Insiders claim Leicester would prefer if their captain demanded to go as it would make it easier for them to explain his departure.Leeds United and Chelsea have agreed deals for all their Uefa Cup home matches this season to be shown live on Sky Sports Extra, a channel available only on digital satellite. BSkyB, which owns stakes in both clubs, beat off competition from the BBC and Channel 5 for the rights. Rights to the clubs' away legs are still on offer.Chelsea say that both Internazionale and Milan are keen to take their unsettled midfielder Sam Dalla Bona back to Italy.The former Queen's Park Rangers director Andrew Ellis has withdrawn his bid for control of the club, paving the way for a fans' consortium to take them out of administration.Ellis had been granted a three-week lock-out period to prove he had the cash to back up his proposal. But he has been forced to pull out of negotiations.The only other bid tabled so far comes from the fans' consortium headed by Maurice Fitzgerald, which has pledged to keep the club at Loftus Road.The Ellis bid had been unpopular with fans because he had proposed moving the club, relegated to the Second Division last season, from their home of 70 years to a new site near Heathrow 16 miles away.. High-earning footballers will pay 40 per cent tax on income from testimonial events if suggestions made yesterday by the sports minister, Richard Caborn, come to fruition. High-earning footballers will pay 40 per cent tax on income from testimonial events if suggestions made yesterday by the sports minister, Richard Caborn, come to fruition.
For players such as Ryan Giggs, whose testimonial match this evening against Celtic at Old Trafford will be the most lucrative in British football history, earning the multi-millionaire Manchester United winger around £1m, tax free, the changes will mean hundreds of thousands of pounds of lost income. For critics of the current system, including the former Manchester United manager, Tommy Docherty, who believes that tax-free testimonials are "ludicrous", Caborn's proposals will be welcomed.Testimonials were originally introduced to reward injured or loyal players, traditionally after 10 years' service, but that was in an era when players' wages were considerably lower and restricted by the maximum wage. Caborn now wants the Treasury to look at the practice again to see whether testimonial earnings should remain tax free. One option might be to set a salary ceiling for tax purposes, with players paid more than that limit paying tax on testimonial income.Lower earning players would still benefit from tax-free perks."The current system is a hangover from the past when players had a testimonial to supplement what really were not very high earnings in a short career," Caborn said. "I am going to draw it to the attention of the Treasury and ask them to review the situation. Are the reasons for them being tax free still valid and if they are not should they be changed?"Docherty said yesterday that he would not now pay to watch a testimonial and would like to see a large proportion of the money collected for leading players donated to charity "It's ludicrous," he said.
"Testimonials were originally introduced for players who had fallen on hard times, whose career was finished by injury or in the days when they only earned £10, £12 or £14 a week. Now players may have £12m in the bank but they still want more. I would never attend a testimonial match and pay £20 to watch a meaningless friendly."The right of players to benefit from tax-free testimonial perks – and specifically Giggs' right to earn money from tonight's match – was defended by his club manager and the Professional Footballers' Association. "Some people say that players don't deserve testimonials any more, but I think Ryan does," Alex Ferguson, who reportedly earned £2m from his own testimonial season, said.
"It is the first benefit for one of our home-grown players, who came through in that new era in the early to mid-Nineties. He's been a terrific servant to United and has great character."Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the PFA, also defended Giggs, who will give part of the money he earns tonight to three Manchester children's charities. "The fact that the match will be sold out gives you your answer," Taylor said. "It seems players can't get it right and on the one hand they are accused of being mercenaries if they want to walk out on a club and if they remain for a period and give 10 years' service, people still go on about them."Whether it's justified financially is open to question, but from that point of view it's a short career.
In the world of business, directors get share options and everything else."Taylor's deputy, Brendan Batson, said that the Government was merely trying to "get more money in its coffers" and questioned whether Caborn did not have "better things to do with his time". He added: "Taxing testimonials is a tax on spectators who already pay their taxed incomes to come through the turnstiles."HIGH-EARNING BENEFIT MATCHES BeneficiaryAwarded byYearOppositionReceipts Alex FergusonMan Utd1999World XI£1m David SeamanArsenal2001Barcelona£600,000 Paul McGrathRep of Ire1998Jack Charlton XI v Rep of Ire£600,000 Mark HughesMan Utd1994Celtic£500,000 Paul MersonArsenal1996International XI£400,000 Brian McClairMan Utd1997Celtic£380,000 Bryan RobsonMan Utd1990Celtic£300,000 Mick McCarthyRep of Ire1996Celtic £300,000 Sir Matt BusbyMan Utd1991Rep of Ire £250,000 Ian RushLiverpool1994Celtic£250,000. Nottingham Forest's financial situation is so dire that the club is prepared to listen to offers for any of its players, Paul Hart, the club's manager, admitted yesterday. Nottingham Forest's financial situation is so dire that the club is prepared to listen to offers for any of its players, Paul Hart, the club's manager, admitted yesterday. "There are people you wouldn't like to sell but the fact is we have got to reduce the wage bill," Hart said "I think the fans will understand. They realise an awful lot of money has been spent in the last two years – £27 million in transfer fees and salaries, which is not chicken feed for any club."We have to be realistic in the situation we are in and we are open to offers. I am a professional and I know I have to balance the financial situation at the club and the need for winning football matches."I don't know how many players we will have to sell, but I know I have to reduce the wage bill. We have got some very good players and people will contact us.