Bellamy's 'violent conduct' results in three-match ban

Craig Bellamy, the Newcastle United striker, was given his second three-match ban of the season by Uefa yesterday as a result of his dismissal against Internazionale in a Champions' League match last month.

The 23-year-old, who has already served a three-match European ban this season for head-butting the Dynamo Kiev defender Tiberiu Ghioane, has been punished for the red card he received after he threw a punch at Marco Materazzi.

Following his dismissal at St James' Park, the Wales international was banned for the following Champions' League match against Barcelona. But European football's governing body confirmed he would miss a further two games, the away and home matches against Bayer Leverkusen on 18 and 26 February respectively, for "violent conduct".

Bellamy, who missed last week's 3-1 defeat in Barcelona as a result of his dismissal, said: "I've worked so hard to get into this competition and it's just these stupid incidents. I've already missed three games and I'm going to miss more now. To play against teams like Barcelona, it's a dream to be on this stage and I'm blowing it. It's my own fault. I've got no excuse."

The Tottenham Hotspur striker Les Ferdinand has had his three-match suspension confirmed by the Football Association after he was sent off during a reserve game with Arsenal on Monday.

The FA clarified the position regarding Ferdinand after the player said he hoped he would not get a ban.Ferdinand will now be unavailable for the Premiership and FA Cup third-round matches at Southampton on 1 and 4 January respectively and the home League game against Everton on 12 January.

York City yesterday became the latest club to go into administration. The Third Division side, who are reportedly losing £20,000 a week, could play their last League match against Swansea on 18 January unless they find a buyer.

Officials and representatives from insolvency experts Jackson, Jolliffe, Cork – who have been assisting York's chairman John Batchelor for the past two weeks – attended a court hearing in Leeds yesterday and have applied for voluntary administration.

If the application is rejected, the Minstermen could face bankruptcy on a much shorter timescale. Batchelor said: "I'm down, but not out. I'm hoping that by going down this road any interested parties will contact the administrators and get the club moving forward. I still own the shares in the club until a buyer is found, but I still haven't given up hope of putting a package together."

Graeme Souness will use video evidence and witnesses to defend himself against his latest brush with officialdom.

The Blackburn Rovers manager faces a touchline ban after being sent off by referee Andy D'Urso following a row with the fourth official Matt Messias during Tuesday's Worthington Cup tie against Wigan Athletic.

Souness, who has been in trouble before this year for rows with Graham Barber and Steve Bennett, is waiting for the referee's report but is prepared to call on his coaching staff as witnesses if he is accused of using bad language during the exchange of words.

David Moyes, the Everton manager, is hoping to sign the tough-tackling Senegal World Cup midfielder Pape Sarr from Lens. Sarr, who was understudy to Liverpool's Salif Diao at the World Cup, is available on loan. Moyes is also negotiating for the Egyptian international Ibrahim Said, on loan from Cairo's Al Ahli.

Sam Allardyce, the Bolton Wanderers manager, is to give the Russian World Cup forward Vladimir Beschastnykh a trial match. The Spartak Moscow player, who has impressed Allardyce in training, may replace the out of favour Michael Ricketts.

Gabriel Batistuta's agent says the Argentinian striker is heading to the Premier League, and most likely to Fulham. Settimio Aloisio said his client wants to play for two seasons in England before returning to Florence, where he may help run the city's new club that came about with Fiorentina's demise.