Soccer Shorts

Other soccer stories in brief

Spurs to write to FA

Tottenham will write to the FA to explain their anger at the disciplinary procedures following Robbie Keane's dismissal at the weekend. Keane was given a straight red card by Phil Dowd for a tackle on Birmingham's Fabrice Muamba, a decision pundits deemed to be extremely harsh.

Spurs officials were furious that Keane was not given the opportunity for a hearing. "We shall be writing to the FA to express our concerns," said club secretary John Alexander. Keane's dismissal was upheld following appeal and he will miss three domestic games.

McCarthy not for Korea

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has ruled himself out of becoming the new coach of South Korea and has committed his future to the Championship club. Former Republic of Ireland manager McCarthy had been named on a two-man shortlist by KFA president Chung Mong-joon for the job along with Gerard Houllier.

But McCarthy said: "I was very flattered to be contacted and to be considered a candidate alongside someone of the calibre of Gerard Houllier. But I have always been committed to the job at Wolves and I'm staying."

Mourinho may snub England

Jose Mourinho could reportedly snub the chance to coach England in favour of a move to Barcelona. According to El Mundo Deportivo, two of Mourinho's assistants at Chelsea - Silvino deAlmeida Louro and Brito - have been regulars at the Nou Camp in recent weeks. Current Barca boss Frank Rijkaard is under pressure after a stuttering campaign as they trail leaders Real Madrid by four points.

Barton backtracks

Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton has insisted he never questioned the loyalty of the club's fans. The 25-year-old's use of the word "vicious" to describe fans' reaction to the recent 3-0 defeat to Liverpool made for banner headlines over the weekend.

Barton said: "Of course I never questioned any fan's loyalty - who could question the loyalty of any Newcastle United fan, or their right to be unhappy if performances are not going well?"

Edwards breaks leg

Sunderland winger Carlos Edwards will be out of action until the New Year after it was confirmed he broke his leg in Saturday's win over Derby. The 29-year-old suffered a fracture in a clash with defender Jay McEveley and is expected to be out for six weeks.

Romario's hairy excuse

A hair loss medicine was responsible for former Brazil striker Romario failing a doping test after a club match, the player said on Tuesday. The Vasco da Gama striker, who has played sporadically since scoring what he claimed to be the 1,000th goal of his career in May, said he had tested positive for finasteride after the game against Palmeiras on October 28th. "I'm losing some hair and I have been taking this product for a while," the 41-year-old told a news conference.

In brief . . .

Manchester City are reported to have held talks with the advisors of Javier Mascherano over a £17 million (€24 million) move from Liverpool.

Ronaldinho's agent has dismissed reports there is any agreement in place for a move to Chelsea . . .

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has played down any suggestion the club's manager Bernd Schuster has been offered the chance to replace Steve McClaren as England boss.

Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has targeted the Old Firm clash on January 2nd for his comeback from surgery for his troublesome knee in the coming days.

Former Celtic and Scotland captain Paul Lambert, now Wycombe Wanderes manager, has said he is honoured to be linked with the job of managing the national team.

Today's Fixtures

(7.45 unless stated)

UEFA CUP - Group E: Bayer Leverkusen v Sparta Prague (5.15); Spartak Moscow v FC Zurich (5.15). Group F: Aris Salonika v Braga; Crvena Zvezda v Bolton. Group G: AaB v Getafe; Anderlecht v Tottenham. Group H: Bordeaux v Helsingborgs IF; FK Austria Magna v Panionios.

ITALIAN CUP - Last 16, first leg: Empoli v Juventus (7.30)

Last Night

UEFA CUP - Group A: Everton 1 Zenit St Petersburg 0; Nurnberg 2 AZ 1.

Group B: FC Copenhagen 0 Atletico Madrid 2; Panathinaikos 2 Lokomotiv Moscow 0.

Group C: Mlada Boleslav 0 AEK Athens 1; Villarreal 2 IF Elfsborg 0.

Group D: Basle 1 SK Brann 0; Dinamo Zagreb 0 Hamburg 2.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - Newcastle Utd 1 Arsenal 1.

SPANISH PRIMERA LIGA - Osasuna 1 Sevilla 1.

ITALIAN SERIE A - AS Roma 2 Cagliari 0; Inter Milan 3 Lazio 0 .

ENGLISH LEAGUE ONE - Southend 4 Huddersfield 1. League Two - Accrington Stanley 1 Rochdale 2; Chesterfield 0 Rotherham 2; Mansfield 0 Bradford 0.