divisions was first introduced in 2006.
But the SFL challenged the idea, insisting it would break a settlement deal which was reached when the SPL was first set up in 1998.
West Ham send chief scout to watch O'Shea at Galway
West Ham United will send their chief scout to watch Galway United’s exciting Ireland under-21 international winger Jay O’Shea against Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds tomorrow night.
One of the most talented young players in the domestic game, the 20-year-old Dubliner has impressed again already this season.
Widely tipped for relegation, Galway have confounded pundits by taking an early lead at the top of the Premier Division table, winning both their games to date.
Former Bray Wanderers player O’Shea, included in Don Givens’ under-21 squad for the upcoming games against Spain and Turkey, agreed to re-sign for Galway after a deal to sign for English side Derby County fell through in January.
A deal, believed to be worth in the region of €400,000 was agreed, but then Derby manager Paul Jewell resigned in December which saw the club pull out of the arrangement.
West Ham’s Irish scout saw O’Shea in the season’s opener at St Patrick’s Athletic and has recommend the club take a closer look with chief scout Roger Cross due at Bray tomorrow night.
Italian duo have one-year bans lifted
Italian soccer players Daniele Mannini and Davide Possanzini have had their one-year bans temporarily lifted so their doping cases can be re-examined.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended the pair in January after they were found guilty of turning up late for a doping control when playing for Serie B club Brescia in 2007.
The CAS ruling followed a World Anti-Doping Agency challenge of the 15-day ban handed down by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
The heavy bans caused outrage in Italy and the countrys football federation (FIGC) asked CAS to reconsider given neither player had failed a drugs test.
CAS has decided to temporarily lift the ban imposed on the two players, pending the final resolution of this case, a statement said.
Winger Mannini, now with Serie As Napoli, and striker Possanzini were ordered to attend a post-match dressingroom meeting in December, 2007 following Brescias third successive defeat, leading to their late arrival for the doping tests.
