Football news

Sky Bet Championship: Davide Somma still holding contract hope at Leeds
Last Updated: October 10, 2013 

Leeds v Birmingham

Davide Somma hopes to earn a second chance at Leeds United, with it possible that a new contract could be offered to him.
The South African forward was released by the Whites at the end of last season, with persistent knee problems forcing Brian McDermott's hand.
Somma has, however, been allowed to use Leeds' training facilities as he works his way back from a third operation.
The 28-year-old is now closing on a return to full fitness and clinging to the dream of landing fresh terms at the Championship outfit.
Somma told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "I definitely feel like I've got unfinished business at Leeds.
"It's hard to know what's going to happen and the gaffer's going to make his own decisions, but when he spoke to me in the summer he said I could come back, get myself fit and then let the club take a look at me.
"He wasn't in a position to offer me a contract there and then, which I understood. He wasn't going to give me a contract when I wasn't fit. But I'm a month away from being fit enough to train properly and if I'm able to do a bit of training with the first team, then I'll do my best to impress."
Somma who netted 12 times in the 2010/11 campaign as he managed to steer clear of the treatment table, added: "I never thought I'd be two years down the line and still trying to get myself right.
"It's been tough but I always wanted to get back playing and I always hoped to make more of an impact at Leeds.
"If there was a chance for me, then I'd take it with both hands."

Football | Africa

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Hamza Abourazzouk © Backpagepix

Fifa ban Moroccan striker for doping

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10 October 2013, 19:27 
Morocco international striker Hamza Abourazzouk has been suspended for six months by world football governing body Fifa after testing positive for cannabis at a World Cup qualifying match.
The 27-year-old Abourazzouk returned a positive test after Morocco's World Cup qualifying victory over Tanzania on June 8 and had been provsionally suspended from August 28.
Morocco failed to qualify for the World Cup.
The Raja Casablanca player will miss the Club World Cup which Morocco will host in December. Raja Casablanca qualified as the league winner of the host nation.

Football | Barclays Premier League

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Bruce Buck © Action Images

Financial curbs favour elite – Chelsea boss

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10 October 2013, 19:40 
Rules forcing European soccer clubs to cut their financial losses will make it harder for smaller teams to challenge the game's elite, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said on Thursday.
Chelsea have won the English Premier League three times in the past decade after billionaire Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought the club and funded heavy spending on players.
Buck said Chelsea would comply with Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules designed to curb losses but felt the measures went further than necessary to stabilise club finances.
"We had a broken finger and we cut off the arm," Buck told the Leaders in Football conference at the club's Stamford Bridge stadium in London.
Buck said the system would make it harder for someone like Abramovich to come in and transform a club.
"It (FFP) goes a long way towards preserving the status quo," he added, noting that it risked killing the dreams that clubs at the bottom of the game had of reaching the top.
"That is difficult if not impossible now," Buck said.
Critics of clubs like Chelsea and Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City argue that their spending on players and salaries has driven up costs for teams to dangerous levels.
There are various forms of financial control being applied across all four divisions of the English professional game after former Premier League clubs, including Portsmouth and Coventry, City went into administration in recent seasons.
Top clubs risk exclusion from Uefa competitions from next season if they fail to make sufficient progress towards breaking even. However, the rules are complex and there is uncertainty about how strictly they will be enforced at first.
Uefa will be expected to look closely at big sponsorship deals agreed by clubs including Manchester City and Paris St Germain to ensure they are not hidden subsidies from groups with ties to team owners.
"We're all hopeful that Uefa will apply these rules in a fair and equitable manner," Buck said.
Chelsea moved into profit last year for the first time in the Abramovich era after winning the Champions League and enjoying a windfall from a share deal.