COVENTRY: Coventry have launched an appeal against their 10-point deduction by the Football League for entering admi-nistration. The Sky Blues were last Thursday hit with the penalty by the League in accordance with their rules and regulations, effectively ending the League One club’s hopes of a play-off place. However, Coventry were given one week in which to appeal the decision and they have opted to do so.

UNITED: Wayne Rooney and Rafael have returned to training and should be available for Manchester United’s Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester City on Monday. Rooney returned from international duty with a groin injury, while Rafael suffered a similar problem during Saturday’s win at Sunderland.

VALBUENA: Olympique Marseille winger Mathieu Valbuena has been ruled out of action for up to 12 days with a groin injury, the Ligue 1 team said yesterday. “Mathieu Valbuena felt a pain on Wednesday and a scan showed that he had a groin injury. He will be out for 10-12 days,” OM said on their website (www.om.net). Marseille take on Girondins Bordeaux today.

BULGARIA: The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has suspended four referees for making significant mistakes in domestic matches following widespread criticism over the standard of refereeing in the Balkan country. “The BFU’s refereeing commission is seriously concerned by the rise of referees’ mistakes and (want) ... all officials to adhere strictly to the rules of the game,” the commission said after outlining the suspension.

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