Former EPl player jailed
Birmingham: A former Premier league player was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail after being convicted of plotting to bribe lower-league players in England. Delroy Facey, who played for Bolton in England's top division, was found guilty by a jury at a court in Birmingham of conspiracy to commit bribery. A former non-league player, Moses Swaibu, was convicted of the same charge and jailed for 16 months.
Real deny transfer ban
Madrid: Real Madrid has denied a Spanish media report saying FIFA would punish the team for breaking rules regarding the signing of youth players. In a statement on Wednesday, Madrid says the report is "absolutely false" and that the club has not violated any rules. Cadena SER reported that FIFA would ban Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid for two transfer periods, the same penalty given to Barcelona for breaking rules regarding youth transfers. The Spanish federation said it had no knowledge of the rumored ban.
belgian player critical
Brussels: lokeren defender Gregory Mertens remained in critical condition on Wednesday, two days after he suffered heart failure during a training match. The 24-year-old player in Belgium's top division collapsed early in Monday's game, and has been kept in a coma as doctors continue to give him emergency treatment. lokeren team doctor Kris Peeters told VTM network that "a few problems arose" during operations on Tuesday: "We only know they are doing their utmost to turn things around. But we all heard things are not going well." The club said he had been medically screened several times.