Soccer Shorts

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Johansson believes 1998 vote tainted by vote-buying

THE MAN beaten by Sepp Blatter for the Fifa presidency in 1998 believes his election hopes may have been damaged by vote-buying.

Lennart Johansson, the 82-year-old who was then Uefa president, lost out to Blatter by 111 votes to 80.

Blatter himself last year accepted there had been vote-buying at his first victorious Fifa election in 1998.

Johansson said FIFA’s public reputation was now tarnished by corruption claims and called for an independent investigation into the allegations – including former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner’s claim that Blatter allowed him to pay just one dollar for World Cup TV rights.

Johansson told Bloomberg: “I think I’m entitled to talk about it because I was the second candidate at the election in 1998. I lost and now I hear that they bought some votes.

“For people on the streets Fifa is corruption, is bribery, things like that and they hear it year after year and nothing happens. I can’t see how things like that can change.”

Beckham's return to Galaxy delayed

DAVID BECKHAM’S return to LA Galaxy has been delayed as the two sides continue to negotiate his contract, but the former England captain’s representatives remain confident he will sign.

Beckham, who joined Galaxy in 2007, had been expected to complete the deal over the past two days, replacing the contract that expired on December 31st. Instead, he has been in England, attending FA Cup third-round ties in Manchester and London.

Hannover players take sex survey

HANNOVER’S PLAYERS have been asked to disclose their sexual interests as part of a survey designed to help their coach understand them better.

The psychological test, to be undertaken on a voluntary basis by the Bundesliga club’s squad, includes statements such as: “I am what you could call sexually unrestrained”; “I want any sex I can get” or “I have a lot of erotic fantasies”, which players can evaluate on a scale of -3 to +3.

The club’s coach, Mirko Slomka, said he had already completed the 128 questions, and the players were free to see his responses if they wanted.

Slomka told Bild: “With this test I know how I can best reach each player.”

PAOK SALONIKA, who have reached the last 32 of the Europa League, have been fined €250,000 and threatened with a ban from European competition for breaching Uefa’s club licensing regulations.

Player sacked for homophobic tweets

OXFORD CITY have sacked their striker Lee Steele for posting a homophobic remark on Twitter about the former Wales rugby player Gareth Thomas.

Mike Ford, manager of the Southern Football League Premier Division club, said the decision was taken in response to Steele tweeting about Thomas’s appearance in Celebrity Big Brother. Steele wrote: “I wouldn’t fancy the bed next to Gareth Thomas #padlockmyarse”.

Ford told the BBC: “On this occasion Lee’s had to pay for his error of judgment. He’s made a homophobic comment, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s homophobic.”

A club statement said: “The Oxford City board have decided to release Lee Steele in view of his recent comment via social media which is considered seriously contrary to the ethos of the club.”

GuardianService