English League Two club Luton will start the new season on minus 30 points after the Football Association rejected an appeal against the punishment on Tuesday.

Sampdoria´s director general Beppe Marotta told Corriere dello Sport on Tuesday there is little chance that Andriy Shevchenko will join the Genoese club.

Sir Alex Ferguson expects Manchester United´s tour of South Africa to provide the perfect preparation for his side´s Premier League title defence.

Kashima Antlers lead the way as the J. League nears its halfway point, with the defending champions in a familiar position atop the league standings. Kashima are the most successful club in Japan, and the Ibaraki giants have fired a resounding warning to the rest of the league by embarking on an ominous four-match winning streak. That run includes a 4-0 thrashing away at high-flying Nagoya Grampus and a similarly emphatic 4-1 win over FC Tokyo in Kashima's most recent clash. Urawa Reds are just two points behind their bitter rivals, however the Saitama side slumped to a 2-0 defeat away at Oita Trinita in their last match, going down courtesy of goals from Shunsuke Maeda and Ueslei. Third-placed Nagoya Grampus beat ambitious Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 courtesy of a clinical Frode Johnsen strike at Mizuho Athletics Stadium on July 12, while Gamba Osaka have roared back into contention after beating Kawasaki Frontale 2-1 in a hard-fought clash at Expo '70 Stadium, with Brazilian duo Lucas Severino and Bare making compatriot Juninho's goal for Kawasaki redundant. In the bottom half of the table second-from-bottom Consadole Sapporo thrashed bottom club JEF United 3-0 at the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba, suggesting that JEF United fans had best start planning for J2 football next season. The Chiba side are hopelessly adrift at the bottom of the standings, some nine points outside the relegation/promotion playoff place and a further five points behind Consadole Sapporo - with the bottom two teams suffering automatic relegation. Just after the halfway point in J2 relegated Sanfrecce Hiroshima look odds on to bounce back to the top flight, with the Mazda-backed club seemingly streaking away in the division. The southern side are lying atop the standings some thirteen points in front of second-placed Cerezo Osaka, and having amassed 55 points from 24 games with a goal difference of +31, it would take a brave punter to bet against Hiroshima lifting the J2 title. Cerezo Osaka and Sagan Tosu are the nearest challengers, with surprise package Montedio Yamagata and Vegalta Sendai just a point further back. Newcomers Roasso Kumamoto have struggled with the transition to professional football. The Kyushu-based outfit prop up the standings in J2 having claimed just eighteen points, however fellow newcomers FC Gifu have fared better, having amassed 30 points so far to take them up to tenth place in the fifteen team-league. Coaching casualties mount Yokohama F. Marinos have sacked coach Takashi Kuwahara and replaced him with Kokichi Kimura, who steps into his first role as head coach in the J. League. Kuwahara's dismissal was widely anticipated, with the former championship-winning coach rumoured to be on the verge of the axe following Yokohama's recent 2-1 Kanagawa derby defeat to local rivals Kawasaki Frontale. A 1-0 home loss to Albirex Niigata at Mitsuzawa Stadium on July 13 was the final straw for club officials, who promptly terminated the contract of a coach who took over from the unpopular Hiroshi Hayano in January. Meanwhile struggling J2 outfit Avispa Fukuoka have sacked former World Cup winner Pierre Littbarski as coach and replaced him with Yoshiyuki Shinoda. Assistant coach and former Norwich midfielder Ian Crook and strength and conditioning coach Anthony Crea were also sacked, with the duo brought in from A-League side Sydney FC, whom Littbarski coached to the inaugural A-League crown. Sorimachi names Olympic squad Japan's quest to name a competitive squad at the 2008 Beijing Olympics reached farcical proportions when Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo was forced to withdraw due to complications related to a Hepatitis C infection. Endo was hospitalised recently after enduring a gruelling schedule for both club and country, but that did not prevent the Japan Football Association from attempting to name the talismanic Gamba Osaka midfielder as Japan's sole overage representative for the under-23 tournament. Endo's withdrawal comes hot on the heels of Vissel Kobe's refusal to release their star striker Yoshito Okubo for the competition. Kobe cited a persistent knee injury as their reason for refusing to allow Okubo to play in the Olympics, but sources suggest that the club were privately seething after the former Real Mallorca striker was named as Japan's likely overage representative without prior consultation with Kobe club officials. Japan will now feature a squad comprised entirely of under-23 players, however there was no room in coach Yasuharu Sorimachi's squad for Kashima Antlers defender Masahiko Inoha. Despite captaining the team throughout the qualifying campaign, the former FC Tokyo star has seemingly paid the price for a lack of football at new club Kashima. Two overseas-based players in VV Venlo's Keisuke Honda and Catania's Takayuki Morimoto were picked, while Cerezo Osaka teenager Shinji Kagawa and surprise package Yohei Toyoda of Montedio Yamagata represent J2's contribution to the squad. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J.League News Tags Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Wigan manager Steve Bruce signed Olivier Kapo for the second time as the France midfielder completed a 3.5 million pounds (4.3 million euros) move from Birmingham on Tuesday.

Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho agreed on Tuesday to leave Barcelona, where he was deemed surplus to requirements, and sign for AC Milan in a deal reported to be worth 30 million dollars.

Aston Villa have told unsettled captain Gareth Barry to return to training on Wednesday after lifting the ban on their England midfielder.

Former Real Madrid boss Vicente del Bosque was on Tuesday named as the new coach of the Spanish national team to replace Luis Aragones who masterminded the successful Euro 2008 campaign last month.

Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho has agreed to leave Barcelona, where he was deemed surplus to requirements, and sign for AC Milan in a deal reported to be worth 30 million dollars.

BIRMINGHAM (SW) – Out of favour midfielder Gareth Barry will attend his first pre season training session with Aston Villa tomorrow (Wednesday).

Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League club on Tuesday.

BIRMINGHAM (SW) – Aston Villa have been asked by Arsenal to be kept informed about the on – going Gareth Barry saga.

Former Argentinian international captain Juan Pablo Sorin had his contract paid off on Tuesday to the tune of a million euros by Bundesliga side Hamburg.

Danish international midfielder Christian Poulsen signed for Serie A giants Juventus on Tuesday for 9.75million euros from Spanish outfit Sevilla, the buying club announced.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is considering a last ditch bid to snatch Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.

Portuguese sides Benfica and Vitoria Guimaraes have lost their appeal against UEFA´s decision to allow FC Porto to play in next seaons´s Champions League despite a match-fixing scandal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has said.

Rangers have signed Lithuania striker Andrius Velicka from Norwegian side Viking Stavanger for one million pounds (1.2 million euros).

Blackburn manager Paul Ince insists he is determined to keep David Bentley despite Aston Villa´s offer for the England midfielder.

Young African footballers hoping to make their fortunes in top English clubs are being conned out of thousands of dollars by Nigerian fraudsters, according to a BBC investigation broadcast on Tuesday.

Tottenham assistant manager Gus Poyet has rubbished reports he is ready to join Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson´s number two.