Chelsea will play either the winners of the Asian Champions League or Mexican side Monterrey in the semi-finals of December’s Club World Cup in Japan, after the draw for the tournament was made by FIFA yesterday.
The identity of the team representing Asia will not be known until November 10.
The other quarter-final will be contested by the champions of Africa and the winners of a play-off between Oceania champions Auckland City (New Zealand) and the winners of Japan’s national championship.
The victors of that encounter will tackle Corinthians in the other semi-final.
Referee subjected to Twitter abuse
Referee Mark Halsey was the victim of Twitter abuse following the fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United on Sunday.
Halsey, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009 but returned to refereeing in March 2010, sent off Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and awarded a late penalty to United which they converted to seal a 2-1 win.
A tweet posted from an account @johnwareing1 read: “I hope Halsey gets cancer again and dies” while another from @lfcjohn259 read: “Mark Halsey should’ve died of cancer.”
Both tweets were deleted and the @johnwareing1 account was removed completely.
Baldini dismisses Tottenham link
Franco Baldini has quashed rumours of a move to Tottenham by insisting he is committed to his job as general manager of Roma.
Tottenham are looking to change their management structure by bringing in a technical director to aid current head coach Andre Villas-Boas.
Baldini has been linked with a move to White Hart Lane but insists he is content with life in the Italian capital.
“I have nothing to say on this matter as I have an obligation over here with Roma, it is a long project to which I am committed,” he told reporters.
AVB hails Defoe
Andre Villas-Boas revelled in his first home win as Tottenham manager, but was quick to praise the goal-scoring knack and consistency of Jermain Defoe.
Spurs came back from a goal down to beat QPR 2-1 at White Hart Lane through an Alejandro Faurlin own-goal and a Defoe strike from close-range.
“Defoe is performing at the top level,” Villas-Boas said of a player whose future at the club has been a source of constant speculation.
“He has had his opportunities this season and he is taking them tremendously.
“This season he is facing tough competition from Adebayor and Dempsey, but he keeps on performing. The competition is making him tick.”
Record crowd at Ganso unveiling
Sao Paulo rode a wave of enthusiasm from a record crowd at the Morumbi stadium where new signing Paulo Ganso was unveiled on Sunday before a 1-0 victory over Cruzeiro.
Osvaldo’s winner in front of the season’s record crowd of 40,457 kept Sao Paulo firmly in fifth place with 42 points from 26 matches. There is no fixed date for injury-prone Ganso’s debut since he arrived at Sao Paulo with a thigh problem.
The crowd beat the season’s previous best in the first division of 38,862 at the Flamengo-Fluminense derby in Rio.
The average crowd in the first division, however, is around 12,000 since the main stadiums are undergoing work for the 2014 World Cup finals.
Aspinall calls for lifetime bans
Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall has called for lifetime bans to be handed out to anyone singing insulting chants about deaths in football tragedies.
At Anfield on Sunday, both sets of supporters acted respectfully throughout, until after the final whistle when a couple of Liverpool supporters goaded the Manchester United contingent with a Munich gesture in reference to the 1958 air crash.
The response of the United fans to the taunts was depressingly predictable, chanting “Always the victims” and “Murderers”.
Aspinall said: “Any form of chanting about any disaster is appalling. If they get caught on CCTV they should not get a second chance – ban them for life.”
’Pool’s Kelly to return ‘next year’
Liverpool’s Martin Kelly hopes to return to action next year after injuring his knee in the Premier League club’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United, the defender said yesterday.
Kelly was forced off the pitch after falling awkwardly in the dying minutes of Sunday’s match.
“What I can say is it’s not the worst injury I’ve had and for sure I’ll be fighting for my place next year when I’m back fitter and stronger,” Kelly said.
The form of the England defender has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for Liverpool who are third from bottom without a win from their opening five games.