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| 30 May 2003 Lopez Threatens To Sue Lazio Lazio's Claudio Lopez will take legal action against the club until they pay him €1 million in unpaid wages by the 17th of November. His agent, Fernando Hidalgo, said : "He's only asking for what he's owed. I don't want him to end up like Crespo, who waited for a year and a half. Lazio's chief administrator, Luca Baraldi, hit back at the Hidalgo's claims : "He'll be paid in time, there's no problem with that. His action is absolutely pointless, seeing that Lazio is duty bound to pay all its employees before being allowed to sign up to next year's championship." Lopez, who has been magnificent this season, will return to former club Valencia later this summer. Croatian International Killed In Car Crash 23 year old Croatian international midfielder Silvester Sabolcki and two other players, 24 year old Krunoslav Sabolic and 20 Kristijan Kitner died in a car crash in northern Croatia. All three played for Varteks Varazdin but last week Sabolcki had signed a contract to join champions Dinamo Zagreb next season. 22 May 2003 Sensi Slapped With Fine Roma president Franco Sensi and his club have been fined €40,000 for suggesting April's match against Juventus was fixed : "It was all written. I knew that Juve had to win this match and the championship. We're powerless, there is nothing we can do against the football owners." Sensi and Roma coach Fabio Capello have continually complained about officiating throughout the season. Sore Loser O'Neill Criticises Porto "I wasn't pleased with Porto's style. They have very talented players and I wasn't pleased at all. You saw the reception they got from the Celtic fans when they collected their medals and Celtic fans are as fair as there are in Europe." - Celtic Coach Martin O'Neill O'Neill and the British media were highly critical of Porto's playacting and time wasting during the UEFA Cup final loss to Porto but said little about Celtic's appalling fouls throughout the match. 20 May 2003 Wiltord Rejects New Arsenal Arsenal's talentless forward Sylvain Wiltord has rejected a new contract. Signed for a ridiculous £12 million from Bordeaux, Wiltord has become notorious for missing easy chances. 19 May 2003 Makelele Not Interested In Joining Manchester United "My representatives have not been speaking to Manchester United and I don't want to play for Manchester United." - Claude Makelele 16 May 2003 No Champions League For Italian Arm-Chair Fans? UEFA have revealed that they are struggling to agree terms with Italian broadcasters Mediaset and Sky Italia over Champions League rights. Mediaset and Sky Italia are offering €50 million, half of what they paid for the previous deal. UEFA's Director of Communications Mike Lee said : "Negotiations are not moving forward and the real value of the Champions League for TV and the clubs in Italy is not being reflected in the bids we have received." Desailly To Retire Legendary defender Marcel Desailly has confirmed that he will bring an end to a glittering career, which has seen him win every major honour at club and international level, next summer. "I will definitely end my career after 2004. I have had a long, hard career. I need to do other things and take a break." 15 May 2003 FA Appoint New Chief Executive The English FA have named Mark Palios their new chief executive. Palios played more than 400 games for Tranmere Rovers and Crewe before retiring in 1986 and becoming an account. Coleman New Fulham Coach Chris Coleman has been named coach of Fulham. The 32 year old Welsh defender retired last year after a car accident and took over as caretaker coach after Jean Tigana resigned on the 17th of April. Coleman won three out of five matches to steer the club clear of relegation. 9 May 2003 Bayern Settle TV Row Bayern Munich and the DFL (German Football League) have ended their dispute over a marketing deal (see news from the 19th of February 2003). They paid €2.5 million to the DFL and a further €0.5 million to children suffering from the Iraq war. 5 May 2003 Best Paid Players In The World |
| Player | Club | € Millions |
| Beckham | Manchester United | 15 |
| Zidane | Real Madrid | 14 |
| Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 11.70 |
| R Ferdinand | Manchester United | 9.60 |
| Del Piero | Juventus | 9.50 |
| Nakata | Parma | 9.30 |
| Raul | Real Madrid | 9.30 |
| Vieri | Inter | 9.20 |
| Owen | Liverpool | 8.90 |
| R Keane | Manchester United | 8.65 |
| Figo | Real Madrid | 8.60 |
| Batistuta | Inter | 8.60 |
| Sol Campbell | Arsenal | 8.10 |
| Oliver Kahn | Bayern Munich | 7.65 |
| Recoba | Inter | 7.60 |
| Totti | Roma | 7.30 |
| Rivaldo | Milan | 7.20 |
| Henry | Arsenal | 6.20 |
| Cannavaro | Inter | 6.08 |
| Maldini | Milan | 6.00 |
| 4 May
2003 Wenger Ungracious In Defeat "It was a very small difference between the two teams in the league but if you look at the FA Cup and the championship, we are the best team in England. I'm bitterly disappointed. Last week at Bolton was the turning point of the championship. We had the title in our hands with 15 minutes to go. If we had won, we would certainly have kept the title. This was worse than 1999 because we were so much closer. Last year, when United lost the championship, they responded by buying a player for 30 million pounds. I certainly won't be doing that. Our most expensive player cost £12 million." - Arsene Wenger 1 May 2003 English FA Fined €98,000 The FA have been fined €98,000 following crowd behaviour during last months Euro 2004 qualifying tie against Turkey. Fans made racist chants during the tie played at Sunderland's Stadium of Light and two fans also ran onto the pitch. |