Football news

Rangers have rejected a second bid from Bursaspor for Steven Whittaker.

The Turkish side offered a reported £600,000 for the versatile Scotland international but Ibrox manager Ally McCoist is keen to keep his team intact.

McCoist said: “I don’t even want to know what the new bid was. I am trying to build a squad here, not dismantle one.

“Steven is a crucial part of that and I’m confident he will stay and we can clinch a new deal for him. He was superb for us last season. I have spoken with him and I feel his heart is here at Rangers.”

Sneijder not leaving Inter

Wesley Sneijder has dampened speculation linking him with Chelsea and Manchester United by declaring that he cannot foresee himself leaving Inter.

“For the time being I’m very happy here,” Sneijder, who turned 27 on Thursday, said.

“I don’t see why I would leave. There’s a family atmosphere at Inter and there’s everything you need to aim high. Milan is a marvellous city; picturesque and stylish everywhere you go. I love it.”

Sneijder was a key figure in Inter’s treble in 2010 but enjoyed less success in 2010-11. Dogged by injury, he played just 25 matches in Serie A and scored four goals.

Di Carlo makes Chievo return

Domenico Di Carlo will return to coach Chievo next season, the Serie A club announced, after a previous stint at the helm of the Verona outfit between 2008 and 2010.

He replaces Stefano Pioli, who joined Palermo after guiding Chievo to safety in the 2010-11 season.

Di Carlo, 47, was sacked by Sampdoria in March 7 as the Genoa club vainly sought to stave off the threat of relegation. He kept Chievo in the Italian top flight in 2008-09, before leading them to a 14th-place finish a year later.

His exploits with Chievo saw him taken on by Sampdoria, who had qualified for the Champions League qualifying phase but who were relegated at the end of the season.

Toure obsessed with weight – FA

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure was obsessed with “the appearance of his belly”, according to documents released by the FA.

Toure was handed a six-month suspension in May after being found guilty of taking banned water tablets.

His suspension has been back-dated to March and he will be able to play again in September, but the FA have revealed that his battle with his weight led him to take the pills.

A report issued by the FA reads: “The context is that for some years Toure has had a problem controlling his weight. He has become obsessed and more particularly the ap-pearance of his belly.”

The FA have released a 16-page report giving their reasons for the ban.

Mexico down Cuba despite drugs drama

Javier Hernandez and Giovani Dos Santos scored two goals each late Thursday as Mexico shrugged off a potential doping drama to beat Cuba 5-0 in the Gold Cup.

The victory came hours after the Mexican federation suspended five players, including defender Francisco Rodriguez and goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, for testing positive for the banned muscle-building drug clenbuterol.

Although Mexican officials said they believed the five ingested the drug accidentally through tainted chicken at a pre-tournament training camp, they pulled them from the regional championship from which the winners advance to the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil in 2013.

Celtic teen has lofty ambitions

Teenager James Keatings has vowed to secure first-team football at Celtic Park after signing a three-year contract. Keatings scored 25 goals for the Under-19 side last season before suffering a cruciate ligament injury in April.

However, the 19-year-old had done enough to earn a professional contract and is determined to make the most of it when he recovers from his injury.

Keatings said: “It’s a great boost for me confidence-wise. It’s brilliant to know that I have another three years playing with Celtic.

“Obviously, I am going to be out for a wee while but hopefully I’ll come back stronger, faster and fitter and get back in the scene playing football and, hopefully, playing first-team football.”

Matri set to stay at Juventus

Reports in the media yesterday suggested that Alessandro Matri will stay with Juventus next season after a deal was reached with his former club Cagliari.

Matri first joined Juve on loan in January with an option-to-buy fee fixed at €15.5 million.

After a series of talks between the two Serie A clubs, it seems that a compromise has been reached.

Matri was a massive success in Turin after he scored nine goals in 16 games for the Bianconeri.

As part of the deal, Juventus will hand over an undisclosed amount of money plus youth players Luca Marrone, Cristian Pasquato and Ciro Immobile for Matri who plays in attack.