Today's other stories in brief
Inter Milan go four points clear
LEADERS Inter Milan moved four points clear in Serie A after a remarkable 5-3 win over Palermo last night in which the champions were 4-0 up at half-time before almost throwing victory away.
Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring with a seventh minute penalty and Mario Balotelli then netted twice before Eto’o grabbed the fourth.
Palermo stormed back with three goals in the second half but Inter’s Diego Milito sealed the win late on.
MANCHESTER United have submitted a claim of mistaken identity to the Football Association after Fabio da Silva was booked by referee Chris Foy against Barnsley in the League Cup.
Instead the offender – for a challenge on Jamal Campbell-Ryce – was his twin brother Rafael.
The FA confirmed they have been approached by United and the submission will be heard on Tuesday by a regulatory commission.
Martinez tries to clear the air
WIGAN manager Roberto Martinez has phoned Alex Ferguson to explain remarks attributed to him in a Spanish newspaper.
Martinez has also contacted Steve Bruce, Sam Allardyce and Rafael Benitez after they were all implicated in the article.
The Spaniard felt the need to clear the air after categorically denying he suggested the English FA are afraid to punish United boss Ferguson.
It was suggested that Martinez claimed Ferguson had faithful followers in Bruce and Allardyce while Benitez was the target of constant sniping.
Martinez said: “I have the utmost respect for Alex Ferguson, Sam Allardyce, Steve Bruce and Rafael Benitez.
Martinez added: “It is important they all know I was very disappointed with the stories that were circulating. It is a very unfortunate situation but people need to understand what happened.”
Wigan sack King following 18-month jail sentence
WIGAN chairman Dave Whelan has confirmed Marlon King will never play for the club again after he was jailed for 18 months yesterday.
The striker was found guilty of groping a woman and breaking her nose after she rejected his advances in a nightclub in December while he was on loan at Hull.
King spent a subsequent spell on loan at Middlesbrough before returning to the Latics in the summer, but he will now be left without a club after a mandatory notice period, believed to be 14 days, has expired.
Whelan said: “We have to follow the rules and regulations, which means we will have to give him 14 days notice that his contract will be cancelled. He is absolutely sacked.”
London’s Southwark Crown Court heard how King, who was celebrating both his wife’s pregnancy and scoring a winning goal only hours earlier, was repeatedly cold-shouldered by women revellers in London’s packed Soho Revue Bar last December.
Larsson calls it a day in Sweden
STRIKER Henrik Larsson fought back the tears as he said farewell to football and admitted his decision to retire had left an “emptiness”.
The Swede took to the pitch for the last time in Helsingborg’s 2-0 Swedish league loss to Djurgarden. He was given a standing ovation from the crowd.
The 38-year-old scored over 300 goals during spells with Helsingborg, Feyenoord, Celtic, Barcelona and Manchester United.
Tributes from the likes of Sweden coach Lars Lagerback, United boss Alex Ferguson and international team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic were played at the ground. Larsson will not play in Helsingborg’s final match at Elfsborg on Sunday.
He won 106 caps for Sweden and was also moved by Helsingborg’s decision to retire the number 17 shirt in his honour.
Wenger set to turn to Almunia
MANUEL Almunia is expected to regain his place in Arsenal’s starting line-up for the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.
Arsene Wenger was considering whether to play Lukasz Fabianski, who returned from knee ligament surgery in Wednesday night’s League Cup victory over Liverpool, but he suffered a reaction in his thigh when making a clearance and, to his dismay, has been ruled out for a further three weeks.
Vito Mannone, another of Wenger’s goalkeepers, had previously occupied the position, initially as a deputy after Almunia had gone down with a virus and then on merit for three matches following the Spaniard’s recovery.
The Arsenal manager has a delicate decision to make, given that Almunia’s confidence has suffered after his exclusion, yet Mannone has also made errors. But Wenger, who insisted that Almunia was “back to his normal level” of confidence, is leaning towards reinstating the Spaniard for the big derby clash.
Taylor not joining Ipswich
FORMER Wycombe Wanderers manager Peter Taylor will not be joining Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town’s backroom staff. Taylor (56) previously said he had held informal talks about a coaching role at Portman Road.
In a statement, Ipswich said: Senior management staff at the club and Mr Taylor held discussions over a possible role in support of the coaching team. However, there will be no further progression of those talks.”
