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PSG investigated for alleged transfer irregularities

Troubled Ligue 1 club Paris St Germain have been placed under investigation for alleged transfer irregularities, their lawyer told Reuters on Thursday. The club are suspected of having paid undeclared bonuses to players through agents in relation with some 15 transfers from 1998 to 2003, lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve said. Among the transfers investigated is that of Brazil’s Ronaldinho, who joined PSG from Brazilian side Gremio in 2001 before moving on to Barcelona in 2003.

Johannesburg stadium in World Cup litmus test 

Soccer City, the famous Johannesburg stadium chosen to stage the final of the 2010 World Cup, is the scene for a potentially explosive match on Saturday before closing down for a major revamp. The 20-year-old stadium, one of the largest in the continent, is expected to be packed with some 80,000 fans of South African arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, who will battle it out in a fitting adieu to the local “mecca” of football before it undergoes a 221 million dollar refit. Saturday’s encounter is being seen as a litmus test for South African football officials and police who have pledged to do their all to ensure a model first World Cup in Africa and minimise the possibilities of either violence or hooliganism.

Spanish football giants deny alleged link to doping affair 

Spanish champions Barcelona and other top flight clubs have denied a report in French newspaper Le Monde that they used the services of doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who is at the centre of a blood doping affair. Real Madrid, also cited in the report, did not immediately comment while two other first division clubs named, Real Betis and Valencia, both issued denials. “FC Barcelona categorically denies the information published by French paper Le Monde regarding a supposed and non-existent use of the services of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes at the club and a supposed and non-existent link with (the club’s) preparation plans for the past season,” the club said on its website.