The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Bidders eye second-tier soccer club Birmingham City Posted: 09 Oct 2012 04:50 AM PDT  Wade Elliott (C) of Birmingham City celebrate with teammates after scores against Maribor during Europa league soccer match in Maribor in this file photo of September 29, 2011. Birmingham City have become the latest second flight English soccer team to attract potential buyers. – Reuters pic No binding agreements have been entered into on the sale of the club, and discussions were still at an early stage, Birmingham International said in a statement posted on the Hong Kong bourse. "The company has been approached by two prospective buyers to explore the possibility of buying Birmingham City FC," Chief Executive Peter Pannu said in the statement, without detailing any value to the potential sale. Both parties have signed confidentiality agreements with Birmingham. British media reported last week that Gianni Paladini, an Italian who is the former chairman of English top tier soccer club Queens Park Rangers, was leading a consortium trying to buy the club. Trading in the company's shares has been suspended since June 2011, when its largest shareholder Carson Yeung was arrested on five counts of alleged money laundering of more than HK$720 million (RM282.61 million). Birmingham play in the English Championship, the level below the wealthy Premier League, having been relegated in 2011. They have made a poor start to the season and are currently 21st in a 24-team league. The financial gulf between the Premier League and Championship is huge and will widen next season when the Premier League enjoys the benefits of an enhanced new TV deal. The bigger clubs in the Championship are attracting interest from investors who have their eyes on the Premier League riches. A group of Kuwaitis took over former European champions Nottingham Forest earlier this year, while Leeds United are also in takeover talks. Yeung has to apply for court approval to travel to Britain as he is barred from leaving Hong Kong while his case is being heard. He owns about a quarter of Birmingham International, which had a market value of HK$550 million before its trading suspension, according to Thomson Reuters data. – Reuters |
| Dead leg rules Ramirez out for Southampton and Uruguay Posted: 09 Oct 2012 02:41 AM PDT  Uruguay's Gaston Ramirez (L) fights for the ball witth Ecuador's Antonio Valencia (C) as Uruguay's Egidio Arevalo looks on during their 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer match in Montevideo September 11, 2012. – Reuters pic The 21-year-old Uruguay international midfielder, missed Sunday's 2-2 draw against Fulham after being treated in hospital for a "dead leg" which resulted in severe swelling in the player's thigh. He has also been forced to withdraw from Uruguay's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia. Ramirez, who joined the Saints from Bologna in August for US$19.23 million (RM59.08 million) could miss the club's next four league matches against West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City. Saints manager Nigel Adkins told reporters after the Fulham match that the injury "was quite a serious one". "The muscle swelled up very much because there was nowhere for the blood to go, so there was a lot of pressure on his thigh," Atkins said. "He has had to have a couple of days in hospital to try and relieve the pressure, so obviously he is not going to go and join the Uruguayan team over the international break." Ramirez has made three appearances for Southampton since joining on transfer deadline day and scored his first goal in the 3-1 defeat at Everton last week. The club are currently 17th in the 20-team Premier League having won one, drawn one and lost the other five of their opening seven league matches following their return to the top flight after a seven-year absence. – Reuters |
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