“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.

“These matches, according to UEFA and with various degrees of suspicion or technical conviction, were possibly pre-arranged.

“A cross-check with two other dossiers which have already been delivered has been requested and a preliminary investigation.”

Super League club PAS Yiannina issued a denial they were involved in match fixing after Greek media reported their 2-1 win over Panthrakikos on Jan. 10 was included in UEFA’s report because of unusual betting patterns relating to the game.

“PAS Yiannina would like to express its rage and repulsion concerning the publications that have come to light through television reports and websites,” the club said in a statement.

“I invite anyone to look at the match in question, with seven yellow cards, many scoring chances and shots which hit the post, not to mention the injuries suffered by our goalkeeper and find anything suspicious on or off the pitch.

“We express our indignation that Yiannina has become the subject of an incomprehensible, slanderous attack.”

Panthrakikos, who were promoted last season but are struggling at the foot of the table, also released a statement, with major shareholder Theodoros Savvakis commenting: “A total of 2,685 supporters followed the game at the stadium and thousands more on live television. Everyone could see the effort made by the team and the chances we created to try and win the game.”

These allegations are the latest to beset Greek soccer.

A previous report from UEFA, concerning only second division teams, has already been forwarded to the Supreme Court and the Financial Crimes Squad.

Also, in December 2009 a preliminary UEFA report was turned over to judicial authorities in Athens for investigation after it mentioned possible match-fixing in 13 matches of the second division and two Greek Cup matches, involving 12 clubs.

A 2004 UEFA Cup match between Panionios and Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi, which finished 5-2, was the subject of a UEFA investigation after unusually heavy betting, while Egaleo FC were fined in 2006 for “violation of the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship” and “creating favourable conditions for illegal betting practices” after they fielded a weakened team in an Intertoto Cup match.

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.

His latest suspension comes after he awarded a 90th minute penalty to champions Levski when striker Miroslav Antonov went sprawling in the box despite apparently minimal contact from Daniel Zlatkov. The score was 1-1 at the time.

The decision provoked furious protests from the Minyor side with Kostadin Markov receiving a red card while fans threw objects on to the pitch.

Levski scored their third goal in injury time.

Minyor asked the BFU to take measures against the referee saying his decisions influenced the outcome of the game and that he had also failed to penalize rough play by Levski’s players.

Referee bans are not uncommon in the Balkan country while in recent years officials have complained there is widespread pressure on them to manipulate games.

However, the J-League told Reuters they would not issue retroactive yellow cards to Hiroshima Sanfrecce’s Tomoaki Makino and Hisato Sato for their prank in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Shimizu S-Pulse.

Hiroshima were awarded a third-minute penalty and defender Makino placed the ball on the spot before retreating to the edge of the box to start his run-up.

At that moment, striker Sato rushed in and kicked the ball, taking the referee and S-Pulse goalkeeper and players by surprise.

The Japan Football Association (JFA) ruled the players infringed the laws of the game by deceiving the referee over who would take the kick.

While the Hiroshima duo are set to escape punishment, match official Takuto Okabe faces a two-match suspension for allowing the penalty to stand.

“Makino was clearly identified as the designated kicker (having placed the ball),” said the JFA’s referees’ committee chief Yasuhiro Matsuzaki.

“The moment Sato entered the penalty area there should have been a free kick to Shimizu and a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct for Sato.

“The match officials are supposed to know the rules of the game and were unable to make the right decision. We will consider what (punitive) measures to take.”

Klaus Schwab (3rd L), founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) kicks a ball during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Davos kick-off with soccer players and Zakumi, the 2010 World Cup official mascot in Davos, January 30, 2010. (REUTERS/Michael Buholzer)

BEIJING – The Chinese company ordered to stop making soccer World Cup mascots because of poor working conditions in their factory hit back at the accusations on Wednesday, saying they were victims of South African politicking.

FIFA’s branding company Global Brands Group (GBG) said on Tuesday that Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products Co. Ltd (SFPPC) must halt production of the Zakumi, the tournament mascot, until it improved working conditions.

“The accusation that we used child labor, had excessively low pay and squalid conditions etc are completely made up,” a spokeswoman for the company, who asked that her name not be used, told Reuters by telephone.

“It was only because of the high unemployment now in South Africa. Some of their politicians used our working conditions as an excuse,” she added.

South African trade unions threatened to boycott the June 11-July 11 tournament after Britain’s News of the World newspaper reported in January that the workers of the Shanghai-based company were forced to work in “pitiful” conditions.

GBG said an audit and inspection of the factory had found a number of ways in which it did not meet the code of conduct for FIFA contractors.

The company spokeswoman said they had already made changes since the GBG visit a month ago, and were waiting for the next inspection for approval of the improvements.

“We have been one of the best companies in China in terms of working environment, pay, abiding by the law etc. We definitely met the Chinese standards,” she said.

“We are also very happy to take the advice of GBG on how to make improvements to reach international standards.

“But the reality is the pay and working conditions in China could never compete with those in Britain or Singapore.”

The organizers of the Beijing Olympics banned a stationery company in Dongguan from making merchandise for the Games in 2007 after it was found to have employed under-age workers.

Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben (C) celebrates with his team mates at the end of the match against Fiorentina in their Champions League last 16, second leg soccer match at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence, March 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Max Rossi)

FLORENCE, Italy – 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.

“We are talking about being knocked out by a goal that was offside by two meters,” Prandelli told a news conference. “I’m bitter.”

He was proud of the way his men had acquitted themselves in European club football’s premier competition this season, after they beat Liverpool twice on the way to winning five out of six of their group stage games.

“Given the spirit we have taken on the big teams with, we go out with our heads held high,” he said.

“When a team loses in this way you must feel proud of what you’ve done and what you’re doing. Winning six games out of eight is not something everyone can do.

“The lads worked and interpreted the game as we had prepared, so my work was more than satisfying.”

Fiorentina have also been hit by injuries and the loss of Romania striker Adrian Mutu, who has been given a precautionary suspension after failing drugs tests in January.

The resulting slide in form has dragged Fiorentina down to the middle of the Serie A standings, and they are unlikely to return to the Champions League next term.

“We’ve had emergency after emergency,” Prandelli said.

Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said he sympathized with the Serie A side.

“I can understand it is hard for Fiorentina to accept being knocked out in this way. The offside goal was decisive,” he said.

“It wasn’t an easy match. But we played with the ball on the ground when we could in the second half and that saved us. We scored two good goals.”

Shen contacted the head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) after four referees were named by local media on Monday, including the Global Times newspaper, which is owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily.

“Shen called us this morning as she was shocked and confused to see the reports about her,” CFA head Wei Di was quoted as saying in the Beijing Youth Daily.

“She had not turned on her mobile phone since January, which probably caused the speculation.”

Chinese officials being questioned by police for alleged wrongdoing usually have their mobile phones confiscated.

The police have arrested more than 20 people, including Wei’s predecessor Nan Yong and former CFA referees committee chief Zhang Jianqiang, in the investigation.

Wei said the CFA were only able to confirm that referee Huang Junjie was being questioned by police and asked the media not to speculate on the identity of others.

The Global Times newspaper named the four as Lu Jun, who officiated at the 2002 World Cup finals but is now retired, Huang Junjie, who has been on the FIFA’s international list since 1998, women’s referee Shen Huangying and Guangdong referee Zhou Weixin.

The head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Nan Yong and referees committee chief Zhang Jianqiang were arrested last week for their part in the scandal, which has also taken in more than 20 other officials.

Lu, 50, earned the nickname “golden whistle” for his reputed integrity after China’s “black whistles” match-fixing scandal of the early years of this century.

He refereed the group stage match between Poland and the United States and another between Croatia and Mexico at the World Cup finals in South Korea and Japan eight years ago.

Huang, 43, has taken charge of several internationals, including World Cup qualifiers involving Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Wei Di, who has replaced Nan as head of the CFA, said he had not been taken aback by the development.

“It is not a surprise that referees are involved,” he told the Beijing Times at the weekend.

“As far as I know, Huang has been taken away by the police to cooperate in the investigation. Lu has retired. I don’t know if he has been cooperating with the investigation.”

As well as the individual prosecutions, Guangzhou and Chengdu clubs were relegated from the top flight Chinese Super League (CSL), while a second division Qingdao club have been kicked out of professional football altogether for match-fixing.

A Bursaspor player hides behind shields from the objects thrown by Diyarbakirspor fans, as an injured assistant referee lays on the pitch, during their Turkish Super League soccer match in Diyarbakir March 6, 2010. The game between Bursaspor and Diyarbakirspor was suspended at the 17th minute on Saturday, when Diyarbakirspor fans began throwing foreign objects onto the pitch. (REUTERS/Anatolian/Ibrahim Yakut)

ISTANBUL – A soccer match between Turkish sides Bursaspor and Diyarbakirspor in primarily Kurdish southeastern Turkey was suspended on Saturday after fans threw stones at players and officials.

The game was called off in the 15th minute after a stone hit assistant referee Kemal Yilmaz despite a police barricade. Bursaspor goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov was also hit by a stone before the game.

Riot police used smoke grenades to disperse stone-throwing fans.

Players from Bursaspor who are second in the Turkish league, were escorted to the airport in police vehicles under a hail of stones from Diyarbakirspor fans.

Ten people were injured in clashes between the two sides outside the stadium and police detained four Diyarbakirspor fans.

On Sunday the Vatan newspaper said the Turkish Football Federation had decided to close Diyarbakirspor’s stadium for the rest of the season, forcing the team to play its remaining five games in another venue without fans.

FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke attends a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at the Home of FIFA in Zurich March 6, 2010. (REUTERS/Christian Hartmann)

ZURICH – Soccer will continue to rely on human judgment when it comes to disputed goals after the game’s rule-makers flatly rejected the use of video and chip technology now and in the foreseeable future.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) voted against two proposed systems on Saturday, and said it would not risk sacrificing the sport’s human element.

“It’s an end to the potential use of technology within football,” FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke told reporters after the IFAB meeting.

“Technology should not enter the game and that was a clear statement made by the by the board.

FIFA has been under increasing pressure to use some form of technology to eliminate the sort of mistakes that are regularly highlighted by television replays from numerous angles.

The most high-profile recent case was a clear handball by France striker Thierry Henry during the build-up to the goal which earned his team a place at the World Cup at the expense of Ireland.

A matter of minutes after the IFAB decision was announced on Saturday, English club Birmingham City had a goal disallowed in their FA Cup game against Portsmouth when replays showed the ball had crossed the line.

ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL

Valcke said the IFAB had decided to postpone a decision on a greater role for the fourth official and on whether to introduce two extra linesmen — one behind each goal — to help increasingly beleaguered referees.

Both proposals will now be discussed at an extraordinary IFAB meeting in May, he said.

Founded in 1886 and seen as the guardian of the rules of the game, the IFAB is composed of the representatives from the FAs of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each having one vote.

FIFA has four votes and a 75 percent majority is needed for any proposal to be passed.

Jonathan Ford, chief executive of the Welsh FA, said that debates such as England’s third goal in their 4-2 win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final were part of the game.

“The human element of the game is a critical component of it,” he said. “It’s the thing ultimately we end up debating. That’s the beauty of the game and it’s what keeps people talking in the pubs afterwards.”

The IFAB made the decision after watching presentations of two systems — Cairos, which uses a chip inserted in ball, and Hawkeye, currently used in tennis and cricket.

“It was put on ice two years ago and now a decision was made to stop it,” said Valcke.

“If you start with the goal line, then any part of the pitch will be a potential space where you will use a video. We’re also trying to avoid having many ways of stopping the game.”

Each match at this year’s World Cup will be covered by 32 different cameras placed at different points around the pitch, Valcke said.

Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger reacts during their English Premier League soccer match against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London January 31, 2010. (REUTERS/Eddie Keogh)

LONDON – 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.

Asked about his reaction, a highly animated Wenger stood by his comments when he met reporters at a news briefing before the league game with Burnley on Saturday.

“I stand by what I said 100 percent,” Wenger said.

“I knew exactly what would happen the whole week, that was quite easy to predict. I am sitting here now like I am in a tribunal. What do I have to defend? Is it a football game or something else ?

“I can understand people want to be committed against us, and I have no problem with that.

“I love the commitment of the English game. I don’t want to change that and it makes the game even more attractive, but high commitment demands fair intention as well.”

Ramsey, who has made 29 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal this season scoring four goals, spoke for the first time about the tackle in a statement on the club website (www.arsenal.com) on Friday.

“It is difficult for me to take everything in at the moment. I thought I had been progressing well this season, so of course this is a real setback,” he said.

“It is very hard to take but I am young and have time on my side. I had an operation last weekend and, while it will take time for my leg to heal, I am determined and focused on overcoming this injury.”

ANGELS AND DEVILS

Wenger said he did not want tackling removed from the game, explaining: “I admire a great technical tackle as much as a creative pass.

“A tackle is an art in itself — that means you always have your eye on the ball, never with a high foot, in your tackle you can already make a pass.

“It is not Arsenal against the rest of the world. What I say here is valid for the Arsenal players as well… I defend football. It is not that we are apart from anybody else. We are the same.

“I am continuing to defend the values that I believe are important for our club and football. That doesn’t mean we are angels and everyone else is the devil. It is for everybody.”

Shawcross, 22, has since apologized to Ramsey for the challenge and asked to visit him.

He left the field in tears after being dismissed for the challenge in last week’s match, which Arsenal won 3-1 at the Britannia Stadium. Ramsey is not expected to play for possibly nine months.