Chivu: Roma defender Cristian Chivu will be out of action for a month after damaging knee ligaments, the club said yesterday. The Romania international, who picked up the injury during Wednesday's UEFA Cup match against Middlesbrough, will miss Serie A matches against Messina, Juventus, Fiorentina and Lecce, as well as the first leg of Roma's Italian Cup semi-final against Palermo next week. The injury is a blow to Roma's bid to qualify for next season's Champions League. Roma are fifth in Serie A, one point behind Fiorentina who have a game in hand.
Edmilson: Barcelona's Edmilson is free to play against Real Sociedad in the Primera Liga tomorrow after the Spanish Football Federation's appeals committee withdrew a yellow card he received. The Brazilian collected a second yellow card and was sent off in last Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Osasuna, after he was booked for appearing to bring down Savo Milosevic in the area for a penalty. The club appealed the decision.
World Cup Deadline: The date for the 32 World Cup finalists to name their 23-man squads for the tournament remains May 15, the Bureau of the Organising Committee for the World Cup ruled yesterday. Although a number of coaches had asked for the deadline to be put back, FIFA refused to move it. In a statement FIFA said: "The course of action is intended to afford the players concerned adequate recovery time, although injured players may be replaced after this date following a specific procedure."
Euro 2008 funding: Organisers of the 2008 European Championship cleared a significant hurdle yesterday when Switzerland's lower house of parliament agreed to provide up to 82.5 million Swiss francs ($63.71 million) in public funding for the event. Switzerland is co-hosting the finals with neighbouring Austria, but funding for the Swiss side of the tournament has been the subject of heated debate - especially since the government announced a revised estimate of costs in December. Rising security costs are cited as the main reason with the government now earmarking a total of 64.4 million Swiss francs for public protection.
Lennon: Celtic captain Neil Lennon cut his hand in a household accident with a glass but will play in Sunday's League Cup final against Dunfermline. Manager Gordon Strachan said he only found out about Lennon's injury when the player turned up at the club with a dressing on his hand. "He was doing some tidying up in the kitchen. I can't believe a footballer was doing that. It won't hamper him unless he wants to give away free kicks with his hands," Strachan joked.
Hungary: The Hungarian Football Association (HFA) named Peter Bozsik as national team manager at a news conference yesterday. Former Hungary midfielder Lajos Detari will coach the team. The HFA plans to sign contracts with Bozsik and Detari in the next few days. Detari, who scored 13 goals for Hungary in 61 appearances, will work closely with Bozsik as Hungary bid to qualify for Euro 2008, which is being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland.
¤ Midfielder Nolberto Solano said he would be happy to return to the Peruvian national side under new coach Franco Navarro. The 31-year-old Newcastle United player quit the team last year after a fallout with former coach Freddy Ternero, who Solano claimed had made him a scapegoat after the failure to qualify for the World Cup finals. "I'm dying to wear the red and white shirt again, of course I'd like to," he told Peruvian radio. Navarro said the door was open for both Solano and another stalwart, midfield playmaker Roberto Palacios, to make their returns.