Ferdinand: QPR defender Anton Ferdinand is in talks with Turkish side Bursaspor over a potential loan move. The 27-year-old joined the west Londoners from Sunderland in 2011 but, after impressing last season, has struggled for form this term. Ferdinand has found himself on the periphery of the first team as a result and now looks set for a move away from Loftus Road.
Ball boy: Charlie Morgan, the Swansea ball boy at the centre of a controversial incident also involving Chelsea’s Eden Hazard last week, is ineligible to be a ball boy in Wales’ friendly against Austria. Morgan is a member of the Union Rangers club which will provide ball boys for Wales’ friendly on February 6. However, the FA of Wales has confirmed that it will be members of the club’s U-15 and U-16 sides who are involved.
Mavuba: Lille and France mid-fielder Rio Mavuba has been ruled out of action for at least two weeks because of a knee problem. A spokesman said that Mavuba would undergo an arthroscopy on his left knee today. Mavuba, who won the last of his nine France caps in a 3-1 win against Belarus in a 2014 World Cup qualifier last September, will miss Les Bleus’ friendly against Germany on Feb. 6.
Beitar: An Israeli club notorious for the anti-Arab chants of its fans plans to recruit two Muslim players, fuelling protests in the stands. At a Premier League game on Saturday, Beitar Jerusalem supporters held a banner reading “Beitar will always remain pure”. Other signs hoisted by fans also protested against its owner’s intention to have two Muslim Chechen players join. The Beitar club is the only leading team in the country never to have signed an Arab player because of fan pressure.
Africa Cup: Hosts South Africa came perilously close to going out of the Africa Cup yesterday before a late equaliser earned a 2-2 draw with Morocco and a place in the quarter-finals. Defender Siyabonga Sangweni levelled four minutes from time as they edged out massive underdogs Cape Verde Islands for a spot in the last eight. South Africa would have become the first hosts in 10 editions of the tournament to miss out on the knockout stages if they had lost to Morocco who were eliminated after drawing all three matches.