Thu, Jan 15, 2009 page18

• Soccer Shorts

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ENGLAND

  Man City make Kaka bid

  Manchester City have offered AC Milan £100 million (US$150 million) in cash in a bid to land former Ballon d’Or winner Kaka, newspaper reports said yesterday. A four-man delegation led by chief executive Garry Cook met top officials at Milan’s headquarters on Tuesday, where they offered to make the Brazilian player the highest paid in the world on £15 million a year after tax, the Daily Mail and the Sun reported. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Milan’s owner, has resisted previous attempts to lure Kaka away. But the player has said he is unhappy with his role in the AC Milan team and would love to play in the Premier League.

  ■ENGLAND

  Becks ancestor ‘scavenger’

  David Beckham’s great-great grandfather was a “scavenger,” or rubbish collector, according to British census data which went online on Tuesday, giving an eye-opening view of life a century ago. The Beckham family’s census form, completed in neat handwriting, lists the soccer icon’s great-great grandfather John as a “scavenger” who lived in Walworth, southeast London. Within 10 hours of going live on Tuesday, the census Web site had received 5.4 million page views, and had been used to carry out over 260,000 searches on Britain’s then 27 million-strong population, said a spokeswoman. Elaine Collins, the commercial director of the www.1911census.co.uk Web site, said it provides a unique glimpse into life in the early 20th century. “As well as helping people trace their ancestors, these records shed more light on our ancestors’ day-to-day lifestyles, providing a snapshot of a day in their lives,” she said.

  ■IRAN

  Club ready to pay fine

  An Iranian club is ready to pay the 3,000 euros (US$4,000) cash fine imposed on Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute, the daily Iran Sports reported on Tuesday. The disciplinary committee of the Spanish soccer federation on Friday fined Kanoute for displaying a shirt in support of Palestine in the Gaza conflict with Israel. Kanoute — a French-born Muslim who plays for the Mali national team — showed the shirt after scoring for Sevilla in last week’s 2-1 King’s Cup defeat of Deportivo La Coruna. Saeid Azari, manager of Iran first division club Zob Ahan Isfahan, said the club was ready to pay the fine on behalf of the player. Azari told Iran Sports that Kanoute has been asked on his personal Web site where the money should be transferred to, and that Iran captain Javad Nekounam, who also plays in Spain for Osasuna, has been contacted to inform Kanoute accordingly.

  ■ENGLAND

  Luton reach zero points

  Fourth-tier strugglers Luton Town finally got to zero points after 24 matches this season following a 2-2 draw with Chester on Tuesday. Before the season started Luton — who back in 1988 were celebrating a memorable League Cup victory at Wembley over Arsenal — were deducted a huge 30 points for breaching financial rules. These are primarily designed to encourage clubs to stay in the black by ensuring they cannot just write off their debts by going into administration without any risk to their league position. English soccer chiefs argue that if such rules were not in place there would be a reduced incentive for teams to be put on a sound financial basis and that well-run sides would be at an unfair disadvantage.
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