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| Fifa in a stew over ritual slaughter of cows at World Cup • Makhonya Royal Trust seeks to maintain traditional cultures• Fifa keeps quiet over whether it has view on sacrificesFifa was silent yesterday about a proposal to slaughter a cow at every 2010 World Cup venue in a blessing ritual. The Makhonya Royal Trust, a body to promote traditional South African cultures, has called on World Cup organisers to permit his organisation to "slaughter a beast" at a cultural ceremony in each of the stadiums ahead of the tournament.The plan, which apparently involves slicing the throat of a cow with a knife or an assegai, reportedly has the support of South Africa's traditional affairs minister, Sicelo Shiceka. In a parallel complaint about Zulu methods of animal sacrifice, Shiceka and King Goodwill Zwelithini were taken to court last month by Animal Rights Africa. Judges considered the case to be so sensitive as to require referral to parliament.But now Fifa has been caught up in the row. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which enforces South Africa's statutory powers over animal welfare, has written to Fifa requesting participation in discussions with the South Africa 2010 Organising Committee about the ceremonies. The NSPCA has also said of the World Cup animal-sacrifice plan that it "does not condone or support the proposal".There was no response from Fifa yesterday when Digger asked it how it had reacted to the correspondence and whether it will allow the slaughter rituals to go ahead.Stockport in need of creditFootball club creditors beware: calling in administrators can make debts worse. That seems to be the lesson from Stockport County, where Leonard Curtis was appointed in April with the club £300,000 in debt. In the first six months of dealing with the case Leonard Curtis ran up fees of £314,511.50 in time costs, charged at up to £395 an hour. If a buyer cannot be found (Leonard Curtis pinned its hopes on Jim Melrose only to discover the former Manchester City player's consortium "did not have sufficient funds") Stockport will be liquidated. And if they are, who will be first to be paid from what little the club has left? Why, the administrator of course. A group of 500 fans intend to stage a protest march from Edgeley Park to Leonard Curtis's offices today, to request politely a reduction in the fees they feel are deterring potential investors.Mandaric staying put Milan Mandaric yesterday pledged his future to Leicester City amid reports he is plotting a return to Portsmouth. "I love my ex-supporters in Portsmouth but I did my job there and I finished my mission," he said, before adding of the Fratton Park club, which has struggled to pay its creditors since the man Mandaric sold it to stopped funding it: "I took the club to where they belong." He was less forthcoming on his involvement with the HM Revenue & Customs inquiry that has led to the Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, being charged.Players want life of Freddie Australia could face an exodus of their best players following Andrew Flintoff's decision to retire from Test cricket, according to research by the Australian Cricketers' Association. A survey found one in five centrally contracted Test players would consider turning down an extension in favour of a Flintoff-style freelance career. "I think Flintoff's decision is a sign of the times and is reflective of what a number of players around the world are thinking," the ACA chief executive, Paul Marsh, said.Darts fan sees starsA good Samaritan darts fan got his reward on his way to the PDC darts world championships at Alexandra Palace on Monday. The punter stopped to give a lift to a group of hitchhikers who were stranded on the roadside in Muswell Hill. It was to the driver's pleasant surprise the four turned out to be Sky Sports' Sid Waddell, Dave Lanning and two walk-on girls, who were also on their way to Ally Pally for the evening.matt.scott@guardian.co.ukWorld Cup 2010FifaMatt Scottguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Blackburn Rovers 2 Sunderland 2: match report El-Hadji Diouf came off the bench to score against his former club to earn a point from a game between two teams that have forgotten how to win. telegraph.co.uk |
Harry Redknapp wants to keep Robbie Keane at Tottenham Tottenham manager has said Robbie Keane will stay at White Hart Lane and is not trying to engineer transfer away from club. telegraph.co.uk |
West Ham guilty on two charges over Millwall riot and face FA fine • Three charges against south London club are dropped• Hammers to discover punishment on FridayWest Ham United look likely to be fined after being found guilty by an independent Football Association Regulatory Commission of failure to ensure their supporters "refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour" on the night of their Carling Cup tie against Millwall in August.The club were also found guilty of failing to prevent their supporters entering the field of play, but the case against them and Millwall on the counts of racist abuse from fans, and a failure to ensure their supporters did not throw harmful or dangerous objects on to the pitch were not proven. Millwall were also found not guilty on the obscene and provocative behaviour charge. Each club will be especially relieved to have had the racism charges dismissed.West Ham, who won the game at Upton Park 3-1, are likely to discover their punishment on Friday when they will present their mitigation before the Commission, but the most likely outcome is a fine. A statement from the FA read: "An independent regulatory commission last week heard charges issued as a result of the serious crowd disturbances in and around the West Ham United versus Millwall fixture at Upton Park on 25 August, 2009."It was alleged that both clubs failed to ensure that their supporters conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. The independent regulatory commission, chaired by an independent QC, found West Ham United to be in breach of FA rules in the following respects: failure to ensure their supporters refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour; failure to ensure their supporters did not enter the field of play. The Commission found all charges against Millwall not proven. The FA will now await the full written reasons from the independent Commission before making any further comment."West Ham, who in mitigation will again draw attention to the claim that they followed instructions by the various safety bodies, said on their website: "West Ham United have been cleared of two of the four FA charges issued as a result of the disturbances at the Carling Cup match with Millwall on 25 August, 2009."The FA Regulatory Commission will reconvene on Friday to consider the sanctions after finding against the club on two charges of pitch incursion and provocative behaviour by supporters. West Ham are unable to comment further until the conclusion of the legal process."The south London club said they were pleased that all three charges against them were dropped. Andy Ambler, the chief executive, said: "Millwall FC welcomes the verdict in respect of our club as we have always maintained that we were innocent of the charges.""As ever this club condemns all mis-behaviour within football stadia and works tirelessly to eradicate misconduct and to continue to change an unfair and distorted misconception of Millwall Football Club and its fans. We thank the FA Commission panel for their judgment and we will make no further comment until we receive and consider their full statement on the matter, which we anticipate will be on Friday."West Ham UnitedCarling CupMillwallJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Stoke City eliminates Arsenal from FA Cup Arsenal was ousted from the FA Cup by Stoke on Sunday with a 3-1 loss, giving Sol Campbell an unhappy return to the team after four years. cbc.ca |