Football News

Dubai International Capital (DIC) said yesterday it had pulled out of takeover talks with Premier League Liverpool after the club's board were unable to agree terms. The company said in a statement a "comprehensive offer" had been accepted in principle by majority shareholder David Moores after the company, the investment arm of the Dubai government, had completed due diligence.

However it added that "it appears that the Liverpool Board and the majority shareholder David Moores were unable to approve these terms in order to allow DIC to make a formal offer to all shareholders."

Moores has a 51.5 per cent stake and had been looking to sell some or all of his holding.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the Liverpool directors had met in London on Tuesday to consider a rival bid from US sports tycoon George Gillett Jnr, owner of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team.

Torino sign Coco, release Fiore

Torino have strengthened their defence with the acquisition of forgotten Inter full-back Francesco Coco. The Catania-born defender has agreed to a six-month loan switch after failing to impress on trial at Manchester City last week.

Coco has yet to make an appearance this season after he returned to Inter following a loan spell at Livorno last term.

Also yesterday, Stefano Fiore completed a loan switch from Torino to Livorno. The former Italian international has been linked with a move for the last few weeks.

Fiore was keen to leave Torino given his frosty relationship with coach Alberto Zaccheroni.

Matusiak pens Palermo deal

Radoslaw Matusiak, 25, has signed a long-term deal with Serie A club Palermo. The Sicilians acquired the Poland striker from Belchatow and will be at Francesco Guidolin's disposal from February 9 due to international commitments.

"I am very happy to join Palermo, this is a great chance for me and I hope I will be able to take advantage of the opportunity," Matusiak said.

Palermo were in search of a new face in attack after Amauri's injury and Andrea Caracciolo's disappointing performances as his alternative.

Matusiak will join Palermo's other new signing Edison Cavani.

Three-match ban for headbutt

Sampdoria's Gennaro Delvecchio was handed a three-match ban for head-butting Marco Materazzi last weekend. He was sent off for striking the Inter defender just seven minutes into Sunday's 2-0 result at Marassi.

Although claiming he had been "provoked", Delvecchio was fined by his own club and handed a three-match Serie A ban.

Torino defender Gabriele Cioffi has also been suspended for three games after pushing the referee following his red card in Saturday's 3-2 home defeat to Udinese.

Ascoli midfielder Gigi Di Biagio has received a two-match ban for his dismissal, the 12th top flight red card of his career.

He is now the second most sent off man in Serie A history after Paolo Montero's tally of 16 for Atalanta and Juventus.

Flo blow for Leeds

Tore Andre Flo faces a spell on the sidelines with a broken foot. The Leeds striker sustained the injury last week during training and was forced to miss Tuesday's victory at Hull with the problem.

The former Chelsea and Rangers player is expected to be out of action for six weeks. Leeds manager Dennis Wise admitted it was a major blow to lose the towering Norwegian.

"Andre has a hairline fracture and is going to be out for six to eight weeks, which is a massive blow," said Wise. "It's not nice but sometimes that's the way it goes."

Kovac down by ankle trouble

Robert Kovac looks set to undergo ankle surgery, ruling him out of Juve's matches for the next six weeks.

The former Bayern Munich player injured his right foot in the match with Cesena on January 16 and has been undergoing treatment over the past 10 days, newspapers said.

After the latest medical examinations, however, specialists have insisted that the player should go under the knife. The surgery will take place in Munich tomorrow.

Pelizzoli goes east to Lokomotiv Moscow

Ivan Pelizzoli made a surprise deadline day move yesterday after opting to leave Reggina and sign for Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia.

The 26-year-old had joined Reggina in 2005 after four seasons with Roma. He will join the Russian club on a permanent basis in a £2.1m deal.

Pelizzoli, who grew up in Atalanta's youth system and made his Serie A debut with the Bergamo team in 2000, also appeared for Triestina before joining Roma in 2001.

Reggina will replace Pelizzoli with 26-year-old Christian Puggioni from Pisa.

Redknapp runs out of time

Harry Redknapp said Portsmouth's transfers for January were over after cooling his interest in Nigerian international Chinedu Ogbuke.

The highly-rated Lyn Oslo star spent a few days training at Fratton Park last month and despite impressing Redknapp he was unable to seal a move to England.

The striker, nicknamed 'Edu', required a work permit due to his lack of international experience and with the transfer window closing at midnight, the Pompey boss said time had run out to strike a deal.

"We would probably had to go to appeal to get the permit and it could take weeks because he only has a few caps," said Redknapp.