A round-up of other soccer news in brief

Jones keen to keep up with Bent

KENWYNE JONES was unrepentant after incurring the wrath of Sunderland manager Steve Bruce. Bruce was less than happy after learning that Darren Bent had handed the ball over at the Trinidad and Tobago international’s request when their side were awarded a second penalty in Sunday’s 5-2 Premier League victory over Wolves.

Jones avoided an ear-bashing by smashing his spot-kick past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

He said: “We always say that the one who wins it, takes it. Darren won the penalty and got hold of the ball, but I got to the spot first and didn’t want to move. I don’t want to fall too far behind him in goals and thankfully, he handed me the ball.”

Arsenal focus on football first

ARSENAL chairman Peter Hill-Wood insists results on the pitch will always come ahead of profit at the Emirates Stadium.

The clubs’ parent holding company yesterday revealed an increase in turnover to €340 million and a record profit after tax of €38 million from results for the year ending May 31st.

Most of Arsenal’s overall net debt, which has decreased to €324 million from €345 million, is tied into the move to the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium, financed mainly by a long-term loan which is repaid at a fixed rate, much like a mortgage, at around €22 million a year.

As such, Arsene Wenger’s men are clearly under some pressure to continue to produce on the field, with Champions League qualification now arguably a prerequisite each season.

Wenger has, though, so far refused to spend heavily on new players.

West Ham and Millwall face FA punishment

MILLWALL HAVE expressed their disbelief after being hit with three disciplinary charges by the Football Association over the crowd violence at the infamous English League Cup match at West Ham.

West Ham have been issued with four charges, while both clubs have been charged with failing to prevent racist behaviour by fans, and the two London sides could be forced to play matches behind closed doors.

League One club Millwall responded to the charges by saying they were powerless to influence events inside another team’s stadium.

Before the match on August 25th, a 44-year-old season-ticket holder was taken to hospital with stab wounds and several others were injured outside Upton Park.

Chelsea pair ruled out

CHELSEA HAVE left Michael Ballack and John Mikel Obi behind as they travel to Cyprus for their Champions League clash with Apoel Nicosia tomorrow. Mikel is struggling with an ankle problem while Germany captain Ballack misses out with a calf strain. But Ashley Cole, forced out of their 3-1 defeat by Wigan with an ankle injury, did make the flight, as did Portugal midfielder Deco.

Coach Mancini taking his time

ROBERTO MANCINI is in no hurry to return to coaching despite speculation linking the former Inter Milan tactician with Notts County.

Mancini has been out of a job since being sacked by Inter in May 2008, shortly after leading the club to their third successive Serie A title.

“When will I return? When the time comes,” said Mancini in an interview with Rai TV programme Studio Sprint. “I have several options but I will only evaluate them in the future. I am in no hurry.”

In the last 12 months, Mancini has been a reported target of West Ham, Chelsea, Fulham and Leicester City, where he played at the end of his career.

Uefa add eight  to fixing inquiry

A SPECIALIST, 16-man detection force set up by Uefa is investigating eight new suspected match-fixing cases from this season’s Champions League and Europa League qualifying rounds. Some of the games involve teams from Russia, Hungary and Greece, said Peter Limacher, head of disciplinary services at Uefa.

The organisation’s fraud detection team were already studying 40 suspect matches that date back four seasons.

“The problem is getting bigger,” Limacher said in an interview at the World Sports Law Report’s sports, betting and sponsorship conference in London.

The eight cases come less than three months after investigators began work in London using Uefa’s new Betting Fraud Detection System. They are supported by lawyers, former detectives and a network of informers, or “wise guys”, hired across Europe, Limacher said.