Football news

Goalkeeper Joe Lewis, who recently made his debut for the England Under-21 team, was called into the senior squad by coach Fabio Capello for friendlies against the United States and Trinidad & Tobago.

Lewis, 20, has just helped Peterborough United win promotion from League Two after a £400,000 move from Norwich City in January.

If Lewis makes his debut, he will join a small group of players, including Johnny Byrne, Peter Taylor and Steve Bull, who have played for England while plying their trade outside the top two divisions.

Becali bonus offer rejected

The Romanian Soccer Federation (FRF) has rejected an offer from Steaua Bucharest owner Gigi Becali to give the national team bonuses of up to €5.5 million if they are successful at Euro 2008.

"We don't need any bonus from Becali, who could invest his money to improve Steaua's performance," FRF general director Ionut Lupescu told reporters.

He said Romania coach Victor Piturca, whose team have been handed a tough draw in Group C with Italy, France and the Netherlands, agreed with the FRF decision not to accept any bonus.

Becali is being investigated by Romania's anti-corruption department (DNA), which has accused him of offering bribes to players and officials of Universitatea Cluj to draw with or beat CFR Cluj, Steaua's main rivals in this season's title race.

Gilardino close to Florence move

Fiorentina are close to signing Milan striker Alberto Gilardino, the Florence club's sporting director said.

"Only a few details still need to be finalised. It is practically done," Pantaleo Corvino was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency. "The player has made an important effort to compromise with his wage demands."

Gilardino cut a forlorn figure at the San Siro last season as the former Italy striker saw his playing time limited by the resurgence of Filippo Inzaghi and the arrival of Alexandre Pato.

Gilardino has never quite settled since arriving from Parma in 2005 and wants to change club to avoid another season warming the bench.

Dossena heading to Anfield

Udinese have confirmed they are talking to Liverpool about the possible transfer of Italian defender Andrea Dossena, 26.

"We haven't reached an agreement with the English club yet," the Serie A side's general manager Pietro Leonardi told reporters. "We are negotiating. We'll talk about it again next week."

Federico Pastorello, the player's agent, said Dossena is attracting the attention of several clubs, including Napoli and Fiorentina.

"The future of the player is still very uncertain," Pastorello explained. "He will decide everything in the coming weeks."

Trap satisfied with Ireland progress

Ireland snatched a 1-1 draw with Serbia on Saturday night in what new coach Giovanni Trapattoni hailed as a good start to rebuild the team which failed to qualify for Euro 2008.

Substitute Andy Keogh equalised in the last minute after Serbia substitute Marko Pantelic had put the visiting side ahead 15 minutes from time in the friendly at Croke Park.

Trapattoni, appointed in February, said the team had improved compared to their performance against Brazil in a 1-0 defeat in Dublin in February and it was a good first step ahead of the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.

"I am happy because we didn't deserve to lose this match," Trapattoni told a news conference.

'Grant made too many errors'

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich sacked manager Avram Grant because he realised the Israeli would not be able to take the club any further, former international midfielder Eyal Berkovic said.

"I have already said that Avram made a number of serious mistakes... his inability to communicate with the English media, his failure to befriend the fans and the undermining of Jose Mourinho," Berkovic said.

Berkovic and Grant fell out in 2004 after the coach dropped his outspoken captain from the Israel team, a move which ended Berkovic's international career.

Juve lose Fiat Cup

Juventus have lost on penalties to Parma in the Fiat Cup, after a 3-3 draw. The triangular tournament, played in China last weekend, was part of Juve's summer tour, which is in preparation for their forthcoming participation in the Champions League.

Claudio Ranieri's side were defeated 2-1 in the first match of the tournament by hosts Shenhua Shanghai. David Trezeguet scored Juve's only goal in a game contested, according to format, over 45 minutes.

Juventus then faced recently-relegated Parma, who came back twice to make the score 3-3 and force a shoot-out.