Today's soccer news stories in brief

Delaney happy with Derry plans

AS THE last surviving member of the old Derry City board stepped down yesterday, FAI chief executive John Delaney expressed satisfaction that the feedback he got from interested parties in the area suggested that the club can be saved, writes Emmet Malone.

“The plans that were laid out for me last night about the future of the club, they made perfect sense,” said former deputy chairman Stephen McCarron, when confirming his departure in the wake of a meeting with a group of local businessmen yesterday. “I don’t think I would be able to get things moving as quickly as these guys can.”

Delaney, meanwhile, said that his meetings with members of the local business community, former directors, council officials and supporters’ groups had all been “very positive and encouraging”.

“I think those meeting have presented us with a road map to put Derry City back into the League of Ireland football for next season,” he said.

FA accused of being too lenient on Ferguson

THE ENGLAND Football Association has been accused of being too lenient on Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and “flunking” the Alan Wiley case despite making him the first Premier League manager to be banned from the touchline for post-match comments about a referee.

The United manager will have to watch his team’s next two league games, at home to Everton and away at Portsmouth, from the stands after being handed a four-match ban, two of which are suspended, at an FA regulatory commission hearing into his “grossly improper” and “wholly inappropriate” criticisms of Wiley as not being fit enough to officiate in the top division.

Ferguson was also fined €22,000 for his condemnation of Wiley’s performance in United’s 2-2 draw against Sunderland at Old Trafford on October 3rd, having accused him of being “not fit” and claiming that the 49-year-old was deliberately taking a 30-second breather when he was booking players because “he needed a rest”.

However, Alan Leighton, the national secretary of Prospect, the union that represents referees, criticised the ruling as too soft.

“From our point of view it is disappointing,” he said.

“The Football Association had a chance to make a point and they flunked it.

“To question the fitness of a referee is to question his ability to do the job and his integrity.”

Old firm proposal rejected

ENGLANDS PREMIER League clubs yesterday rejected a proposal to admit Scottish sides Rangers and Celtic into their competition.

The proposal from Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside to allow the two Glasgow clubs failed to gain the support of the necessary minimum of 14 of the 20 Premier League club chairmen.

Rangers have been fined for the trouble caused by their fans at last week’s Champions League match at Unirea Urziceni in Romania, Uefa said yesterday.

Rangers were fined €20,000 and ordered to pay for the cost of damage to the stadium caused by their supporters.

Unirea were fined €8,000 for poor organisation at the Group G match which ended 1-1.

Rangers posted their financial results yesterday which showed net debt had increased by around €11 million to €34.5million.

Cudicini injured in crash

CARLO CUDICINI faces a battle to save his Tottenham career, after he fractured both of his wrists and damaged his pelvis when his motorcycle collided with a car in Walthamstow, north London, yesterday.

The goalkeeper becomes a long-term casualty and his absence increases the possibility that Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, will make a renewed bid to sign David James from Portsmouth in January.

Lampard may be out until Christmas

CHELSEA will today seek to ascertain the full extent of a thigh injury sustained by Frank Lampard after the England midfielder returned prematurely from Qatar amid fears that he could be sidelined until Christmas.

Lampard suffered a tear to the outside thigh muscle of his left leg yesterday while training for tomorrow’s friendly against Brazil and underwent a scan in Doha. That confirmed the damage and, after the Football Association explained the situation to Chelsea’s medical department, the 31-year-old was released back into the care of the Premier League club.

The FA medical staff had suggested Lampard might be ruled out for a few weeks, though there are fears within the player’s camp that the injury will prove more serious. They are concerned that he may have suffered a problem similar to the ones which ruled him out for more than a month on two occasions in 2007.