Football news

Newcastle United's board are hoping to meet retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley this week after he launched a £133 million takeover bid for the Premier League club on Wednesday.

The board said in a Stock Exchange statement that they had held a meeting about Ashley's move and wanted to meet him to discuss "the offer and his plans for Newcastle United in more detail".

Ashley has said he already owns about 41 per cent of the club, having bought out its biggest shareholder John Hall and his family.

O'Connor back in squad

Scotland have drafted Lokomotiv Moscow striker Garry O'Connor into their squad for the friendly match with Austria and Euro 2008 qualifier against the Faroe Islands.

The 24-year-old last played in the 1-0 home win over France at Hampden Park in October but controversially missed the flight for their next Group B game away to Ukraine.

Manager Alex McLeish said: "Garry has apologised for the private problems that surfaced and led to him missing games".

Owners backing Benitez's plans

Liverpool's American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks have pledged their backing to manager Rafa Benitez's plans to buy leading players to strengthen his squad for next season.

"Rafa's feeling is we need more depth because of the rigours of the schedule to be competitive," Gillet told reporters.

"In every sport I participate in, there is a difference between a league season and the play-offs. That's where the genius of the manager is so essential and that's where Tom and I have to defer to his background and genius."

La Liga incentive payments

The build-up to this weekend's round of matches in the Primera Liga has been dominated by talk of incentive payments made by third party clubs to encourage teams to beat their rivals in the title race or relegation struggle.

"Although no one admits it, I think there are briefcases being handed around," said Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos.

When asked about rumours of cash payments being handed around by clubs, Deportivo Coruna striker Riki responded: "It would be ridiculous to deny that these payments exist in Spanish football."

Hearts lodge CAS appeal

Hearts have lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against FIFA's ruling in the protracted Andy Webster affair.

The Scottish Premier League club said in a statement it disputed the £625,000 compensation figure Webster had to pay for scrapping his deal with Hearts after the official deadline.

The Midlothian club also said it was not clear how the compensation figure was calculated by FIFA when the Scotland defender had been valued at four to five million pounds.

Fabregas to stay at Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas will play at Arsenal next season despite being the subject of speculation in the media about a move to Real Madrid. Yesterday, Arsene Wenger said he was confident the 20-year-old will be at the Emirates Stadium for the next campaign.

Wenger said: "Cesc is going to spend the next year with Arsenal."

While Wenger is confident Fabregas will not move to Spain, Julio Baptista is set to return to the Bernabeu following his season with Arsenal.

The future of Jose Antonio Reyes appears more uncertain as he has consistently repeated his wish to remain in Spain.

United facing fans' backlash

Manchester United are facing the prospect of legal action from their own fans over the controversial Automatic Cup Scheme. The scheme makes it compulsory for fans to buy tickets for all cup games at Old Trafford, previously obligatory only for new season-ticket holders.

For the first time this summer, it has been extended to the remaining 25% of existing season-ticket holders who have not previously signed up.

In a campaign such as that just ended, when United played 10 cup games at home, it would add a minimum of £390 to the cost of the most expensive season ticket next season.

Beckham almost joined Milan

David Beckham told reporters that the toughest decision of his career was turning down Milan to join LA. Milan said they had been his number one option if Beckham had decided to stay in Europe and the player admits that is true.

"It was not easy to say no to Milan, one of the best clubs in the world. The squad, the coach, the president, the city and then Ronaldo went there too. It was a very tough choice," Beckham said.

"I was honoured, flattered and tempted. But I had to think about my family and wanted a different challenge."

Ambrosini makes apology

Massimo Ambrosini has apologised for holding a banner insulting Inter as Milan marked their Champions League victory at San Siro.

The team paraded through the city in an open top bus and Ambrosini was spotted holding a banner urging Inter to 'Stick your scudetto...'

"Those who have celebrated straight after a great sporting success know that you can let yourself go and fall into a climate of fun," wrote the midfielder in an open letter of apology on the club's official website.

"That is absolutely all it was, good natured fun. I am perfectly aware that I was silly and apologise to everyone."