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Birmingham fined for Carling Cup pitch invasion Fans ran on to the pitch at the end of the match against Villa Birmingham City have been fined £40,000 by the Football Association for failing to control their fans after the Carling Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa. More than 1,000 supporters invaded the pitch following the 2-1 victory for Blues over their west Midlands rivals on 1 December. An independent commission said £20,000 of the fine would be suspended until the end of the 2013/2014 season. The club was also warned about its future conduct. The victory for Birmingham was marred by the trouble which involved fans running on to the pitch after the final whistle to confront visiting supporters at the other end of the ground. A flare appeared to be thrown into the section housing the Villa supporters, and seats were also ripped out and used as missiles along with other objects. Fourteen people were treated in hospital and five were arre...

London 2012 Olympics: Judicial review over stadium By Adrian Warner & Kurt Barling BBC News, London http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12909326   West Ham's bid defeated Spurs in the race for the Olympic Stadium Tottenham Hotspur are taking Olympic chiefs to court over the decision to hand the 2012 stadium to West Ham after the Games, the BBC has learned. The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), which chose West Ham ahead of Spurs last month, confirmed Tottenham are pressing ahead with a judicial review. Tottenham informed the OPLC of its decision this week, as construction on the Olympic Stadium was completed. A spokesman for London's mayor defended the stadium bidding process. Tottenham have sought the review to challenge the process the OPLC followed in making its decision to choose West Ham as its preferred bidder for the stadium. An OPLC spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a letter ...

Man Utd boss Ferguson foresees FA Cup semi-final 'chaos' Ferguson has yet to guide United to FA Cup success at the new Wembley Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has predicted "absolute chaos" during FA Cup semi-final weekend. All four competing teams will travel to Wembley from the north west of England while Liverpool fans will be heading to Arsenal on Sunday for a league clash. "It's going to be absolute chaos - but there's nothing that can be done about it," said Ferguson. "Think of the amount of people driving down. You've got Villa Park and Anfield on your doorstep." United face local rivals Manchester City at 1715 BST on Saturday 16 April and a day later Bolton play Stoke in a 1600 BST kick-off. Liverpool's match at the Emirates Stadium also begins at 1600 BST - and takes place on the same day as the London Marathon. "There will be 60,000 people coming down from Mancheste...

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Ryan Giggs is better than ever - Sir Bobby Charlton Giggs has been vital to Manchester United's success for two decades By Matt Slater BBC sports news reporter Ryan Giggs is playing the best football of his 20-year stint in Manchester United's first team, according to Old Trafford legend Sir Bobby Charlton. The 37-year-old Giggs, who this month broke Charlton's record of 606 league appearances for United, signed a one-year contract extension in February. He has now played a total of 867 games for the club, winning 11 league titles. "Last year, I thought that was the best he had ever played but this year he's been even better," said Charlton. "...

Premier League FOOTBALL Derby sign Jones from Liverpool Derby County sign Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones on loan until the end of the season   http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/default.stm

Please note: Fixtures are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Saturday, 2 April 2011 West Ham v Man Utd , 12:45 Birmingham v Bolton , 15:00 Everton v Aston Villa , 15:00 Newcastle v Wolverhampton , 15:00 Stoke v Chelsea , 15:00 West Brom v Liverpool , 15:00 Wigan v Tottenham , 15:00 Arsenal v Blackburn , 17:30 Sunday, 3 April 2011 Fulham v Blackpool , 13:30 Man City v Sunderland , 16:00 Saturday, 9 April 2011 Wolverhampton v Everton , 12:45 Blackburn v Birmingham , 15:00 Bolton v West Ham , 15:00 Chelsea v Wigan , 15:00 Man Utd v Fulham , 15:00 Sunderland v West Brom , 15:00 Tottenham v Stoke , 15:00 Sunday, 10 April 2011 Blackpool v Arsenal , 13:30 Aston Villa v Newcastle , 16:00 Monday, 11 April 2011 Liverpool v Man City , 20:00 Saturday, 16 April 2011 Birmingham v Sunderland , 15:00 Blackpool v Wigan , 15:00 Everton v Blackburn , 15:00 West Brom v Chelsea , 15:00 West Ham v Aston Villa , 15:00 Sunday, 17 A...

Chelsea to assess coach Carlo Ancelotti position in May Ancelotti twice won the European Cup with Milan as a player and coach Chelsea will judge the performance of manager Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season, chief executive Ron Gourlay has told BBC's Sportsweek programme. Ancelotti won the Double in his first season but Chelsea were knocked out of two cups and have failed to keep pace with Manchester United this campaign. "Carlo has a contract until end of 2012," Gourlay told the BBC. "Let's see where we are at the end of May then we'll judge the coach and other people at the football club." However, the Blues chief executive, who has been at the club for six years, did pay a glowing tribute to Ancelotti. "Carlo is a world class coach," he said. "You look at his record and it speaks for itself. His record at Chelsea in a short time, winning the double in the first season in a new league, c...

Barclays Premier League table Barclays Premier League : Table Sunday, 20 March 2011 18:00 UK       | Home       | Away             Team P W D L F A W D L F A GD PTS 1 Man Utd 30 14 1 0 40 9 4 8 3 24 21 34 63 2 Arsenal 29 10 2 3 30 12 7 5 2 29 17 30 58 3 Chelsea 29 10 2 2 28 9 6 4 5 25 15 29 54 4 Man City 30 9 4 2 23 11 ...

Monday, 21 March 2011 Npower League One MK Dons 1-0 Peterborough | Report Blue Square Bet North Worcester 0-1 Droylsden Sunday, 20 March 2011 Barclays Premier League Chelsea 2-0 Man City | Report Sunderland 0-2 Liverpool | Report Co-operative Insurance Cup Celtic 1-2 Rangers (After Extra Time) | Report Principality Building Society Welsh Premier League Airbus UK 5-0 Haverfordwest FA Women's Premier League Millwall Lionesses 2-1 Barnet Ladies Sunderland Ladies 1-0 Leeds Ladies Saturday, 19 March 2011 Barclays Premier League Aston Villa 0-1 Wolverhampton | Report Blackburn 2-2 Blackpool | Report Everton 2-1 Fulham | Report Man Utd 1-0 Bolton | Report Stoke 4-0 Newcastle | Report Tottenham 0-0 West Ham | Report West Brom 2-2 Arsenal | Report Wigan 2-1 Birmingham | Report Npower Championship Barnsley 0-1 Reading | Report Bristol City 2-0 Burnley | Report Crystal Palace 2-2 Derby | Report Doncaster 0-1 QPR | Report Hull 1-1 Norwich | Report Ipswich 2...

Fifa president Sepp Blatter 'to stand down in 2015' Switzerland's Blatter took over as Fifa president from Joao Havelange in 1998 Sepp Blatter says he will step down as Fifa president in 2015, if he is re-elected for a fourth term in June. The 75-year-old, who has been head of world football's governing body since 1998, is being challenged by Asian confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam. "You know I aspire to another four years," he told a Uefa Congress on Tuesday. "[But] these will be the last years for which I stand as candidate." The new president will be elected at a Fifa Congress, which starts on 31 May. With Bin Hammam vowing to increase Fifa's decision-making power and spread its considerable wealth, Blatter is facing his first challenge since Issa Hayatou took him on - and lost - in 2002. Bin ...

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