Football: Branca questions Boro decision to retire him

MIDDLESBROUGH WERE yesterday standing firm about the future of the Italian striker Marco Branca - even though the player has denied his career is over.

The club announced earlier this week that it had reluctantly terminated the 34-year-old's contract because of the long-standing knee injury which has limited his involvement to just one appearance as a substitute in the last nine months. But the move apparently came as a shock to the former Internazionale forward, who said: "Retirement? I don't know anything about this. Nobody has told me anything."

However, a Boro spokesman, Dave Allan, reiterated that Branca had been given six months' notice of his contract in October after a consultant surgeon advised that the knee would not stand up to the rigours of professional football.

Meanwhile, the futility of the `cash-for-votes' scandal at the Football Association was clearly shown yesterday after Scotland's David Will was unanimously given a two-year extension as the Home Nations' Fifa vice- president.

Keith Wiseman, the ousted chairman of the FA, is alleged to have agreed a pounds 3.2m loan to the FA of Wales in an effort to obtain support for his bid to replace Will on the executive of football's world governing body. Wiseman had apparently felt that the Scotsman was not doing enough to promote England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

Steve Wignall has resigned as the manager of Colchester United after four years in charge. He had guided the team to two Wembley appearances and promotion from the Third Division last season, but the Layer Road outfit are now struggling in the Second. Steve Whitton and Micky Cook take caretaker charge.

Paul Alcock is to return to Premiership refereeing. The Redhill official, out of action with a back injury after being pushed over by Paolo di Canio in September, will take charge of Nottingham Forest v Manchester United on 6 February.

Huddersfield Town yesterday received a major boost when the millionaire businessman Barry Rubery bought a 70 per cent controlling interest in the club. Rubery, who recently floated his satellite decoding equipment company Pace Micro Technology, has been in talks with the Terriers for six months over the buyout, thought to be in the region of pounds 8m.

Liverpool are giving the Norwegian Under-18 international goalkeeper Espen Johnsen a 10-day trial, with a view to making the move from Start permanent.

Ronnie Moore and Steve Parkin have agreed to be wired up to heart monitors when Mansfield tackle Rotherham in tonight's Sky Sports televised fixture at Field Mill. The experiment is designed to give viewers a unique insight into stress levels in management.