More soccer news in brief.
Malbranque bows to Keane but Kaboul still holding out
STEED Malbranque was due for a medical at Sunderland last night and is expected to be paraded as Roy Keane's latest signing today but Younes Kaboul appears unlikely to follow him to Wearside.
While Malbranque seems poised to join Teemu Tainio and Pascal Chimbonda in swapping Tottenham for Sunderland, Kaboul's agent, Rudy Raba, said the centre-half's heart is set on Portsmouth.
It is a fortnight since Sunderland agreed a joint €29 million fee for the four players and on Monday night Keane set a 24-hour deadline for Malbranque and Kaboul to inform him if they would be moving to the Stadium of Light.
"Sunderland wanted to know within 24 hours but while Younes is grateful to Roy Keane for his interest, the boy has decided he does not want to go there," said Raba. "He wants to go to Portsmouth."
Ben Haim makes his move to City
MANCHESTER City have completed the signing of defender Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea.
The 26-year-old has agreed a four-year contract with City after the two English Premier League clubs settled on an undisclosed fee.
It is the Israel international's second transfer in 13 months after he moved to Stamford Bridge on a free transfer from Bolton in June 2007.
Georgia look to Cuper for leadership
FORMER Inter Milan and Valencia coach Hector Cuper looks set to be unveiled by the Georgian football federation as the new coach of its national senior team, writes Emmet Malone.
The 52-year-old Argentinian has been out of work since being let go by Parma shortly before the Serie A side were relegated at the end of last season. Earlier in the campaign he had also been sacked by Real Betis but he had previously established a strong reputation in Spain and Italy, having guided Mallorca to the European Cup Winners Cup final, Valencia to two Champions league finals and Inter to within a whisker of the Scudetto.
Ireland play Georgia in the opening game of their World Cup qualifying campaign on September 6th.
Arsenal land new midfielder
• ARSENAL yesterday confirmed the signing of 21-year-old Portuguese under-21 international midfielder Amaury Bischoff from Werder Bremen.
• FULHAM have signed 24-year-old Swedish defender Fredrik Stoor from Rosenborg on a four-year contract.
• NEWLY promoted Premier League side Stoke City have wrapped up the signing of former Aston Villa and Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen (21) on a free transfer.
• EVERTON announced yesterday that the club's chief executive Keith Wyness has resigned.
• IPSWICH manager Jim Magilton has confirmed he is interested in signing Celtic defender Bobo Balde (32).
• SHREWSBURY Town have signed Dublin-born defender Graham Coughlan (33) from fellow English league Two side Rotherham on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
CAS to make call on Olympic under-23s
THE COURT of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is set to have the final say on whether clubs are obliged to release players for next month's Beijing Olympics.
Sport's highest judicial body said yesterday it had received new claims from German Bundesliga sides Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 against a ruling issued by Fifa earlier in the day.
Fifa's Players' Status Committee member Slim Aloulou ruled as a single judge that the release of players aged 23 or under was mandatory for all clubs.
The two German clubs are arguing that they should not have to release players as the Olympics Games are not included on Fifa's international match calendar.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said yesterday the Spanish side are also planning to go to CAS in an effort to stop their influential forward Lionel Messi joining up with the Argentinian Olympic team in Beijing.
12-year ban for Dundalk junior player
A DUNDALK junior player has been handed a 12-year ban following an assault on a referee in a match in the local Summer League.
Mark Matthews of the Muirhevnamor side allegedly head-butted Brian Murphy, the chairman of the Louth Branch of the Irish Soccer Referees' Society, who abandoned the game following the incident.
The Muirhevnamor club had already suspended the player indefinitely and they also condemned his action and apologised to the referee. A player who assaults a match official is liable for a minimum suspension of five years but the Dundalk Junior League also felt the incident was serious enough to merit a ban of more than twice that length.
