Football Association to abstain from Fifa poll

 The English Football Association (FA) will abstain from casting a ballot in the Fifa presidential election in a protest against both Sepp Blatter and Mohammad Bin Hammam.The FA board made the decision yesterday after new corruption claims were made last week at a British parliamentary inquiry against the Fifa executive committee and Qatar over the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups."The FA board has today agreed to abstain in the vote for the presidency of FIifa," FA chairman David Bernstein said in a statement. "There are a well-reported range of issues both recent and current which, in the view of the FA board, make it difficult to support either candidate."Blatter was elected Fifa president in 1998 and is seeking a fourth four-year term. Having been re-elected unopposed in 2007, Blatter is facing his first challenger since he beat Eisa Hayatou in 2002.Blatter said shortly before the FA announced its decision.Fifa is currently investigating the validity of claims that executive committee members Hayatou and Jacques Anouma were paid to vote for Qatar, which was awarded the 2022 World Cup.David Triesman, the chairman of the FA until last May, also told lawmakers thatfourlong-standing Fifa executive committee members -Jack Warner, Nicolas Leoz, Ricardo Teixeira and Worawi Makudi  engaged in "improper and unethical" conduct in the 2018 bidding, which was won by Russia.The FA is still unhappy that England only received two votes in last December's vote for the 2018 World Cup. One FA board member, Roger Burden, was acting chairman at the time of the vote but withdrew his application to take the job on a full-time basis because he said he could no longer trust Fifa."The FA values its relationships with its international football partners extremely highly," said Bernstein, Burden's successor as FA chairman. "We are determined to play an active and influential role through our representation within both UEFA and Fifa. We will continue to work hard to bring about any changes we think would benefit all of international football."Blatter said he tried to persuade Bernstein to back him at a meeting at Wembley Stadium in April."He asked me what Fifa can do for England and I put it the other way, ‘What can England do for Fifa with their efficient Premier League?'" Blatter said in Zurich.

Transfer rumours making rounds

Concerned by the paucity of tearful, preening, pouting, Portuguese goal-getters strutting around Eastlands, Manchester City will attempt to "smash the world transfer record" by bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to England, according to an "exclusive" running in the Mirror.As a Real Madrid player, Ronaldo has scored 38 La Liga goals in 37 games so far this season, three more than Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, Jo, Adam Johnson, David Silva and Carlos Tevez have mustered between them in the English top flight. But it was in the Champions League, specifically against Barcelona, that he was heard to voice his frustration at being marooned alone up front by his manager Jos Mourinho.If City are to lure Ronaldo back to Manchester from the Santiago Bernabu, they'll have to buy him out of a £100 million contract on which there's four years left to run. Considering the persistence of murmurs linking Udinese's Chilean winger Alexis Sanchez (£30 million) and Tottenham's Welsh winger Gareth Bale (£40 million) with the world's richest club, it's probably fair to say that for little Shaun Wright-Phillips, the City jig is almost certainly up.The traffic out of Eastlands may not be one way, according to Metro, with Juventus rumoured to be considering moves for Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko, not to mention scampering Arsenal touchline-hugger Theo Walcott, who might prefer to go and win nothing in a slightly warmer climate, for a change. In dire need of some width in their struggling side, the Turin outfit are also reported to be interested in Dutch international Royston Drenthe, the Real Madrid winger who's just spent an eventful season labouring on loan at recently relegated Spanish side Hercules.Elsewhere in Spain, Kaka insists he's not leaving Real Madrid for England or Italy, while Valencia are keeping tabs on Barcelona striker Bojan Krkic, who it seems harsh to continually criticise for not quite cutting the mustard at Nou Camp, considering he's still just a whelp of 20 years of age.In a welcome story that has nothing to do with Manchester City, the Mirror reports that Liverpool "have made a formal approach" for Ligue 1 leaders Lille's 20-year-old winger, Eden Hazard. With Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid also reported to be interested in the £20 million-rated Belgian attacking midfielder whose mum and dad both played football at a decent level, Kenny Dalglish will have his work cut out to lure him to a club currently unable to compete with their rivals in terms of offering silly money or Champions League football.Despite being the hot tip to replace Edwin van der Sar at Old Trafford when the imposing Dutch goalkeeper retires this summer, imposing Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has told reporters that he has thus far received no offer from Manchester United, but has had a "fantastic" one from his current club Ajax."There has been nothing else, zero, maybe because I've been injured," he told reporters, before issuing United with a decidedly subtle come-and-get-me-plea: "Anybody who does not want to play for Manchester United would be insane," he declared.Bolton centre-half Gary Cahill is confident of forsaking the Reebok Stadium to take up residency in the heart of Arsenal's porous defence next season, subject to Arsne Wenger dusting off his cheque book and handing over £15 million. Manchester United have also been sniffing around the sought-after Trotter.Meanwhile at the San Siro, Milan are prepared to offer Tottenham former Arsenal favourite Mathieu Flamini and a big bag of money in exchange for White Hart Lane dressing room japester and midfield enforcer Sandro. We're telling you now, that one won't happen.Not content with having one disappointingly inconsistent African striker on their books in Ghana's finest Asamoah Gyan, Sunderland will add another by rescuing Senegalese forward Demba Ba from West Ham, in a bid to fill the Danny Welbeck-shaped hole set to appear in their squad once the Manchester United loanee returns to Old Trafford.