Ferdinand chants

           

   A significant number of the 3,000 England fans in San Marino joined in the singing of a song suggesting the brothers should be burned on a bonfire and it was suggested the chant had racist overtones because Anton Ferdinand was the target of racist abuse from former England captain John Terry.From the reports we have seen I personally think there was an undercurrent of race there, and other people have thought that it has been imbued with racist overtones.FARE's executive director Piara Powar believes world governing body FIFA should take action and he said: England fans have been reported to FIFA by anti-racism body FARE after aiming sick taunts at Rio and Anton Ferdinand during last week's World Cup qualifier against San Marino."Although we did not have observers at the match we have pulled together evidence sent to us including media comment and have passed that on to FIFA.Whether FIFA think that is strong enough to take action is another question entirely and we accept that it is certainly an unusual report.I think that it's one of those things that is very subtle. We would say racism and other forms of discrimination is not always banana throwing and monkey chants. It can be very subtle and the people collating the reports believed it is strong enough to send on to FIFA.

Euro 2020 bid

          

   The candidates' dossiers will have to be submitted by April 25, 2014. UEFA will then evaluate the bids between May and August and pick the 13 host cities in September 2014, he added.The associations will have a choice whether to present the same city or two different cities for the two bids, it added.UEFA had already stipulated there would be a maximum of one venue per country with the two semi-finals and the final to be all held at one stadium.Projected stadiums can be admitted in the bidding process, provided that any new construction starts by 2016.The remaining 12 winning bids will each host three group matches as well as one game from the round of 16 or the quarter-finals.Previous European championships have always been held in one country or jointly hosted by two neighbours -- such as Austria and Switzerland in 2008 or Poland and Ukraine in 2012.Each national association will be entitled to present two bids -- one for hosting the regular matches and one for hosting the semi-finals and the final, UEFA said in a statement Thursday.

Shrimpers announce Sturrock

        

    In a lengthy statement on the club's official website, Martin confirmed the Shrimpers would not be renewing Sturrock's contract, which is due to expire during the summer will appoint a new manager tomorrow as they look to reach the npower League Two play-offs.Southend chairman Ron Martin has announced manager Paul Sturrock will be relieved of his duties yet expects the Scot to lead the club out at Wembley for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final in two weeks' time.However, in a bizarre twist - with Southend just 14 days away from a Wembley showpiece against Crewe, Martin revealed he had asked former Southampton boss Sturrock to take charge in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final, and that he had agreed.

Phil Parkinson focuses

           

   The Bantams surprise appearance at Wembley on Sunday might not have quite gone the way they imagined as Parkinson's side were comprehensively outplayed by Swansea. However, their run to the Capital One Cup final has put them back on the map after a decade in the doldrums.The first of those matches comes against Dagenham and Redbridge at the Coral Windows Stadium on Wednesday. Bradford will hope some of the 30,000 supporters who were at Wembley on Sunday retain enough interest to swell an average gate of 10,043 for one of the least attractive fixtures of the campaign.We never expected to get to the final so between the chairman and myself we have to make sure we use it wisely and build a strong structure.Bradford chairman Mark Lawn wants to agree an extension to Parkinson's current deal, which expires in the summer. But with 15 games to go and his 11th-placed team now eight points off a play-off place Parkinson said: "We just want to get the final out of the way but I am sure myself and the chairman will get together shortly.Yet even that average figure is way beyond anyone else in League Two, and is exceeded only by Sheffield United, Portsmouth and Coventry in League One, and even Peterborough in the Championship.He continued: "But we have 15 games left, which is a large chunk of the season. And I firmly believe we have a good enough squad to get on a really good run and will mount a challenge. We will take every game in a really positive frame of mind and see where it takes us.

Warnock leaves

          

          The 64-year-old said in the wake of Easter Monday afternoon's 2-1 loss to Derby - a sixth game without a win  Redfearn, the former Barnsley captain, had a four-game stint in charge last season while Leeds sought Grayson's replacement.that he would not be in charge at Charlton on Saturday, and the club later confirmed his departure in a statement. Academy coach Neil Redfearn has been placed in charge while the club's owners, GFH Capital, search for a replacement.He signed an 18-month deal to replace Simon Grayson in February last year and openly said it would be his last job, with the sole aim being to get a record eighth promotion before retirement.We would like to thank Neil for his efforts during his time as our manager and share his disappointment that we could not achieve promotion this season," said chief executive Shaun Harvey. "We would also like to thank Mick Jones and Ronnie Jepson, who will leave the club with Neil, for all their hard work since coming to the club.That has not happened, though, and he leaves Elland Road with the team in 12th position and with the club looking up rather than down.The game against Derby was Warnock's 62nd in charge of Leeds and much of it was spent with the former QPR boss the subject of abusive chants from his own supporters.

Fulham 3-2 QPR

            

  Last season QPR suffered an embarrassing 6-0 defeat at Craven Cottage and it looked like there could be a similar scoreline after a dominant first-half display by the hosts,The hosts started brightest and, after early warning shots from Riise and Damien Duff, Samba thought he had thwarted Berbatov with a decent tackle inside the box.Marquee January signing Christopher Samba gifted the Cottagers their first two goals, bringing down Ashkan Dejagah to allow Dimitar Berbatov to net an eighth-minute penalty.However, the Rs defender had not accounted for Dejagah latching onto the loose ball and his late challenge on the winger saw referee Lee Probert point to the spot.Things got worse soon after when Samba lost possession of the ball on the edge of his own box, allowing Berbatov to coolly slot home past Julio Cesar.Berbatov stepped up to take the resulting penalty and nonchalantly sent Cesar the wrong way to give Fulham an eighth-minute advantage.Chants of "going down" echoed around Craven Cottage when Clint Hill put a John Arne Riise cross into his goal, but QPR rallied and launched the unlikeliest of comebacks.Stephane Mbia had to be alert to stop Bryan Ruiz grabbing a quickfire second, before Hill received an early booking for a poor challenge on Giorgos Karagounis.Adel Taarabt, who stormed out at half-time of last season's Craven Cottage encounter, reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time before Loic Remy netted moments after seeing a penalty saved by Mark Schwarzer.Samba was caught out by the evergreen Duff, whose hassling saw the ball end up at Berbatov's feet, allowing him to burst into the box before finishing with aplomb.The veteran Australian had to be at his best for the rest of the match and, despite Steve Sidwell's late sending off, Fulham held on, condemning QPR to a potentially season-defining defeat.

Mancini remarks

           

   Former Arsenal player Nasri has struggled to string together impressive displays for last season's champions and City manager Mancini expressed his frustration over Nasri after the crushing 4-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday. Mancini was widely quoted as saying: "I would like to give him a punch. Because a player like him should play like this always.The France international continued: I've not had a good season, I know it, I'm aware of that. I am the first to be self-critical. Mancini also said he felt some City players were only playing at 50% of their ability this season. Speaking to French sports broadcaster beIN Sport, Nasri said: "Mancini has shown a little proof of bad faith when he said he wanted to punch me.

European bid

          

  Liverpool have closed the gap on sixth-placed Everton in the Barclays Premier League to three points, and Gerrard said: For me, it (contract talks) is not a priority at the moment. The most important thing for me now is to move on to the West Ham game. I want to finish the season strong. I'm feeling good.He said: "I think if you say that you haven't got what you deserved, then there's an element of feeling sorry for yourself. We know what our problem is and it's inconsistency. In the majority of games we've played well enough to be higher than where we are in the league.He continued: "Of course, I'm happy that the club are mentioning new contracts, but it's not important at the moment. What we need to do is put pressure on for that European place. A lot of the teams above us need to play each other. We're hoping there's a few slips ups above us and we can capitalise but it's important that we take maximum points.But when you look at performances like Southampton, Villa at home, West Brom away, Arsenal at home, there's a handful of games in there where this team hasn't turned up.Every game is a cup final now. That's what the manager said after the game. It's a little small short season left now, if you like. We just need to play to our maximum every game because if we don't, like we didn't at Southampton, we know we'll be punished. We need the level of performance at Villa to continue.

Beckham would relish

        

    Beckham has 115 England caps, more than any other outfield player in the team's history, but has not featured since October 2009. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid man has played mainly cameo roles for PSG since joining at the end of January, following his spell in the United States with the Los Angeles Galaxy.Beckham spoke of his happiness in Paris over the weekend and Al-Khelaifi said in an interview with L'Equipe: "Recruiting David was one of my best decisions. As a man, player, ambassador, he is exceptional. It creates something in this group. Everyone loves it. We will talk with him. Whatever his decision, we support David.But new team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic has no doubt Beckham's move to the French capital club has already been a success.But new team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic has no doubt Beckham's move to the French capital club has already been a success.And Beckham would rush to his country's aid if Roy Hodgson decided he could do a job for the national team again. He told CNN World Sport: One of the reasons why I've never retired from the England team is because if there's ever an opportunity to play for them again, then I'm available.He has a big impact on the team, he has a lot of qualities," Ibrahimovic said. "He is a winner and he has a great feel for the ball. He brings us his experience of big matches. He's also a player with a big heart, who has won a lot of trophies. As for his free-kicks, he takes them, I take them, sometimes it's Alex - it's good to vary.

McDermott in frame

             

The 64-year-old offered his resignation to GFH Capital in the wake of United's 2-1 defeat to Derby and the club later confirmed his departure following a 13-month stint in a statement. Academy boss Neil Redfearn has been asked to take over first-team affairs, with the club saying that the former Barnsley captain would do so until a successor was found.You have to be careful what you wish for as a fan - the majority appreciate the job I have done and I speak to a lot, but you always get a minority. I've always wanted to take the club up and I am so frustrated this year I would stay with the supporters (on side) but it won't come to that. GFH know the situation.As things stand that would cover the remaining six games and the outgoing Warnock has publicly said that a suitable candidate might not be available until the summer. That does not apply to the out-of-work McDermott, who talked up the merits of the Leeds job when asked at the weekend. Brighton's Gus Poyet has also previously said it is a position he would relish.Whether he or GFH will choose the new man remains to be seen, but the job currently belongs to Redfearn who had a four-game spell in charge of Leeds last season while the club sounded out Warnock as a replacement for Simon Grayson, winning two and losing two.Redfearn's first task is a trip to Charlton which comes on the back of the Derby defeat, which was soundtracked by cat calls from Warnock's own supporters asking him to leave.

Serie A table

#     Team               MP     D     P

1     Juventus           30     +40     68
2     Napoli             30     +26     59
3     Milan               30     +21     57
4     Fiorentina        30     +17     51
5     Lazio                30     +3     50

A-League table

#     Team                                   MP     D        P

1     Western Sydne…                27     +20       57
2     Central Coast …                 27      +26       54
3     Melbourne Victory              27       +3         44
4     Adelaide United                  27     +1          41
5     Brisbane Roar                     27     +4         35
6     Perth Glory                         27     -2           32
7     Sydney                                27     -10        32
8     Newcastle Jets                    27     -15        31
9     Melbourne Heart                 27     -9          27
10     Wellington Phoenix             27     -18       27

Roar braced

       

  The Roar sit seventh in the A-League ladder, but can ensure qualification for the finals by winning their last two regular season matches, against Melbourne Heart and Sydney FC."It's a massive week to come," Stefanutto said after training on Wednesday.Both the Roar's remaining games are at Suncorp Stadium, and even if they failed to take all six points, they would still be in with a chance of overtaking sixth-placed Newcastle, who have one game less to play.With centre-back Jade North absent for the game against Melbourne Heart due to his Socceroos call-up, Brisbane will be forced to make changes to a defence that has only conceded two goals in the last five A-League rounds.After a four-match unbeaten run, Brisbane put in their worst performance in recent weeks in losing 1-0 to the Central Coast Mariners last Sunday, but they will take heart from the fact they control their own finals destiny.Home ground advantage for the clashes with Heart and Sydney FC would aid the Roar's finals ambitions, according to Stefanutto.Left-back Stefanutto says the Roar players perform at their best in the type of critical games coming up.I really hope that (the fans) come out and support us like they have in previous weeks, and especially against the Victory. The atmosphere there was fantastic, and it does help us, it gives us a lift, he said.And it's great isn't it? It's great for the A-League, the A-League is close this year, especially for those last couple of spots and even the Premier's Plate.

Wales training

        

   A late double from Bale inspired Chris Coleman's side to a 2-1 win over Scotland at the Cardiff City Stadium back in October and the midfielder is again expected to be the centre of attention as the Welsh aim to keep their slim hopes of World Cup qualification alive..He has been different class for club and country for a while now, every game he plays in he is excellent and he will be a big player for us on Friday.It is fantastic to play alongside him, the last couple of goals I have scored for Wales have come from his assists, and in the Scotland game here he turned the game on its head.Neither Coleman or the Welsh FA have not revealed any doubts over Bale's participation and team-mate Sam Vokes was quick to calm fears over his absence from training.

Premier League table

NO  Team                          MP      D       P
7     Liverpool                     31      +19     48
8     West Bromwich …      31      +0       44
9     Swansea City              31      +1        40
10     Fulham                      30      -3         39
11     West Ham United      30      -9         36

Swansea ideal stepping stone

         

     Former Rayo Vallecano man Michu believes such examples are a testament to the work done at the Liberty Stadium.Jonathan de Guzman has recently received a call-up to the Netherlands squad, while Ashley Williams has been installed as Wales captain.He told Swansea's official website: "When we see a lot of our players being called up for their national team that is a very good thing for Swansea.The 26-year-old has impressed this season by scoring 19 goals in all competitions, but he was quick to admit that it will be difficult for him to break his way into Vicente del Bosque's Spain squad.I think the club can be very proud of that, because I don't think it had many players in the national teams before this time.He added: "Of course, I would love to play for my country, but it's not so easy when your country is the best in the world.Already we have Ash and Michel (Vorm) who are always in their national teams, but this season you see De Guzman earning his place in the Dutch squad, and that is a compliment to both him and the club.

Brazil to deliver

           

The 77-year-old is in the country ahead of the Confederations Cup and attended a meeting with the Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo to discuss progress ahead of the tournament.Rebelo has also given reassurances that the new stadiums will be ready ahead of the December 2013 deadline, and highlighted Brazil’s delight in hosting the tournament.I am sure that the five time winners will present an outstanding competition in 2014," he told Fifa.com.The preparations for the World Cup will meet the expectations of the organisers and, of course, Brazil, he said.I am confident that through its economic power and strength of will, Brazil will be ready and deliver a wonderful World Cup.

Michael Owen England striker

       

   The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester United player attended the venue with his father Terry, a former Chester player, as recently as 4 March to see them overcome League One Tranmere Rovers in the Cheshire Senior Cup quarter-final.He has promoted the club on Twitter. He sponsors some of our players and has recently donated a pair of signed boots to raise money for the youth section. Chester are 16 points clear at the top of the table  with eight games remaining, and are already planning for life in the Blue Square Bet Premier, the division below League Two.We already average gates of around 2,500 a game, but if Michael came along then that would double. The supporter-owned club was formed after the demise of Chester City, wound up at a High Court hearing in March 2010 and a Football League club as recently as 2008-09.But Pat Cluskey, chief executive of the Blue Square Bet North leaders, hopes the 33-year-old might join them if they win promotion to the fifth tier. The Football Association has opened talks with Owen about a possible ambassadorial role with England.

Ndlovu stable

        

  The accident, which also killed a female passenger, happened as the brothers were travelling near Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls early on Sunday.Peter Ndlovu played 100 times for Zimbabwe while featuring for Coventry City, Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United in a 13-year stay in England. He is currently the assistant coach to the Zimbabwe national team.Peter Ndlovu, 39, was taken to a public hospital in the country's second city Bulawayo, according to family friend George Bhebhe.Coventry City Football Club is saddened to hear of a tragic road accident in Zimbabwe that has left former striker Peter Ndlovu in a critical condition and claimed the life of his brother Adam," said a Coventry statement.He is in Mater Dei Hospital now and in a stable condition and we are waiting for other family members who will be able to give more details," Bhebhe told AFP.It has been reported that both were travelling from an away match between Chicken Inn FC and a local side when Ndlovu's car suffered a tyre blow-out which caused the car to veer off the road 20km outside Victoria Falls.His former manager Winston Makamure told the BBC the player was "conscious and is communicating.Adam Ndlovu, 42, spent seven seasons playing in Switzerland and was also a former Zimbabwe international, scoring34 goals for the national team.He has internal injuries, head injuries, broken ribs and a broken leg.

Dickov wants City

           

   The League One side dumped Nottingham Forest, from the Championship, out of the competition to leave Dickov's fellow Scot Alex McLeish still looking for his first win since taking charge at The City Ground. Now Dickov wants Oldham to be drawn against Premier League champions Manchester City, his old club.To be honest I thought we were guilty of showing Forest too much respect in the first half but I said to them at half-time, 'It's the FA Cup and if you are going to go out, don't go out with a whimper.Forest skipper Danny Collins was sent off in the 60th minute for bringing down Smith, and the home side were punished further when leading scorer Jose Baxter whipped in the free-kick to give Oldham a two-goal cushion. Substitute Billy Sharp pulled one back in added time with a left-footed finish inside the box but it was too late.Dickov said: "With my Manchester City connections it would be nice to meet them in the next round. Financially it would mean a lot to the club and it would be great for me on a personal level. If we can make some money in the next round, you never know - the chairman might let me bring one or two players in as well.Oldham had to bounce back from the loss of a 13th-minute goal when striker Matt Smith turned an Andy Reid free-kick into his own net, but Robbie Simpson struck twice within four second-half minutes to turn the game in the visitors' favour.He added: "But for the time being we just want to enjoy today's game because I am very proud of my players for the way they come back into this game after losing an early goal.