Houllier: Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier could be hired as a consultant until the end of the season to help Paris St Germain out of trouble, one of PSG's leading officials said yesterday. "We've known Gerard a long time and he knows the club well. We're looking at the possibility of him having a mission until the end of the season to work on PSG's future. It's not done yet but we're discussing seriously with new sports director Alain Roche," PSG board member Alain Cayzac said. Roche was appointed on Wednesday while another former player, Laurent Fournier, replaced coach Vahid Halilhodzic who was sacked on Tuesday for poor results.
Svensson: Southampton midfielder Anders Svensson has signed a contract with his old club Elfsborg, the Swedish first division club said yesterday. The 28-year-old Swede signed a four-year contract with Southampton in 2001 and recently expressed disappointment at not being offered a new deal by the English Premier League team. The Swedish first division season begins in April and Svensson will be re-joining Elfsborg on July 1. Media reports said his contract would be for 4-1/2 years.
Atletico Madrid: Atletico Madrid extended the contracts of centre-backs Luis Perea and Pablo Ibanez by an extra year yesterday so that both players will remain at the club until 2009. The Primera Liga side said they had also increased the buy-out clauses in the players' contracts to ward off interest from other clubs who had enquired about securing their services. Ibanez, 23, moved to Atletico from Albacete at the start of the season and has since been called up by Spain, while Colombia's 26-year-old Luis Perea joined from Boca Juniors.
Visiting Scouts charged: Scottish third division club Albion Rovers are to charge scouts from other clubs to watch games next season after more than 30 turned up for a recent match. "We're not going to give scouts tickets willy-nilly and I've had support from other third division clubs," club secretary John Reynolds said "We had 32 scouts at one match last season and it's ridiculous. If we've got a starlet and they tell us they're coming to see him then that will be fine but in reality there's no reason for so many scouts to come to a game at this level."
Kim: Olympic chiefs yesterday called on their fellow International Olympic Committee members to throw vice-president Kim Un-yong out of the organisation. The future of the South Korean, jailed last year on corruption charges, now lies with the 120 or so IOC members who will vote on his fate at the IOC Session in Singapore in July. For Kim to be expelled, the vote must be carried by two-thirds of the members.