Cahill: Everton midfielder Tim Cahill was banned for three games by the FA yesterday for clashing with Newcastle United defender Celestine Babayaro. Australian Cahill had denied a violent conduct charge. The pair appeared to lash out after tangling in Everton's 1-0 Premier League victory at Goodison Park on Sunday. Referee Howard Webb, who had not initially seen the entire incident, did not book either player. Nigerian Babayaro admitted the charge and was banned for three games on Wednesday.
Celta Vigo: Celta Vigo and Arsenal have signed a three-year collaborative deal designed to foster the development of young players and strengthen the two clubs. "Celta and Arsenal believe that this deal will benefit both clubs and we would like to express our satisfaction with the agreement," Celta said in a statement on their website. Celta, who were knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal two seasons ago before being relegated from the first division, have been in good form on their return to the top flight and are in fifth place in the standings, five points behind leaders Barcelona.
Rangers: Rangers have hired a Swedish firm to help it fight the illegal copying of merchandise such as shirts, which costs the club up to six million pounds a year. Labels on the club's merchandise will a have special invisible identification code which sends out a radio frequency which beeps when scanned, said Swedish labelling group Nilorn <NILGb.ST>. It would allow Rangers to identify authorised merchandise from counterfeit goods.
Angola: A bid by former Portuguese international Edgar to play for Angola in next year's World Cup finals has been rejected by FIFA because the striker did not apply for a switch in allegiance in time. A FIFA spokesman said that the 28-year-old, who plays for Malaga in Spain, would not be allowed to change his footballing nationality in spite of having competed for Portugal in only one senior international, a friendly match seven years ago.
Allianssi: Finnish first division AC Allianssi have cleared out their squad ahead of the 2006 season and there will be no place for Swiss defender Jean-Pierre La Placa, found guilty in Belgium of attempted bribery. Chairman Jarmo Hakala said yesterday that Allianssi, which is trying to break all ties with main owner Zheyun Ye, would draft new contracts only for the players who were at the club before Ye took control in June this year.
Berlin: The city of Berlin hopes to set a record six months before the start of the World Cup by staging the world's biggest table football competition. The "Tischfussball-Turnier" will take place on Dec. 9, the day of the draw for the real World Cup and six months before the big kick-off in Munich on June 9. The venue will be Berlin's Olympic Stadium, which will stage the World Cup final on July 9. Organisers are hoping 2,000 people will participate in the table football tournament.