Sporting briefs...

Hargreaves: Bayern Munich sporting director Uli Hoeness has said Owen Hargreaves will not be sold to Manchester United in the winter transfer window but hinted the England midfielder might be released at the end of the season. In an interview yesterday, Hoeness also said Bayern planned to become more aggressive in the transfer market. "Definitely not in this winter," Hoeness said when asked if he would let Hargreaves go to Manchester. "We're working on putting together a new team (for next season) and at some point the question will be raised whether Owen is indispensable. In any event, we've got all the aces."

Benfica: Benfica midfielder Rui Costa, sidelined since November with a leg injury, returned to action last weekend in his team's 5-0 rout of second division Oliveira do Bairro in the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup. Strikers Nuno Gomes and Mexican Kikin Fonseca scored two goals each for the Lisbon club, who left for Dubai yesterday to take part in a tournament with Bayern Munich, Marseille and Lazio between today and Wednesday.

In France: Troubled Paris SG started the defence of their French Cup title by crushing third division Nimes 3-0 yesterday with two goals from Ivory Coast forward Bonaventure Kalou. The Paris side, who beat Marseille in last year's Cup final, lie 16th in the 20-strong Ligue 1 and their season has been tainted by hooliganism.

Match-fixing: Israeli prosecutors charged three men for attempting to fix the result of a second division match last month. The three men are suspected of paying bribes to Hapoel Beer Sheva players in order to persuade them to fix the result of their match against Hapoel Ra'anana. The three were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and various bribery counts. They are suspected of trying to increase their chances of scooping a record pools jackpot of some $9.6 million which was on offer during the weekend of the match.

Fifa-Kenya: FIFA and Kenyan authorities plan to meet later this month in a bid to restore the east African country's troubled soccer federation to international competition. Kenya was suspended from international competition last October for failing to respect agreements and for protracted problems in the federation.