A round-up of today's other Soccer stories in brief...
North's referees call time over pay
Northern Ireland's IFA Premiership and Championship matches today have been postponed after the appointed referees made themselves unavailable in a row over payments. Talks between the Irish FA and Referees' Association broke down yesterday and it was confirmed by the IFA that today's season-opening programme of fixtures would have to be rescheduled. Referees are seeking increased payments.
IFA president Raymond Kennedy said: "This is a sad day for football. I felt that the Irish FA had provided a viable solution for matches to go ahead in the IFA Premiership and IFA Championship tomorrow and I extend my sincere apologies to all those affected by this late postponement of the league programme."
Freddie Ljungberg's future could lie in Italy after West Ham technical director Gianluca Nani said he had got many calls from "every part of Italy" for the midfielder.
Barry transfer saga close to collapse
LIVERPOOL'S OWNERS, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, have risked sparking another internal feud at Anfield by refusing to back Rafael Benitez' judgment on the €23 million transfer of Gareth Barry.
The farcical saga was close to collapse last night, with the England international considering recommitting his future to Aston Villa.
The American co-owners have refused to sanction short-term loans for Benitez to complete the Barry deal, one week after Villa manager Martin O'Neill conceded defeat in efforts to keep his captain and despite previously meeting the asking price.
Benitez expected the Barry deal to go through earlier this week after the player and his agent, Alex Black, insisted on the move to Villa and O'Neill gave Liverpool "all the time in the world" to return with the fee that Hicks and Gillett pledged last Thursday.
Since then, however, the Americans have expressed doubts to the Liverpool manager over Barry's valuation, the low resale value of a player who will be 31 at the end of his proposed four-year contract and particularly the need to sign the central midfielder with Xabi Alonso still at the club.
Sporting insist on Moutinho staying
SPORTING LISBON president Filipe Soares Franco insists midfielder Joao Moutinho will not be leaving the club this summer.
Everton target Moutinho publicly pleaded to be allowed to move to Goodison Park after Sporting turned down a €16 million bid from the English Premier League side.
Reports suggest Everton have made a second offer for the 21-year-old, but Soares Franco insists Moutinho is staying at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
"I can guarantee one thing," he said, "Joao Moutinho was made at Sporting, he has all the affection of the entire club, we all like Joao Moutinho and want him to stay at the Alvalade.
"The file on Joao Moutinho is closed."
Moutinho received a frosty reception when he turned out for his side's friendly against PSV Eindhoven. However, Soares Franco remained diplomatic over the fans' reaction. "Each Sporting member has the right to judge the attitude and declarations of Moutinho how they like," he added.
Lehmann ends German career
JENS LEHMANN has ended his international career. The 38-year-old VfB Stuttgart and former Arsenal goalkeeper, who has played for Germany 61 times, had talks with national coach Joachim Loew before making his decision.
"I could no longer give the coach a guarantee that I would still be playing football after my one-year contract with Stuttgart expires," Lehmann said. "I therefore suggested to him that they no longer include me in his plans."
Rangers fans keep faith in Smith
THE RANGERS Supporters' Assembly have given their backing to manager Walter Smith following a meeting with Ibrox bosses at Murray Park yesterday.
Fifteen delegates representing fans from all over the world were in attendance, along with Smith, chairman David Murray and chief executive Martin Bain.
The item at the top of the agenda was the fallout from Tuesday's European exit at the hands of Lithuanian minnows FBK Kaunas and the repercussions of missing out on a potential €15 million Champions League jackpot.
President of the Rangers Supporters' Assembly, Jim Templeton, said: "Walter is experienced enough to know that, when you are manager of a club like Rangers, you are only ever one game away from a crisis.
"He knows what he has to do next and we need to give him the chance and hope he gets it right sooner rather than later."
Strachan sticks to tried and tested for season opener
CELTIC MANAGER Gordon Strachan will stick with his potent strike-force of Scott McDonald and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink for tomorrow's Scottish Premier League opener against St Mirren at Parkhead as he awaits the arrival of Marc Crosas from Barcelona.
The 20-year-old midfielder expects to complete his transfer to the Scottish champions over the weekend and the Catalans have reportedly confirmed a fee of around €1,5 million has been agreed between both clubs.
Strachan looked to the future when discussing the imminent arrival of Crosas, saying: "Peter Lawwell (chief executive) is looking after all these things and we left him to tie up the loose ends.
"My part comes when he joins us and we try to make him a better player. And anybody who joins us hopefully makes us a better team."
However, the Celtic manager claims the supporters will see a more familiar look to their team against St Mirren, despite some alterations to formation and personnel during pre-season matches. He said: "There's different types of teams in the SPL and different types of games.
"But we play 4-4-2 with variations and I can't see that changing much.
"We tried one or two things abroad and that will help us in our European campaign but we will play 4-4-2 against St Mirren on Sunday.
"I think fans like us playing that way and we feel comfortable that way. We have two strikers who scored 50 goals a season so you try to find a system that complements your best parts."
