Plans for a friendly between Manchester City and South Korean champions Jeonbuk Motors next month have been scrapped due a recent bribery scandal at the K-League club.
Jeonbuk were rocked by accusations last month that one of their scouts paid top-flight referees to influence games.
Two referees have been charged with accepting bribes totalling five million won ($4,307.52) in 2013.
The Jeonbuk Motors scout has said the payments were of a personal nature and not aimed at influencing games.
Puma blames batch of defective material
Kit manufacturer Puma said it had traced a problem with ripped shirts for the Swiss team at Euro 2016 to a defective batch of material used only in a limited number of home jerseys for the team.
During Sunday’s goalless draw against France, the shirts of at least four Swiss players were torn when pulled by opponents, forcing members of the team to swap tops three times in the first half.
Germany-based Puma said analysis of the jerseys showed there was one batch of material where yarns had been damaged during production, making the garment weaker.
Puma also provides the kits for Austria, Czech Republic, Italy and Slovakia.
Jemez appointed Granada coach
Former Rayo Vallecano boss Paco Jemez has become the first head coach hired by Granada’s ambitious new Chinese owners.
The 46-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Primera Division club, who were sold to Chinese firm Link International Sports this month.
A statement said Jemez – recently in charge of relegated Rayo – would be presented by his new employers tomorrow.
Link International Sports owner Jiang Lizhang bought a majority stake from the Pozzo family after the Italians decided to focus on their other clubs, Udinese of Serie A and Premier League side Watford.
Davis signs new Southampton deal
Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis, leading his country at the European Championship, has signed a new deal at Premier League Southampton until 2019.
The 31-year-old midfielder joined Saints in 2012 and has played 155 games for the English south-coast team, scoring 11 goals.
Southampton director of football Les Reed said: “Steven Davis is representing his country and our club as a true ambassador in the sport.
“Southampton fans know only too well how much energy and effort he puts into games and our players know that when needed he will be there to help them.”
Spurs set to sign Wanyama – reports
Tottenham Hotspur have agreed to sign Southampton defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama for £11 million, British media reported yesterday.
Wanyama heavily featured in the Premier League under Ronald Koeman, who was named Everton manager last week, making 29 starts as the club clinched sixth place to qualify for the Europa League.
The 24-year-old had also been in talks with Spurs last year before the deal fell through.
The Saints had hoped to tie down Wanyama to a new deal, with the player entering the final year of his contract, but the Kenyan rejected the offers.
Miura, 49, still hungry for goals
Kazuyoshi Miura is eager to add more goals to his tally after the 49-year-old broke his own record as the oldest scorer in Japanese professional football when he netted in second division side Yokohama FC’s 2-1 loss to FC Gifu on Sunday.
Miura, who scored 55 goals in 89 appearances for Japan, is playing his 31st season as a pro and remains keen to prolong his career despite recent struggles with injury and poor form.
“I’m genuinely happy. Things felt nice during training and I was sensing I could get one. The defeat is the disappointing part. I need to be scoring more, to be honest,” Miura said.
Premier League clubs back ‘Remain’ vote
The top clubs of England and Wales back a “Remain” vote in Britain’s European Union referendum because leaving would run counter to their global approach to business, the chairman of the Premier League said yesterday.
Richard Scudamore told BBC radio it would be “incongruous” for the league to support an exit from the EU.
“Are we better acting like we want to play our part in the world and be worldly citizens, or do we want to send a signal to the world that says, actually, we’re kind of pulling the drawbridge up here?” Scudamore said.
“Well, that doesn’t seem to sit very well when you travel the world like we do.”