Fagan: Derby County's Craig Fagan has denied an FA charge of misconduct after appearing to stamp on Liverpool's Alvaro Arbeloa during his side's 6-0 hammering at Anfield last Saturday, the club said on its web site. The striker faces an automatic three-match ban if found guilty of the charge by an FA disciplinary commission today.
France friendly: Morocco will play a friendly against France in Paris on Nov. 17, newly-appointed coach Henri Michel said as he prepares his men for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana. Speaking ahead of Saturday's friendly against Ghana in the French city of Rouen, his first game in charge, Michel also made clear his objective of steering Morocco to the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.
In Argentina: The Argentine championship, which is only six rounds of matches old, claimed its third coaching victim yesterday when Antonio Mohamed quit at newly-promoted Huracan. Former Colombia coach Francisco Maturana became the first casualty when he was fired by Gimnasia-La Plata while Ricardo Caruso Lombardi left Argentinos Juniors for personal reasons.
Referees banned: The Romanian Soccer Federation (FRF) has banned two referees for committing errors during matches last Weekend, an FRF official said. "Sebastian Coltescu and Ionica Serea were banned from officiating for eight and six matches respectively after making several major errors in their games," the FRF's Central Refereeing Commission's head Gheorghe Constantin told Reuters.
Suree: Thailand's Suree Sukha may get a chance to play for Swiss team Grasshoppers after his move to England's Manchester City fell through, Thai media reported yesterday. Suree, whose application for a work permit was rejected by the British government, said he would welcome a move to Switzerland but had not given up hope on City. City's new owner, ousted former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, invited Suree for a trial and has said his takeover of the club would benefit Thai soccer.
Nigeria: Nigeria's 2007/08 league season will now start on Sunday after the sports minister brokered a truce in a feud between the FA and the league over who should assign match referees, officials said. Sports Minister Abdulrahman Gimba has directed that the FA should assign referees for the first two games of the season pending a probe of the dispute.
MFA Division II/III KO: Gharghur vs Siggiewi 1-3; Kalkara vs Qrendi 1-2.