The Greek Sports Ministry is to launch an investigation into match-fixing after receiving a report from European football’s governing body UEFA.
“The Secretary General of Sports, Panos Bitsaxis, delivered to the District attorney’s office of the Supreme Court a file from UEFA, which concerns five football matches from the second division and one from the Super League,” said a statement from the Greek Sports Ministry on Wednesday.
Bulgarian referee Angel Angelov has been suspended for four matches, the official’s third ban in as many years, after complaints over his performance in Levski Sofia’s 3-1 win over nine-man Minyor Pernik on Sunday.
The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) announced the suspension on Tuesday and it follows a four-match ban in 2007 and his removal from the referees’ list last year amid accusations of favoring CSKA Sofia.
Coach Cesare Prandelli said he was bitter that an offside goal in the first leg of Fiorentina’s Champions League tie against Bayern Munich had ultimately cost his side a place in the quarter-finals.
The Serie A side went out on away goals despite winning the second leg 3-2 on Tuesday after Miroslav Klose’s late goal that should have been disallowed gave the German side a 2-1 advantage in the away match.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended the comments he made about Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross whose tackle broke midfielder Aaron Ramsey’s leg in two places last Saturday.
He had called Shawcross’s challenge on the 19-year-old Wales international “horrendous and unacceptable” in the immediate aftermath of the Premier League match.
Portsmouth manager Avram Grant was fined 1,000 pounds ($1,508) with a further 4,000 pounds suspended on Thursday after he admitted a charge of improper conduct to the Football Association.
Although the fine was lenient, the FA also warned him as to his future conduct following his behavior towards referee Kevin Friend during the Premier League match against Sunderland on Feb. 9 which ended in a 1-1 draw.
France captain Thierry Henry said he understood why fans were jeering him after persistent booing from the home crowd during the 2-0 loss to Spain in a World Cup warmup match at the Stade de France on Wednesday.
France, in their first game since Henry’s infamous handball against Ireland in a World Cup playoff in the same stadium last November, were outclassed by the European champions and their 32-year-old captain was the main focus of French fans’ wrath even before Spain opened the scoring.
Aaron Ramsey’s double fracture to his right leg is not a career-threatening injury, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Thursday.
The 19-year-old Wales international suffered the sickening injury at Stoke City last weekend after a tackle by defender Ryan Shawcross who was shown a straight red card before leaving the field in tears.
Chievo Verona coach Domenico Di Carlo and Parma forward Davide Lanzafame have become the first professionals to be suspended as a result of Italian football’s blasphemy crackdown.
Thierry Henry, heavily criticized by French fans for his controversial handball in a World Cup playoff, said he was not worried about the reception he receives when France host Spain on Wednesday.
Fiorentina midfielder Massimo Gobbi has been banned from the Champions League for three matches after his red card for a high elbow in the Serie A side’s last 16 first leg defeat at Bayern Munich last month.