A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Klasnic arrested on suspicion of rape
BOLTON striker Ivan Klasnic was arrested on suspicion of rape, sources confirmed yesterday.
The 30-year-old Croatia international was held for questioning by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) earlier this week before being bailed pending further inquiries.
Police were called to an apartment in Manchester city centre in the early hours of Monday when the allegation was made.
Klasnic was not at the address when the complaint was made and was arrested some time later, sources said.
A spokesman for GMP said: “Police are currently investigating a report of rape in Manchester city centre. Shortly before 5am on Monday 25th October 2010, police were called following a report that a 17-year-old had been raped.
“A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of rape.”
England ahead of sponsorship game
THE English Premier League has leapfrogged Germany’s Bundesliga as the biggest earner from shirt sponsorship, according to a study by consulting firm Sport+Markt published yesterday.
Despite tough times for the British economy, endorsement deals for the 20 Premier League clubs totalled €128 million in 2010/’11, compared with €118.5 million for the 18 sides in Germanys top league, the study showed.
English clubs, who also earn the most from television deals, increased their revenue from €83.5 million the previous year while income for their German counterparts was up from €108.6 million.
Italy’s Serie A was third in the latest ranking on €65.9 million, followed by France’s Ligue 1 on €58.8 million and Spains La Liga with €57.5 million. Netherlands was sixth on €42 million.
Serie A was the only league of the top five to record a decline from the previous year, when Italy’s top clubs earned €74 million.
Arsenal's Gibbs out for 'a few weeks'
ARSENAL full-back Kieran Gibbs has been ruled out for “a few weeks” with the knee injury he sustained against Newcastle on Wednesday night.
Gibbs suffered medial ligament damage in the 4-0 League Cup victory at James’ Park and will undergo a scan tomorrow.
“We lost Kieran Gibbs last night,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “It’s a medial knee ligament strain . . . it will be a few weeks.”
DANNY Higginbotham (31) yesterday signed a one-year contract extension at Stoke City. BAYERN Munich striker Miroslav Klose (32) has been ruled out for three weeks with a torn thigh muscle only a day after recovering from a similar injury that had kept him out for two weeks.
INTER Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder has signed a contract extension to remain at the European and Italian champions until 2015.
Stokes realistic and stands firm after attack on home
CELTIC’S striker Anthony Stokes has promised not to bow to intimidation even though his house was attacked in the aftermath of Sunday’s Old Firm game, reports Ewan Murray.
Members of Stokes’s family were inside his West Lothian home as objects, including bins, were thrown at it. Stokes had earlier been part of the Celtic side who lost 3-1 to Rangers, with the Irishman’s wild tackle on Sasa Papac one of several contentious moments.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do but I’m not going to be intimidated by people coming up to my house,” Stokes said, rejecting any suggestion that he would relocate. “It’s just one of those things you have to forget about.”
The former Sunderland striker even claimed players at Celtic and Rangers are aware such incidents are likely to occur away from the field of play. "To be fair, if you are playing for either of the Old Firm you kind of have to expect that," Stokes added. "It's just part and parcel of it." l Guardian Service
Uefa to sue over corruption allegations
UEFA is taking legal action against a Cypriot official who said he had evidence of corruption relating to the decision to award Poland and Ukraine the Euro 2012 championship.
“We are in the process of opening legal proceedings against him to protect the corporate image of Uefa and also to force his hand to show us what evidence he has, Uefa spokesman Rob Faulkner said.
Uefa had set Spyros Marangos, a former board member of the Cypriot FA, a deadline of Wednesday to provide evidence to back up his claims and Faulkner confirmed he had failed to do so. “He said it was too short notice for him to travel to Switzerland.”
Germany’s respected Suddeutsche Zeitung reported that Marangos had said he had evidence that certain Uefa representatives were corrupted in the bidding process in 2007, when Italy and a joint Croatia and Hungary bid missed out.
Iberian bidders deny voting pact
THE joint Spanish and Portuguese bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals have denied allegations they agreed a pact with Qatar, who are bidding for the 2022 edition, to manipulate the voting process.
Soccer’s world governing body Fifa are investigating claims of collusion and vote-swapping for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, which is banned and can lead to disqualification.
Last week, Fifa provisionally suspended two members of their executive committee, which began a two-day meeting yesterday to address the bidding process, over allegations they offered to sell their votes to undercover newspaper reporters from a British newspaper.
The Iberian bid already told Fifa last Wednesday that it does not have any agreement with any other bidding nation, Miguel Angel Lopez, chief executive of the Spanish/Portuguese candidacy, said in a statement yesterday.
Notts County appoint Ince
PAUL Ince has been appointed as Notts County’s new manager until the summer of 2014.
The 43-year-old former England, Manchester United and Liverpool midfielder, who has been out of work since ending his second stint in charge of the MK Dons in May, has been recruited by the English League One club as a replacement for Craig Short who left the club on Sunday after only four months in charge.
