Palermo deny reports of Mafia pressure

ITALY: Palermo have denied Italian media reports that the Serie A club may have been the victim of Mafia extortion attempts.

"Palermo categorically denies that the club, its administrators or directors have ever received demands or pressures of an extortive nature from anyone or, even less so, from anyone linked to organised crime," the club said in a a statement.

La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper claimed yesterday that a letter written to captured Mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo mentioned one of Palermo's youth team coaches and the club's plans to build a new stadium.

The letter was among documents seized when Lo Piccolo was arrested at his Sicilian hideout last month, it said. "We are only at the planning stage (for the stadium), there is no call for tenders," Palermo managing director Rinaldo Sagramola told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE: German international full back Andreas Hinkel (25) has agreed a January transfer to Celtic, according to the BBC website. The attacking right back will move from Spanish club Sevilla, who he joined from Stuttgart in June 2006.

Ahead of today's game at home to Gretna, Celtic manager Gordon Strachan insisted centre back Bobo Balde still has a future at Parkhead if the Guinea international wants to remain.

The 32-year-old, who is contracted to 2009, was thought to have played his last game for the club after he turned down a move to Sunderland just before the last transfer window closed.

Strachan said: "I have a big squad of 22 players and my door is always open for anybody to talk about their future. The future is determined by the player himself.

"Bobo had the opportunity to go elsewhere in the summer and he decided to stay here. It is him who decides his future and it's the same with the rest of the players."

Rangers manager Walter Smith is confident of having at least two new players at his disposal by the end of January, even if any moves in the transfer window prove unsuccessful.

The Rangers manager revealed ahead of their trip to Hibernian today that the recent progress of Steven Smith and Andy Webster has been so encouraging - after pelvic problems and knee ligament damage respectively - that the duo have now targeted a return to action early in the new year.

MANCHESTER CITY: Manchester City striker Rolando Bianchi admits he wants to return to Italy -and has taken a swipe at English food.

Bianchi, signed from Reggina in the summer, has struggled to make an impact at Eastlands and admits he is finding it hard to settle.

The 24-year-old told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I am learning the language but I have raised the white flag with English food. I don't like it."

Asked about the perceived drinking culture in English football, Bianchi said: "I think I am the only teetotaller in the whole Premier League. My team-mates were surprised when I refused a mouthful of beer.

"They looked at me as if I was an extra-terrestrial. Tastes are tastes, and I have chosen for some time - no beer, no wine, no alcopops."

He also hinted he would return to Italy at the end of the season.

DISCIPLINE:Aston Villa defender Zat Knight has lost his appeal against his red card in the St Stephen's Day meeting with Chelsea.