Football news

Liverpool’s legion of Malaysian fans will in July be able to catch their team in action for the first time ahead of the premier league campaign, organisers said yesterday.

Liverpool have a massive fan base in the country.

“The match will be a piece of football history as this is the first time Liverpool FC will be stepping on Malaysian soil and it has created a lot of excitement,” ProEvents said in a statement.

Liverpool’s Far East tour will also take the team to China and South Korea. In 2009, the English side enjoyed a successful pre-season tour of Thailand and Singapore.

Gerrard out for rest of season

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a groin injury, manager Kenny Dalglish confirmed yesterday.

Gerrard had recently returned to training following a groin operation but broke down after sustaining a similar injury, dealing a blow to Liverpool’s push for a European place.

Dalglish said Liverpool were still trying to pinpoint the exact cause of the latest injury following a week of assessments.

“We still don’t know definitively what the problem is,” Dalglish said.

“We will wait to get a precise answer from the people that he has to see but he won’t be involved again this season.”

Fans of Moscow clubs clash again

A group of Spartak Moscow fans watching a UEFA Europa League match in a sports bar in Moscow late Thursday were attacked by a group of supporters from local rivals CSKA.

Reports said that up to 200 fans of the two Moscow clubs – whose mutual hatred is well known to the authorities – clashed after the end of a live broadcast of the match between Spartak and FC Porto.

Local police failed to detain any participants in the clash, despite a rapid intervention.

Moscow police refused to confirm that the fans were fighting in the centre of the city but said that seven drunk people were detained in the neighbourhood of the sports bar.

Fowler set to re-join Perth

Former England striker Robbie Fowler has verbally accepted an offer to re-join Perth Glory for next season although a contract is yet to be signed.

The Glory have been in discussions with Fowler since at least last December as the striker, who turns 36 today, weighed up whether to spend one more season in the A-League or head back to the United Kingdom to further his coaching ambitions.

With the A-League on a break before the new campaign starts in October, Fowler has joined League One side MK Dons as part of Karl Robinson’s backroom staff, while he will also spend the next week at Bury assisting caretaker manager Richie Barker.

Rossi to decide future in summer

Giuseppe Rossi told reporters his future will only be known at the end of the current Primera Liga season.

The Villarreal striker has been linked with a move to Juventus lately and Barcelona also seem to be interested in the Italy international but he insists he’s just focused on his present club for now.

“This is my best season and I want to end it in the best possible manner,” he said.

“Juventus? We’ll see what happens when the season comes to an end. Anything can occur in the summer market.”

Owomoyela extends B. Dortmund deal

Patrick Owomoyela has extended his contract with Borussia Dortmund by a year, despite spending much of the current season sidelined by injury.

The 31-year-old could also play a further year for the Westphalians should he remain free of injury next season and make a specific number of appearances.

Owomoyela joined Borussia Dortmund in 2008 from Werder Bremen but has been restricted to just 64 appearances over the past three seasons due to a string of injuries.

He rose to prominence with Arminia Bielefeld between 2003 and 2005 and was part of the Germany national team 11 times in the build-up to the 2006 World Cup, for which he was ultimately not selected.

DFB uphold St Pauli sanction

St Pauli’s match against Werder Bremen on April 23 will be played behind closed doors after the Bundesliga club’s appeal against the decision was rejected yesterday.

The German Football Association (DFB) sanctioned the one-match stadium closure due to crowd trouble in St Pauli’s last home game against Schalke a week ago. That game was abandoned in the 87th minute after a linesman was struck on the back of the neck by a plastic mug thrown from the crowd.

The 2-0 scoreline in Schalke’s favour when the match was halted has already been confirmed as the final result by the DFB, who announced that the Milerntor Stadion would also be closed for one match.