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Liverpool star tears knee ligaments and may miss World Cup
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) -- Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler is expected to miss this summer's World Cup finals after tearing knee ligaments and damaging his cartilage in Monday's game against Everton.The 22-year-old forward, who has suffered a slump in form recently and lost his place on the England squad, was carried off in the last few minutes of the 1-1 tie an Anfield after challenging Everton's Danny Cadamarteri.
"Robbie suffered a tear of his medial ligaments and some cartilage damage to his knee," said Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton.
"We think he is out for the rest of the season and consequently the World Cup finals."
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Villa manager quits despite UEFA success
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -- A week before his team plays Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup, Brian Little quit Tuesday as manager of Aston Villa.
His decision comes with Villa 15th in the 20-club English Premier League and out of both domestic cup competitions. Villa was considered a title contender at the start of the season but its only success has been in Europe with victories over Bordeaux, Athletic de Bilbao and Steaua Bucharest.
"I am sad and disappointed to announce that Brian Little has resigned as manager of Aston Villa forthwith," Villa chairman Doug Ellis said in a statement.
"We are in the process of securing the services of another team manager."
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Finnish coach moves to ailing Scottish club
MOTHERWELL, Scotland (AP) -- Finnish soccer coach Harri Kampman, who led My-Pa 47 to promotion and then into European competition, is to join Scotland's Motherwell with the task of keeping the club in the Premier Division.
Motherwell, which lies next to last in the 10-club standings, has decided to join Glasgow powerhouses Celtic and Rangers in going for a coach from overseas.
Celtic has hired Wim Jansen and Rangers will appoint another Dutchman, Dick Advocaat, to take over from Walter Smith next season.
Kampman moves to Fir Park from FC Lahti having had a successful five-year spell with My-Pa. During his reign the club won two Finnish Cups and two runners-up spots in the league.
Motherwell has been without a manager for two weeks since Alex McLeish quit to go to Hibernian.
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Gallagher dropped over critical review from Arsenal-Chelsea match
LONDON (AP) -- The Premier League showed the red card to referee Dermot Gallagher on Tuesday, banning him for one game after a much-criticized performance in an Arsenal-Chelsea game two weeks ago.
Gallagher, who is on FIFA's international list of referees, was condemned for not sending off Arsenal defender Steve Bould for pulling Chelsea's Gianluca Vialli back by the shirt collar to prevent him going clear on goal. Instead he gave him a yellow card, one of seven handed out during the game which Chelsea lost 2-0.
Gallagher explained that he did not sent Bould off because another Arsenal player, Gilles Grimandi, was in a position to tackle Vialli at the time.
Although another Premier League referee, Paul Danson, was removed from the list at the end of last season for a series of poor performances, this is believed to be the first time an official has been banned during the season.
Premier League spokesman Mike Lee said Gallagher had been taken out of Saturday's Blackburn-Leicester game and replaced by Neale Barry.
"In discussions between the Premier League and the FA it was felt appropriate for Mr. Gallagher to stand down from his next refereeing appointment," Lee said.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan