Football news

The Premier League clubs in England announced they will bring in a crackdown on unacceptable behaviour by players and managers towards referees next season.

Abuse of match officials, surrounding referees, unacceptable criticism of referees and trying to get opponents sanctioned will all be targeted by the new campaign. There have been a number of high-profile incidents this season, most recently when Alex Ferguson received a five-match touchline ban for his outburst at referee Martin Atkinson.

The announcement follows a meeting of club chairmen who unanimously decided to launch a new campaign.

Man. City rocked by Boateng injury

Manchester City defender Jerome Boateng is to undergo knee surgery and may only be fit for the final two Premier League games of the season.

City manager Roberto Mancini revealed the full extent of Boateng’s injury yesterday, which was sustained while on international duty with the Germany team last week.

There was more positive news coming out of Eastlands regarding Micah Richards.

Mancini said he was hoping that the defender will be fit in time for the semi-final clash with rivals Man. United at Wembley on April 16.

“We are trying to get him fit for the semi-final. I don’t know if it is possible but we hope,” said the City manager.

Youth academy flees nuclear crisis

An elite football academy has been forced to move from its base just 20 kilometres from Japan’s stricken atomic power plant as the country reels from its quake, tsunami and nuclear disasters.

The Japan FA said the JFA Academy Fukushima would be “temporarily relocated” at a sports centre on the southeastern flank of Mount Fuji, some 310 kilometres west of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The academy, founded in 2006, has 125 junior and senior high school students, male and female, from around the country, who live and train together at the so-called J-Village sports training centre. They go to local schools.

Bruce fury at ‘racist’ allegation

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce angrily denied allegations of racism after Argentinian defender Marcos Angeleri claimed he had been overlooked because of his nationality.

Angeleri was quoted in South American media as saying that Bruce did not pick him for the Black Cats because he was not English.

However, Bruce hit back, pointing out that he had 11 foreign players from nine different countries in Sunderland’s 25-man squad.

“In today’s world, there is nothing more damaging than someone suggesting you are a racist. Of all things that have been thrown at me over the years, that is the charge that hurts the most,” Bruce said.

Adriano promises great things

Brazilian striker Adriano promised to make his mark back in his homeland after joining Sao Paulo-based Corinthians on a 15-month deal after an unsuccessful spell with Roma.

“I come to Corinthians in order to succeed – and I want to win back my place in the Brazil side,” the 29-year-old forward said.

The burly, left-footed striker, nicknamed ‘The Emperor’, left Roma after just a handful of appearances this season, despite having signed a three-year contract only last summer.

With Corinthians he will earn 500,000 reais a month ($306,500), including bonuses, which is around 100 times the average wage in his country.

Tough law against hooliganism

Turkey’s parliament passed a law introducing tough penalties for match-fixing and hooliganism in sports, aimed mainly at football clubs and their fans.

The law, which needs a presidential approval to take effect, introduces jail sentences of five to 12 years for match-fixing, calling for the terms to be increased by half if the offence is committed by club managers or with the intent to sway bookmaking results.

Insults based on “religious, racial, ethnic and sexual differences” would carry prison terms of six months to two years.

The law also toughens security rules for football matches, introducing a compulsory electronic card for spectators.

Champions League boosts Spurs books

The importance of Tottenham Hotspur qualifying for next year’s Champions League was under-lined this week by financial results that showed the club’s revenue increased 49 per cent during the six months that followed their qualification to this season’s competition.

Spurs’ interim results from June 30 to December 31, 2010 showed that the club’s first ever qualification for the competition in its present guise saw their revenue increase to £79.8m compared to the £53.3m they recorded at the same stage last year.

In total, the club posted a profit of £4.2m compared to the £6.1m loss they made during the same period in 2009.