FOOTBALL IN BRIEF: BBC TO SHOW ROONEY'S CUP RETURN

l Wayne Rooney's return to Everton with Manchester United will be one of the fifth-round FA Cup ties shown live on BBC. The game, scheduled for Saturday 19 February, will kick off at 5.30pm. Arsenal's game against Sheffield United or West Ham is also live on BBC on the same day at 12.30. The Lancashire derby between Burnley and Blackburn will be shown live on Sunday 20 February, kicking off 1.40pm.

l The Lithuanian businessman Vladimir Romanov has taken effective control of Hearts after buying the 19.6 per cent stake of the club's chief executive, Chris Robinson. In a statement to the Stock Exchange yesterday, Romanov said he had completed the purchase of Robinson's 2.48 million shares, agreed last year, and now held 29.9 per cent of the club's share capital. Romanov was one of the founders of the Lithuanian champions Kaunas and said in September he would bring in former Russian manager Anatoly Byshovets as sporting director if he gained control.

l Juventus' general director Luciano Moggi has revealed the club came very close to signing striker Adrian Mutu last summer. The Romanian international could have arrived in Turin last summer had Chelsea and Juve reached an agreement. "We had asked for Mutu to be loaned to us in the summer," Moggi said. "Everything was done, but then Chelsea did not respect the verbal agreement."