Henry will decide future in June

Thierry Henry says he will decide his future before the World Cup kicks off on June 9th. The Arsenal captain, whose contract runs until the end of next season, has been repeatedly linked with a move to Spanish football, either with Barcelona or Real Madrid.

"At the end of the season we are going to have to take a decision. It will be done before the World Cup, that's for sure," the 28-year-old said. "My main concern right now is to finish in the top four, because it's vital for the club and anything that is going to happen at the club next, and to concentrate on winning the Champions League."

Henry said money was not a sticking point in the negotiations over a new contract. "People were talking about money but I think people should know by now I am not someone who thinks about the money before the game," he said. "That is why, when I talked about sporting ambitions, I was talking about the pitch and nothing else."

Arsene Wenger welcomed Henry's timing and reiterated his belief the club could meet his sporting aspirations. "The World Cup starts on June 9th so we should know on June 8th at midnight," the manager quipped, adding: "He said many times he is ambitious and wants to be part of an ambitious club. I feel that we are one.

"I have no deadline. I don't think it would be good for him to wait until after the World Cup although it would be less disturbing for him than me."

Everton are to open contract negotiations with Nigeria defender Joseph Yobo in a bid to thwart interest from Arsenal and a number of clubs across Europe. The 25-year-old has 15 months to run until the end of his current deal. Yobo has failed to regain his first-team place from either Alan Stubbs or David Weir since travelling to Egypt for the African Cup of Nations earlier this year, but is expected to return to the side for this afternoon's visit of Sunderland.

Tottenham have announced pre-tax profits of £4.4 million for the six months ending December 31, 2005.

Fifa sprang a surprise yesterday by naming just 23 referees to cover the 64 games of the World Cup. A total of 36 referees officiated at the last World Cup in South Korea and Japan and the world governing body had been expected to choose about 30 from the 44 on the candidate list.

Instead, Fifa named a seven-strong group of "support" referees who will only officiate in the event of another referee being unable to take charge of a match. Three assistants for each referee will attend a workshop in Frankfurt on April 18th-21st and at least two of each group must complete a series of tests successfully. If they fail to do so, the entire group, including the referee, will be replaced.

WORLD CUP REFEREES: Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt); Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay), Benito Archundia (Mexico), Carlos Batres (Guatemala), Massimo Busacca (Switzerland), Coffi Codjia (Benin), Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium), Massimo de Santis (Italy), Horacio Elizondo (Argentina), Valentin Ivanov (Russia), Toru Kamikawa (Japan), Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay), Shamsul Maidin (Singapore), Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain), Markus Merk (Germany), Lubos Michel (Slovakia), Graham Poll (England), Eric Poulat (France), Peter Prendergast (Jamaica), Oscar Ruiz (Colombia), Mark Shield (Australia), Carlos Simon (Brazil), Kyros Vassaras (Greece).