Lucky Lauren: Arsenal defender Lauren will not face any disciplinary action from the English FA following his "accidental" clash with Tottenham's Erik Edman during the Gunners' 1-0 victory at Highbury.
The FA reviewed video replays of the second-half incident, in which Lauren's elbow made contact first with the back of Edman's shoulder and then with his neck. However, the governing body have accepted there was no intent to cause injury and the Arsenal right-back will therefore not face a disciplinary hearing.
Bellamy ruled out
Celtic striker Craig Bellamy has been ruled out of action for up to three weeks with a hamstring injury. The Wales international had been in excellent form for the Hoops since joining the club on January 31st in a loan deal from Newcastle.
However, after terrorising the Rangers' defence in the first half of the 2-1 win at Ibrox on Sunday, the 25-year-old pulled up as he chased a ball early in the second period. Martin O'Neill will be without the forward for up to three weeks as he prepares to capture the league title.
Ireland's strong start
The Irish under-19 women's football team beat Croatia 4-1 in their opening game of the UEFA Championships qualifying tournament in Madrid yesterday. Sara Lalor put Ireland in a strong position at half-time with two goals before the break and Sarah McGrath wrapped up the victory in the second period with another brace.
Ireland now face Spain tomorrow evening before taking on France in their final group game on Saturday afternoon.
A must-win tie
Seán McCaffrey will wield the axe and change his tactical approach for Ireland's must-win game against Albania in Kula this afternoon, reports Paul Buttner from Serbia and Montenegro.
Monday's jaded performance in losing to Poland in Novi Sad means that anything other than victory will signal the end of Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the finals in Northern Ireland in July.
Boosted by the return from suspension of Manchester United's Paul McShane in central defence and key midfielder Joey O'Brien, McCaffrey says he will make up to four other changes to freshen up his team.
Millwall's Terry Masterson is set to start in goal, while Jonathan Hayes and Cork City's Shane Long, the only National League player in the squad, are rewarded for their favourable impressions when coming on as substitutes on Monday, by starting up front.
"Paul McShane and Joey O'Brien coming back in are two big plusses," said McCaffrey. "There'll be three or four changes on top of that. I'd hope that we'll have a wee bit more zip to us. You could see against Poland late on that, when we got at them, they were fragile at the back."
IRELAND (probable): Masterson (Millwall); Gibson (Manchester United), McShane (Manchester United), R. Keogh (Stoke City), Hand (Huddersfield Town); Collins (Huddersfield Town), O'Brien (Bolton Wanderers), Cregg (Arsenal), Foley (Aston Villa); Hayes (Reading), Long (Cork City).
Prizemoney increased
FIFA have sharply increased the total prizemoney at next year's World Cup finals to €215 million, an increase of 38 per cent. "We are not a rich organisation, but we are comfortable," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said at the annual finances press conference in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Worth the extra cost
Promotion to the English Premiership has already cost Sunderland hundreds of thousands of pounds, with a series of transfer payments triggered as a result of clauses written into deals.
Manchester City, Oxford and Mansfield are each the beneficiaries of £100,000 windfalls after selling Irish striker Stephen Elliott and midfielders Dean Whitehead and Liam Lawrence to the Wearsiders.
Elliott made his 40th appearance for the club in Saturday's 2-1 win over Leicester. The 21-year-old cost £125,000 from City and the Black Cats have since had to fork out £80,000 in appearance-related fees, as well as £100,000 on promotion.
Suspensions upheld
The Spanish FA (RFEF) have upheld the suspensions of Real Madrid trio Michel Salgado, Walter Samuel and Zinedine Zidane. Samuel and Zidane were sent off in Saturday's 2-1 win over Villarreal - Samuel for a second yellow card and Zidane for his part in an injury-time scuffle - and will miss the next game with Real Sociedad. However, the RFEF have overturned the yellow card that was shown to David Beckham for dissent.
