Football: Taibi out of United campaign

MANCHESTER UNITED suffered a setback yesterday in their preparations for the defence of their European crown when Uefa, European football's governing body, refused to register their new goalkeeper, Massimo Taibi, for this season's Champions' League.

Uefa said Taibi was not eligible to play for the club on 31 August, the transfer deadline. United have appealed and Uefa will consider the issue on Friday.

Leeds will play their Uefa Cup first round, first-leg tie against Partizan Belgrade in the Netherlands, although the exact venue is still to be decided. Uefa will make their final announcement this morning after checking out the suitability of Vitesse Arnhem's ground for the game a week tomorrow.

Bradford City are poised to sign Bruno Rodriguez, a striker with the French first division side Paris St-Germain, the player confirmed yesterday. Rodriguez said the clubs had reached agreement and that the transfer would be in the form of a loan with an option to buy at the end of the season.