Football news

A statue of England's 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore was unveiled at the new Wembley Stadium yesterday.

Moore, who died of cancer in 1993 aged 51, is fondly remembered for lifting the trophy when England beat West Germany at the former stadium which was demolished to make way for the new 90,000-seater arena that opened earlier this year.

The statue will face fans walking along Olympic Way at next week's FA Cup final between Manchester United and Chelsea, the first to be held at Wembley since 2000.

Moore, who was also captain of West Ham, played 108 times for England after making his international debut against Peru in 1962.

Sanchez quits Northern Ireland

Lawrie Sanchez has been appointed manager of Fulham with an open-ended contract and has stepped down as Northern Ireland coach.

Sanchez was appointed as a caretaker manager on April 10 after Fulham sacked Chris Coleman following a disappointing run of results that dragged them into the relegation dogfight.

Sanchez has since steered them to safety, helped by last weekend's win over a re-shuffled Liverpool side, and has been rewarded with what the London club called "an indefinite, rolling contract."

Kop favourite to leave Anfield

Anfield favourite Robbie Fowler will not be at Liverpool next season after manager Rafael Benitez decided not to offer the former England striker a new contract. Fowler, who returned to Liverpool for a second spell in January 2006 and signed a one-year contract last May, is surplus to requirements at the 32-year-old's hometown club.

Benitez, whose men face Milan in the Champions League final on May 23, said: "We had a good meeting and he understood the situation."

Nicknamed 'God' by his adoring fans, Fowler was a Liverpool trainee and played for them from 1992 to 2001. A prolific striker, he has scored 183 goals for the club.

Real boss praises Beckham

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has praised David Beckham's conduct and commitment at the club as his move to Los Angeles Galaxy draws near.

"I wish him all the best in the new project he is about to start in the United States," Calderon was quoted as saying.

"He has been an example for this club and continues to demonstrate it day by day.

"I was a little annoyed when he said he was leaving because I wasn't expecting it, but he has made his decision and I am sure he will do well."

Ref chased off the field

A referee was chased off the field at the Maracana stadium yesterday by players furious after he failed to award them a stoppage-time penalty.

Carlos Eugenio Simon, who refereed at last year's World Cup, left the pitch under police protection following Botafogo's 2-1 win over Atletico Mineiro in a Copa Brasil quarter-final second leg.

Botafogo went through 4-3 on aggregate after Atletico had a penalty turned down in the dying minutes. A second goal would have sent Atletico through on away goals in Botafogo's place.

As soon as he blew the final whistle, Atletico players rushed towards Simon who ran off the pitch. They were heard to insult the official who was quickly surrounded by police and security men.

Rijkaard suffers toughest blow

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said that his side's humiliating 4-0 defeat by Getafe in the semi-finals of the King's Cup was one of the biggest disappointments of his career.

"We can't make any excuses, we suffered massively out there and I honestly don't think we can complain about the result - Getafe deserved to win and we have to congratulate them," Rijkaard told a news conference after his side's 6-5 aggregate defeat.

"This is one of the hardest nights I've ever had to experience. I have to take my share of responsibility in this as coach and personally I have to ask forgiveness to the Barcelona fans for what has happened."

Lippi's son sent for trial

The son of former Italy coach Marcello Lippi has been sent for trial over his involvement with sports management agency GEA World, judicial sources said yesterday.

Davide Lippi, who is accused of "unfair competition through the use of threats and violence", will appear before a court in Rome from June 21.

A long investigation has been looking into the operations of GEA, which used to manage the careers of several footballers and coaches.

Wenger allows Muamba to go

Arsene Wenger has begun his summer transfer activity by allowing highly-rated midfielder Fabrice Muamba to join promoted Birmingham and agreeing a deal to sign Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Muamba, a 19-year-old England youth international, has spent the season on loan at Birmingham and has already opened talks with manager Steve Bruce over a two million pounds deal. Striker Nicklas Bendtner, however, will return to Arsenal following a loan spell at St Andrews.

Wenger said he wants to add more competition to the goalkeeping department and is confident Fabianski will push Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia for the number one jersey.

Brescia-Napoli postponed

Juventus can't be promoted this weekend after the Serie B match between Brescia and Napoli was postponed yesterday. Juve had a slim chance of making sure if they win against Bologna today, while Napoli and Genoa lost their match tomorrow.

However, Napoli's trip to Brescia was called off for public order reasons.

The Serie B clash will now be played next Tuesday at 6 p.m.