Ten-strike: Southampton midfielder David Prutton has been banned for 10 matches after admitting two charges of improper conduct following his red card in a match against Arsenal last weekend. Prutton was charged by the English FA with failing to leave the pitch promptly, pushing the referee and using threatening words and/or behaviour in Saturday's 1-1 Premiership draw at St Mary's.
Prutton, who has already apologised for his behaviour, was also fined £6,000 by the FA's disciplinary board. The suspension effectively rules Prutton out for the rest of the season. Southampton have 10 Premiership matches left and have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old joined Southampton from Nottingham Forest for £2.5 million in 2003.
All quiet on FA front
Jose Mourinho will not face any FA charge over his "silence" gesture that saw him sent from the Chelsea dug-out in Sunday's English League Cup final. Mourinho was forced to watch the climax of his side's victory over Liverpool on television after being ushered away from the touchline by fourth official Phil Crossley.
Around the box
English FA chiefs will be hoping for another bumper television audience after confirming Manchester United's FA Cup sixth-round visit to Southampton will get a Saturday tea-time slot. It is the third consecutive round Manchester United have been involved in a weekend fixture and the March 12th encounter comes just three weeks after violence erupted during United's fifth-round win over Everton at Goodison Park.
While the BBC must now shoehorn the game into a packed weekend that will see them screen two more live sixth-round ties, plus three Six Nations fixtures, the FA will sit back and hope for more positive news on the ratings front after it was revealed Arsenal's replay win over Sheffield United last night attracted a peak audience of seven million.
Fans will be faced down
Manchester United have been warned that any fans wearing Eric Cantona masks at Selhurst Park on Saturday will be ejected. It is a decade since Cantona launched the infamous kung-fu kick at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons that saw the Frenchman landed with an eight-month suspension and threatened with a prison sentence. A section of the United support have designated Saturday's encounter with Palace as "Cantona day".
Italian job for Collina
Italian referee Pierluigi Collina looks set to end his career in the summer and take a desk job. Last month Collina celebrated his 45th birthday which means that under existing rules he must retire.
It has been reported that Collina is to become the designatore - the man who decides the officials to handle Serie A and Serie B games every week. The Gazzetta dello Sport claims the move will be formally announced in June when the Serie B season is over.
20,000 red cards
Aston Villa fans are planning a "Show Doug The Red Card' protest against club chairman Doug Ellis during Saturday's home Premiership meeting with Middlesbrough. Villa Fans Combined (VFC) will be handing out 20,000 red cards prior to the game for supporters to hold up to demonstrate that they "have had enough of the mediocrity, underachievement and lack of backing given to the managers of the club over the past 22 years".
Not the wine's fault
Norwich director and television chef Delia Smith has denied having had "too much wine" before her half-time outburst in the match against Manchester City at Carrow Road on Monday.
"I always have a meal before a match and have some wine, but I never drink during a match," said Smith yesterday. "At half-time I have a row of glasses of water ready for me because I am hoarse."
Newcastle honour
Bobby Robson was yesterday handed the freedom of Newcastle in recognition of his achievements in football on Tyneside. The 72-year-old former Newcastle boss was in a diplomatic mood as he accepted the honour following his dismissal by the club last August.
"The last five years have been marvellous," Robson said. "It's been the thrill of a lifetime. "I know where the club were when I came and I know how I left it, at the top echelon of the Premiership."
Hitting the wall
Millwall could be forced to sell their best players in the summer after recording losses in excess of £1.5 million. Millwall Holdings announced the deficit in its recently-published half-yearly financial results for the six months after the FA Cup final last May.
Striker Scott Dobie was sold to Nottingham Forest for £500,000 last week, and there could be more departures if Millwall fail to win promotion to the Premiership this season.
The wage bill at the club has risen from £7 million to more than £8 million in the past 12 months.
In brief . . .
A 14-year-old girl has been arrested after a bottle was thrown at Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger prior to the FA Cup fifth-round tie with Sheffield United. Michael Duberry, a £4.5 million signing from Chelsea in 1999, has left Leeds and joined Championship rivals Stoke on a free transfer. Liverpool striker Milan Baros has denied he threatened to walk out of the team hotel after learning he was only a substitute for the English League Cup final last weekend. QPR have agreed a fee with Middlesbrough for defender Andrew Davies. Real Betis winger Joaquin Sanchez looks set to reject Chelsea and join Real Madrid during the summer. Real Madrid have claimed defender Jonathan Woodgate is unlikely to play again until next season, but the Spanish giants have denied reports he needs another operation. And, finally, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have fined Primera Liga side Deportivo Coruna €600 after home fans racially abused Real Madrid full back Roberto Carlos last weekend.
