Man United: Manchester United look set to make their first appearance in Australia for 14 years next summer. United officials have been in talks with Football Federation Australia counterparts for a number of months now about Alex Ferguson’s men heading Down Under as part of their 2013 pre-season tour. Although the Premier League giants have yet to confirm their plans, it has been reported that the finishing touches are now being applied to a match that would see United take on an A-League All Star team at ANZ Stadium.
Ownership: UEFA wants to prohibit the controversial third-party ownership of players, secretary general Gianni Infantino said yesterday. “We all know that third-party ownership of players bears many threats and there are many issues linked with the integrity of the competition and it is really time to regulate that and to have a stance on that,” Infantino said.
Emre: Emre Belozoglu could face a two-year prison sentence after Istanbul prosecutors requested a jail term for an alleged racist slur against a rival. Prosecutors are looking for a sentence of between six months and two years against the former Fenerbahce player, accused of racially insulting Trabzonspor’s Didier Zokora during a Turkish league match last April. The 32-year-old was suspended for two matches for allegedly calling Zokora a “dirty negro”.
Bin Hamman: FIFA have extended the provisional ban of former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohamed Bin Hammam, yesterday. The 63-year-old Qatari had a lifetime ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July due to lack of evidence over corruption allegations, but was banned again provisionally by FIFA who launched a new probe by ethics committee investigator Michael Garcia.
Ruiz: Fulham forward Bryan Ruiz has been ruled out until the new year after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, manager Martin Jol said yesterday. Ruiz, 27, last played in Fulham’s 3-1 defeat to Sunderland three weeks ago and had been expected to return against Newcastle United on Monday. “As you know we were very happy to tell everyone last week that Bryan Ruiz was back on Monday, and at the same training session he was injured again. He is out for four or five weeks.”