Chipwrapper UK Newspaper Football

Sky: Fergie hit with fine and ban

Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a touchline ban by the FA after admitting a charge of improper conduct.

Sky: Old Firm rejected by PL

The Premier League clubs have thrown out a proposal to bring Celtic and Rangers into the English game.

Mail: Premier League tell Celtic and Rangers to forget about heading south

Premier League clubs have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to allow Celtic and Rangers to join the English top flight, calling it neither 'desirable or viable'.

Independent: Old Firm will never join Premier League says Scudamore

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore today insisted the campaign for Celtic and Rangers to be allowed to join the English top flight is over for good, saying: "No means no."

Mail: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson hit with four-match ban for 'grossly improper' criticism of Alan Wiley

Sir Alex Ferguson has been hit with a four-match touchline ban and a £20,000 fine for suggesting referee Alan Wiley was unfit.

Telegraph: Flattery will get England's 2018 World Cup bid everywhere

I may be hopelessly naive but it seems to me the problem with the 2018 World Cup bid is a pretty easy one to resolve.

Independent: Liverpool hit with Benayoun and Riera injury blows

Liverpool pair Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera could be out for at least three weeks with hamstring injuries.

BBC: Cudicini injured in road accident

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini fractures his wrists and injures his pelvis in a motorbike accident.

Telegraph: Sir Alex Ferguson handed twomatch touchline ban for 'unfit ' referee comments

Manchester United manager suspended for outspoken attack on referee Alan Wiley and warned as to future conduct.

Sun: Fergie handed touchline ban

ALEX FERGUSON receives two-match ban and fine following Alan Wiley comments

Guardian: Ferguson banished to the stands for two games over Wiley insult

• Ferguson handed four-match ban, two of which suspended
• United manager to sit out Portsmouth and Everton matches

Sir Alex Ferguson has been handed a four-match ban, two of which will be suspended, and fined £20,000 for his comments made about the referee Alan Wiley last month.

The Manchester United manager has also been warned about his future conduct after he met with an FA regulatory commission to explain his claims that Wiley was not physically fit enough to referee, which were made following United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

Ferguson will now be forced to watch United's next two matches from the stands, at home to Everton and away to Portsmouth, while the suspended sanction will be automatically activated should Ferguson be found guilty of a similar charge before the end of the 2010-11 season on top of any sanction imposed for that offence.

The commission's chairman, Peter Griffiths QC, said after the hearing: "Each member of the commission recognised Sir Alex Ferguson's achievements and stature within the game. Having said that, it was made clear to Sir Alex that with such stature comes increased responsibilities.

"The commission considered his admitted remarks, in the context in which they were made, were not just improper but were grossly improper and wholly inappropriate. He should never have said what he did say."

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BBC: Ferguson hit with FA fine and ban

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is fined £20,000 and given a two-match touchline ban for his comments about referee Alan Wiley's fitness.

Sun: Premier League snub Old Firm

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs reject proposals for Rangers and Celtic to join English top flight

Guardian: Premier League clubs keep Old Firm out

• Celtic and Rangers will not join English football
• Fourteen chairmen voted against Old Firm's admission

Premier League clubs today overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to allow Celtic and Rangers to join the English top flight.

A proposal by the Bolton chairman, Phil Gartside, to include the Old Firm clubs was rejected as neither "desirable or viable". Fourteen clubs are understood to have voted against the proposal.

Other suggestions put forward by Gartside, including having a two-tier Premier League, will be fed into the league's ongoing strategic review.

The Premier League said in a statement: "Bolton Wanderers submitted a discussion paper detailing ideas concerning the restructuring of the Premier League into two tiers with the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers.

"The clubs welcomed the additional input into an ongoing process, however, they were of the opinion that bringing Celtic and Rangers into any form of Premier League set-up was not desirable or viable.

"The other relevant ideas contained within Bolton's paper will now be taken forward as part of the wider strategic review being undertaken by the Premier League since November 2008 with the aim of providing recommendations before December 2010."

Gartside has expressed concerns that too much money continues to flow into the coffers of the top four clubs.

Last season, champions Manchester United earned £52.3m in Premier League television money, compared to the £31.6m for bottom club West Brom.

The fact that the four clubs in the Champions League also earned between £20million and £33million on top of that from European TV and prize money - and benefit from huge ticket and merchandise revenue - has led to a number of chairmen of mid and lower-ranking clubs to believe the time has come for a review.

In his annual report, published last week, Gartside made it clear that he believed addressing the big differences in income was the league's greatest challenge.

Gartside said: "Addressing this polarisation of clubs and the increasing revenue differentials will, I believe, be the major strategic issue for the Premier League over coming years.

"The Premier League is an exciting product for supporters and for television viewers, but there is no doubt that as the years go by, and the same few clubs continue to benefit from the huge additional revenues from the Champions League, the remaining clubs find it enormously difficult to challenge.

"At the same time, the gap between Premier League revenues and those of the Championship continues to widen and I believe a 'fear factor' is beginning to emerge amongst Premier League clubs outside the top few."

The big clubs will oppose any major change to the status quo pointing out they have already boosted income to the smaller clubs by agreeing to every club receiving payment of facility fees for at least 10 televised matches totalling £4.8m, even if they only appear in a handful of live games on TV.

The next overseas TV deal - which is split equally among clubs - is likely to be close to £1bn, almost twice as much as the current £650m, meaning an extra £6m per club per season.

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Mirror: Casualty list of Premier League stars crocked on international duty

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