Former Everton striker Francis Jeffers has returned to the club as an academy coach.
Jeffers, 35, is working towards his UEFA A-Licence and will work as a youth coach with the Toffees’ academy strikers.
Jeffers played 82 times, scoring 22 goals, in two spells with Everton in a career that also took in Arsenal, Charlton, Blackburn, Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and Motherwell.
He won one England cap, scoring in a 3-1 defeat to Australia in 2003.
Security measures for London derby
Fans will face body searches at the turnstiles, alcohol restrictions, post-match segregation and a “robust policing plan” as part of measures aimed to minimise crowd trouble when West Ham United host Chelsea in the League Cup today.
Chelsea have been allocated just under 5,200 tickets for the fourth-round tie at London Stadium, which has been designated as a high-risk fixture given the history of animosity between the two sets of fans.
Recent matches have seen an increased line of segregation and also more stewards.
In total, there have been nine arrests outside London Stadium, while 23 banning orders have been issued by West Ham.
CONMEBOL seeks financial redress
South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL has opened legal proceedings in New York against International Soccer Marketing (ISM) in a bid to recover $18m paid in commission for exclusive broadcasting rights.
It was the first of several legal actions CONMEBOL was planning after a US-led investigation last year unearthed widespread fraudulent deals at the heart of FIFA.
CONMEBOL said it based its action on the fact ISM’s owners had admitted in court they had paid bribes to former CONMEBOL directors over two decades for commercial rights to the Copa Libertadores.
Broadcast rights deal for FA cup
The English FA announced its board had ratified a “hugely significant” new overseas broadcast rights deal for the FA Cup.
The agreement, reportedly worth over $1 billion (around £820m), will run for six seasons starting from 2018-19.
A statement from the FA said the deal, which also includes rights for the Community Shield and FA Youth Cup, will “ensure the FA Cup’s status as the world’s original and greatest domestic cup competition”.
The FA has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pitch International to cover western Europe, the Middle East and north Africa and with IMG for the rest of the world.
Inter’s Medel handed three-match ban
Inter midfielder Gary Medel has landed a three-game Serie A suspension for elbowing Atalanta’s Jasmin Kurtic.
The Chile international was not booked for thrusting his left arm into Kurtic’s face in the 39th minute of Inter’s 2-1 defeat at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia on Sunday as match officials did not notice the incident.
However, a statement said the league’s disciplinary panel had seen fit to impose a retrospective ban on the former Cardiff City player, who will now miss games against Torino (today), Sampdoria and Crotone.
United’s Bailly out for two months
Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly hopes to play again within two months after injuring his knee in their 4-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea on Sunday.
Bailly limped off early in the second half having suffered suspected serious knee ligament damage.
The Ivory Coast defender, who has enjoyed a good start to the season after joining United from Villarreal in June, updated supporters on his Instagram account yesterday.
“I hope to be able to play again for United and The Elephants (Ivory Coast) before two months, God willing,” Bailly, who has started all United’s league games this season, said.
Spain’s RFEF fined
FIFA have fined Spain’s football federation (RFEF) for breaking rules governing the international transfer and registration of minors by allowing Atletico and Real Madrid to sign under-age players from other countries.
In January, world football’s governing body banned the Madrid clubs from participating in two consecutive transfer windows for breaching rules regarding the signing of underage non-Spanish players, similar punishment to that handed out to Barcelona in 2015.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee ruled yesterday that the Spanish federation must pay 220,000 Swiss francs ($221,283) for breaching article 19 of their regulations on the status and transfers of players, which is designed to protect minors.