Soccer Shorts

Ferguson plays English cardAlex Ferguson's apparent determination to reignite his feud with Arsene Wenger now that Jose Mourinho is no longer around has led to the Manchester United manager questioning Arsenal's right to field a team exclusively made up of foreign players.

Ferguson believes there should be a cap on the number of overseas footballers in English football - a move that Wenger recently claimed would "kill the Premier League".

Aware of Wenger's opposition, Ferguson pointedly remarked that Arsenal would inevitably "protest the loudest" about his suggestion. Yet Ferguson has rarely missed an opportunity to get under Wenger's skin, and he insisted it would be "for the good of the game in England" if new restrictions were introduced.

Ferguson, already under investigation from the Football Association's disciplinary department after claiming that the referee Howard Webb "favoured Arsenal" during Saturday's 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium, also predicted a hostile response from Liverpool, while other clubs such as Manchester City would almost certainly be opposed to his idea.

However, Ferguson seemed to have Arsenal in mind as he backed the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, for speaking out about the lack of chances for home-grown players. "It's certainly not wrong that clubs should be seen to have a proportion of home-based players," said Ferguson, who is proud that his team is based equally on British and foreign players. "I totally agree [ with Blatter] but it would be a problem for a club like Arsenal. That's why they'll protest the loudest.

"For the good of the game in England, it would be good to see more home-based players at the top clubs. United's critics would say, 'It's all right for you, you already have English players in your side.' But I think if you asked a neutral, they would rather see more home-based players."

Figo suffers serious injury

Inter Milan's Luis Figo fractured his shin in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Juventus, tests revealed yesterday.

"The Portuguese midfielder has fractured the fibula in his right leg," the Serie A champions said on their Web site (www.inter.it). "Figo will undergo surgery tomorrow to stabilise the fracture."

The former Real Madrid and Portugal player came off in the second half of the match after a challenge from Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved, who was booked for the foul. Inter did not say how long Figo was expected to be out of action.

Berbatov staying put

Tottenham sporting director Damien Comolli is confident Dimitar Berbatov will not be looking to move in January following a meeting with the Bulgaria striker's agent.

Berbatov attracted interest from Manchester United over the summer but has not repeated the form of his debut season after netting only twice this term as Spurs struggle towards the foot of the Premier League. The 26-year-old's nonchalant body language has come in for criticism and he appeared reluctant to warm-up as a substitute during the defeat to Newcastle sparking suggestions he wanted to move.

Berbatov's agent, Emil Dantchev, travelled to England this weekend to meet Comolli, with Spurs' sporting director assured the €15.7 million signing from Bayer Leverkusen was not playing for a transfer. "It is simply not an issue," said Comolli. "I met with Dimitar's agent today and he assured me Dimitar is not looking for a move in January and simply wants to concentrate on helping the team push up the table.

"He is on a long-term contract with us and Juande (Ramos) sees him as an important part of our plans."

Tough task for under-19s

The Republic of Ireland under-19 team can secure their place in the elite qualifying stage of the UEFA Championships with victory against Portugal today.

Anything less than that outcome in Povoa do Varzim (3.0pm) will see the Irish go out of the competition but Irish boss Sean McCaffrey is confident his youngsters can produce the performance they need against the clear favourites.

Portugal top the group after wins over Belarus and Andorra and they also beat Ireland in two friendly games in Belfield and Drogheda in September.

McCaffrey has also seen this group of Irish players win two friendly games in Portugal in the past two years so he is not daunted by the task ahead of them. "It's not mission impossible. We know that if we win we go through and that's a great incentive," he said.

"We don't want to miss out on the European Championships and the elite stages are always a great learning experience in their own right.

"This is a very good Portugal team with good technical players and they play with flair but when the chips are down then it's a different matter. We've a good record against them."

Charlton midfielder Harry Arter is expected to be fit after injuring his foot against Andorra.