UEFA has criticised one of its representatives on the FIFA executive committee, Theo Zwanziger, saying it was “sad and upset” at the German’s recent conduct.

Zwanziger recently made a complaint to FIFA’s ethics committee which led it to investigate the pay and pension arrangements of German football federation president Wolfsgang Niersbach, who was cleared of any wrongdoing.

“The (UEFA) executive committee is really sad and upset at this situation, it’s really not understandable,” UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino told reporters.

“The executive committee fully rejects the actions of Mr Zwanziger.”

Cahill ruled out of Germany friendly

Striker Tim Cahill has been ruled out of Australia’s friendlies against Germany and Macedonia with an Achilles tendon injury.

Cahill had been nursing a “minor ongoing issue” with his Achilles tendon and Socceroos staff decided it was best for the 35-year-old to undergo rehab in China, where he now plays club football.

Cahill’s place in the squad has been taken by Swiss-based Oliver Bozanic.

Australia play Germany on Wednesday and Macedonia next week.

Cypriot refs want more protection

There are few more hazardous occupations in sport at the moment than being a referee in the Cypriot league with officials having suffered six criminal attacks in a year.

“The police have told us flat out that they cannot protect us and that they are unable to make any arrests in connection with incidents against referees, so what can we do?,” a Cyprus Referees’ Association representative told Reuters.

“We have asked the Justice Minister to take action but again he says he is doing all he can. If he can’t help us who should we ask for help, the Minister of Agriculture?”

A car used by top referee Leontios Trattos was set alight this month, the second incident involving him after his car was destroyed in a bombing attempt last year.

Spain call up Juanmi as cover for Costa

Spain have called up Malaga forward Juanmi as cover for the injured Diego Costa for the Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Ukraine, the Spanish federation (RFEF) said yesterday.

Brazil-born Costa, who missed Spain’s last two games due to injury, scored in Chelsea’s 3-2 Premier League victory at Hull City on Sunday but had to come off with about 15 minutes left due to a hamstring injury.

“Costa will undergo tests in London and the results will be available to Spain’s medical staff for their evaluation,” the RFEF said in a statement.

Captain Terry hails Chelsea character

Chelsea captain John Terry praised the character of his Premier League-title chasing team to bounce back from conceding a two-goal lead to beat Hull City and enter the international break on a high.

“The importance of the win showed on the players’ faces and that of the manager afterwards,” Terry said.

“When you set the standard so high as we have done from the word go, then start dropping points at home and go out of the Champions League, once again it comes back down to character.

“It’s immense in the dressing room, there is an awful lot of experience in there. It will serve the younger lads well, too.”

Robben setback

An injured Arjen Robben has been ruled out of the Netherlands’ two internationals against Turkey and Spain after the attacker tore an abdominal muscle playing in the Bundesliga on Sunday, the Dutch football association (KNVB) has confirmed.

Robben’s comeback for Bayern Munich lasted just 24 minutes as he was hurt in a rough challenge in the home loss to Borussia Moenchengladbach after returning from a back problem. He will be out for “several weeks”, said his club.

Robben had been called up to play for the Dutch in their Euro 2016 qualifier against Turkey on Saturday and a friendly against Spain three days later. Both matches are in Amsterdam.

McAuley red card handed to Dawson

The red card shown in error to West Brom defender Gareth McAuley in the Premier League match against Manchester City on Saturday has been transferred to Craig Dawson, the FA said.

McAuley was sent off after 90 seconds when referee Neil Swarbrick failed to identify Dawson as the culprit in bringing down Wilfried Bony when he was through on goal.

Dawson will serve a one-match ban.

Sunderland defender Wes Brown had his red card against Manchester United rescinded earlier this month after referee Roger East dismissed him for a foul on Radamel Falcao despite replays suggesting team-mate John O’Shea committed the offence.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.