Sporting briefs

Match-fixing sanctions: FIFA is to discuss enforcing stronger measures to curb match-fixing which could include the suspension of national associations as well as clubs, president Sepp Blatter said yesterday. Blatter told Reuters: "There is a strong disciplinary code and our aim is to enforce the code more strongly. In short more enforcement of the law." On a four-day visit to India, Blatter said FIFA would be discussing match-fixing at its next Congress in May with measures set for "widespread implementation around the world."

Winning start: Former Bulgaria coach Hristo Stoichkov got off to a winning start as the new boss of Celta Vigo yesterday when his side claimed a deserved 1-0 win at home to Galician rivals Deportivo La Coruna. Brazilian striker Fernando Baiano diverted a shot into the net on the hour to earn Celta their first win in seven outings and only their second at their Balaidos stadium this season. The victory lifted Celta out of the relegation zone where they were replaced by Levante who lost 1-0 at Atletico Madrid.

Maradona: Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona will remain in a Buenos Aires clinic although he has not had a repeat of the abdominal pains that led him to be hospitalised, a medical report said last weekend. Maradona, 46, went back to hospital on Friday, just 48 hours after being released after two weeks of treatment for alcoholic hepatitis that doctors linked to heavy drinking. The report said a team of doctors including psychiatrists, nutritionists and obesity-surgery specialists were helping the soccer star, who had a stomach-stapling operation in 2005 to help him lose weight.

Essien banned: Michael Essien must serve a one-match suspension when Chelsea meet Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, while five of his team-mates must avoid yellow cards to escape a similar fate in the second encounter. Ghana midfielder Essien picked up his third booking of the competition just three minutes into Chelsea's 2-1 victory against Valencia at the Mestalla last week. He is the only player banned for either first-leg match although all four semi-finalists, including Manchester United and Milan in the other tie, have players tottering on the brink, within one caution of a suspension.

Ticket fiasco: Manchester United fans' chief Mark Longden has accused the FA of "incompetence" over the FA Cup semi-final ticket fiasco. Having given Watford 200 more tickets than United for Saturday's semi-final at Villa Park, the FA then discovered the Hornets could not sell their entire allocation. So, United's 4-1 win was played out in front of empty seats while thousands of fans desperate to attend were unable to get in. "If it wasn't so serious, it would actually be quite funny," Longden said. "Really, it is incompetence beyond comprehension and just proved how unaccountable some people at the FA really are."