A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Lampard injury a concern for England head coach
England head coach Roy Hodgson could lose a second midfielder from his Euro 2012 plans in the space of 48 hours with Frank Lampard to have a scan today on his thigh injury.
Manchester City’s Gareth Barry was forced to pull out with an abdomen injury suffered during the 1-0 win over Norway in Oslo on Saturday and was replaced by Everton defender Phil Jagielka.
Now Lampard is sweating on his fitness with the thigh problem sustained in training yesterday – just 24 hours after joining up with the squad.
Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson is on stand-by to replace the Chelsea player despite an up and down first campaign at Anfield.
Although Hodgson had to submit his final squad of 23 with Uefa yesterday, it is permitted to replace an injured player after that deadline.
Lampard is 34 next month and realistically the finals in Poland and Ukraine could be his last tournament for his country – if he is passed fit.
Balotelli will walk if racially abused at championships
Mario Balotelli intends to walk off the pitch if he is racially abused at Euro 2012 – and has claimed he would kill anyone who threw a banana at him in the street.
The Manchester City and Italy striker was speaking after a BBC Panorama programme raised fears of potential racism at the tournament in Ukraine and Poland.
In an interview with France Football Balotelli said: “If someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to prison because I will kill him.
“Racism is unacceptable to me, I cannot bear it. I hope there will not be a problem at the Euros because if it does happen I would straight away leave the pitch and go home.”
The 21-year-old was regularly a target of racist abuse while playing in Italy.
Balotelli also said he believes he is a genius and smarter than most people.
“I think I am a genius, but not a rebel,” he said. “I have my life, my world, I do what I want, without annoying anyone. I believe I am more intelligent than the average person.”
Wage rises too large to keep clubs sustainable
The rise in player wages has reached record levels in the Premier League – a worrying trend with clubs now subject to Uefa’s financial fair play rules.
The latest annual review of football finances by analyst Deloitte shows the increase in wages outstripped growth in revenues.
It has resulted in a wages/revenue ratio of 70 per cent in the Premier League – a record figure, having crept up from the low-to-mid 60s five years ago.
Wages went up by €250 million in 2010/11 to almost €2 billion, a 14 per cent rise, and overall revenues rose by 12 per cent to €2.83 billion. This was mostly driven by a rise in income from the new TV deals, especially from overseas rights.
Alan Switzer, director in the sports business group at Deloitte, said wage control was paramount for good business.
He said: “If the wages to revenue ratio is 70 per cent or higher it’s very difficult to make an operating profit.”
Former retiree Scholes signs new deal and will soldier on for another year
Paul Scholes has put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension that keeps the former England midfielder at Manchester United until the end of the 2012/13 season, the club have confirmed.
Scholes came out of retirement in January and produced a number of impressive displays as United were just beaten to the Premier League title by neighbours Manchester City.
The new deal for Scholes was first announced by United manager Alex Ferguson, and yesterday’s announcement confirms that formalities have now been competed.
Confirmation of Scholes’s deal comes almost a year to the day since he announced his retirement.
Shelbourne’s Byrne nominated by PFAI for merit award after charitable work
The Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI) has nominated Shelbourne midfielder Conan Byrne for the FIFPro Merit Award 2012.
The award, given by the international players’ union Players’ Social Responsibility committee will be announced at the FIFPro congress in Washington DC in October. Last year’s winner, The Peres Centre for Peace in Israel, received a donation of €20,000.
Byrne set up his Zambian Missions charity in 2009 to help the Presentation Sisters with their work with disabled children in Mongu, Zambia. He brings groups of students and teachers to Zambia for an educational look at the life and culture there.
