Arsenal suffered a blow on the eve of tonight's Champions League match at Bayern Munich when it emerged that they could be without Jose Antonio Reyes and Dennis Bergkamp for three domestic matches from this weekend because of suspension.
Reyes was last night charged by the English Football Association with violent conduct for allegedly slapping Sheffield United's Andy Liddell on the face at Highbury on Saturday during a melée which resulted in Bergkamp being sent off. Reyes will get a three-game suspension if found guilty and Arsenal are contesting the charge, which will be heard on Thursday. Today the FA will consider Arsenal's appeal against Bergkamp's red card for pushing Danny Cullip.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have appealed against Carlo Cudicini's red card against Newcastle on Sunday, a dismissal which will cause the goalkeeper to miss this weekend's League Cup final. The appeal will, like Bergkamp's, be heard today.
Guardian Service
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Red card under review
Players could escape being sent off for depriving opponents of clear goal-scoring opportunities inside the penalty area, if a suggestion from football associations in Britain is approved at a meeting of FIFA in Cardiff this weekend. The proposal is backed by the League Managers' Association and the Professional Footballers' Association.
Goalkeepers stand to be the main beneficiaries of the move, although it equally applies to defenders.
Red cards would be confined to professional fouls outside the area, such as the Carlo Cudicini trip on Shola Ameobi that saw the Chelsea goalkeeper sent off in their FA Cup defeat at Newcastle on Sunday.
The new rule would consider a penalty award to be sufficient punishment for a foul within the area.
Guardian Service
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FA to review kick-offs
The English FA is to review the viability of early evening kick-off times following the violent scenes at Goodison Park on Saturday which saw missiles hurled at opposing players during Everton's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Manchester United. After the game there were clashes between opposing fans which resulted in 33 arrests and left five police officers injured.
An investigation is under way to ascertain the identity of the fan who struck United's goalkeeper Roy Carroll with a coin, with Merseyside police and Everton still scrutinising television footage of that and two other incidents where objects were flung on to the playing area. The FA has welcomed that inquiry as well as the jailing of a Burnley supporter, Michael Lewis, for five months for invading the pitch during his side's tie with Blackburn.
The FA has, however, added that it will consider the viability of future 5.30pm kick-offs for potentially volatile fixtures given that supporters can spend the afternoon drinking in local pubs before attending such games.
Guardian Service
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Giggs not hamstrung
Ryan Giggs is confident of being fit for Manchester United's Champions League clash with AC Milan tomorrow night.
Giggs was forced to nurse his delicate hamstrings on the sidelines as United the Red Devils beat Everton in the FA Cup at Goodison Park but he feels the rest has been of benefit.
"Training has gone okay. I have a full week behind me now, so hopefully everything will be fine for Wednesday," said Giggs.
Meanwhile, Ferguson is believed to be considering a return to action for sidelined striker Ruud van Nistelrooy possibly in the FA Cup, with United due to meet either Southampton or Brentford in the next round. Van Nistelrooy has missed almost three months with an Achilles injury.
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Celtic forced to wait
Celtic will have to wait until next month before learning whether they will be punished by the Scottish Football Association for Sunday's missile-throwing incident.
Fernando Ricksen needed a stitch in a head wound after being struck by what is believed to be a cigarette lighter, thrown from either the North or the Lisbon Lions stands,during Rangers' 2-0 Old Firm victory. The SFA were yesterday awaiting the report of referee Mike McCurry but, irrespective of whether that ugly flash-point is included, their disciplinary committee will discuss the incident when they meet again next time during March.
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Smyth resists change
In the wake of last week's goalless draw with Northern Ireland, Gerry Smith has announced a substantially unchanged Republic of Ireland amateur international squad for next month's trip to Amsterdam, writes Emmet Malone.
The squad will gather next Monday in Dublin for warm-up games against Shamrock Rovers and UCD. They then travel for the game against the Netherlands on March 16th. The Irish are preparing for July's UEFA Regions Cup in Poland.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND AMATEUR SQUAD (v the Netherlands): D Connolly (Drumcondra FC), S O'Connell (UCC), S Barry (Cherry Orchard), J Walsh (St. Michaels), B Buckley (Fairview Rangers), K Bruen (Belgrove), I Cherry (Belgrove), T Doyle (Belgrove), R Whelehan (Tolka Rovers), B Flynn (Portmarnock), S O'Connor (Crumlin Utd), I Callaghan (Wayside Celtic), J O'Neill (Wayside Celtic), G Webb (Wayside Celtic), L Flynn (Wayside Celtic), P Kane (Ballymun Utd), R Beechinor (Rockmount), E Lynch (CYM Terenure).
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In brief . . .
Gregory Vignal's agent yesterday invited Rangers to make the Old Firm hero's loan move from Liverpool permanent. . . The German Football Association's committee of control yesterday recommended a €50,000 fine and a lifetime ban for Robert Hoyzer, the referee at the centre of the country's match-fixing scandal.
