Soccer Shorts

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

O'Leary charged

Aston Villa manager David O'Leary has been charged by the Football Association with using abusive and/or insulting words towards match official Graham Poll.

The charge relates to his conduct towards Poll after the final whistle of the match at Birmingham last Sunday. He has until November 1 to respond to the charge. He has also been reminded of his responsibilities in relation to his post-match celebrations, when he marked Villa's first Premiership win over Blues in seven attempts by charging across the field to salute Villa chairman Doug Ellis.

O'Leary felt there was nothing wrong with his actions at the end of the game when he stood on the pitch, in front of the directors' box, with a clenched fist. He said: "There were people like the chairman, who has taken a lot of stick this week, and been very ill, (operations director) Steve Stride and other people who have been good to work with - I could see the smiles on their faces and I was pleased for them.

"Was I putting myself in danger? Since I've come to this town I've been treated very well by Birmingham fans. If I felt any danger I wouldn't have been over there because I'm the biggest coward in the world!"

Xavier is no dope

Abel Xavier has, as predicted, protested his innocence over his failed drugs test. The 32-year-old Middlesbrough and Portugal defender said last night that he has never "intentionally doped" himself and it clear that a lack of intent will be a major plank of his defence.

Abel Xavier released a statement confirming that his 'A' sample had tested positive following his side's 0-0 Uefa Cup draw at Xanthi on September 29th. His 'B' sample will be tested next week and he has agreed to undergo further tests in a bid to clear his name.

Ireland secure place

Ireland made sure of advancing to the second phase qualifying tournament of the UEFA under-19 Championship with a 3-0 win over Moldova - their second win of the quadrangular tournament - at St Colman's Park last night.

Ireland, with a 2-1 win over Northern Ireland, already to their credit, were far superior to Moldova and their victory was comprehensive. Ireland will go into the third and final series of matches against Italy tomorrow at Turner's Cross as the only one of the four teams on full points. A draw would be enough to see them win the group.

The home side's first goal arrived in the 30th minute when Jonathan Hayes slipped past two defenders before calmly flicking the ball over the goalkeeper. Ian Morris exerted a big influence on Ireland's play from midfield and he showed impressive confidence when he converted a penalty in the 50th minute.

Ireland's superiority was underlined with a third goal in the 87th minute when substitute Diarmuid O'Carroll had the simple task of knocking in a rebound.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Randolph (Charlton Athletic); S Kelly (Arsenal), Nolan (Blackburn Rovers), O'Dea (Celtic), Stapleton (Reading); JP Kelly (Bohemians), Gibson (Manchester Utd), Morris (Leeds Utd), Hayes (Reading); Stokes (Arsenal), Clarke (Ipswich Town). Subs: Chambers (Shelbourne) for Hayes 65; O'Brien (Celtic) for Clarke 70; O'Carroll (Celtic) for Morris 82.

Johnny Haynes dies

Fulham and England legend Johnny Haynes has died following a car crash, the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary confirmed last night. Haynes, who was 71, made 594 appearances for his only club and won 56 caps for England.

Haynes was taken to hospital along with his wife following the accident yesterday. A spokesman for the hospital said: "I can confirm Johnny Haynes has passed away tonight. His wife remains in hospital in a stable condition."

Maldini lives on

Paolo Maldini's son Christian has signed up as an AC Milan player, becoming the third generation of the footballing family to be on the books of the Italian club. He will make his debut for one of the club's junior teams in a derby game against Inter Milan on Saturday.