Celtic ban own supporters after violence
Celtic, the Scottish Premier League champions, have taken the remarkable step of banning over hundred of their own supporters from watching the side home and away.
Following the damage caused to Motherwell's Fir Park on Friday during Celtic’s 5-0 win, Celtic have suspended 128 fans from their matches and relocated another 250 season ticket holders.
The move has been taken is response to the rising levels of antisocial behaviour by a group of fans known as The Green Brigade, who attend home matches in Section 111 of the Celtic Park stadium.
Last month, the fan group unfurled political banners at Celtic's Champions League game against AC Milan, leading to the club being called before a Uefa disciplinary hearing.
Celtic have even threatened to close Section 111 in the past due to the group’s refusal to adhere to safety regulations.
In a statement, the club said that they had issued "precautionary suspensions against 128 individuals preventing them attending matches involving Celtic, pending further investigation".
Drop Vidic or Ferdinand: Savage
Former Manchester United midfielder Robbie Savage has urged boss David Moyes to drop either captain Nemanja Vidic or former England defender Rio Ferdinand and instead build a new back-line around Phil Jones.
Jones had played across the defence and in central midfield for both Manchester United and England in his short career to date, but arrived from Blackburn in 2011 as an accomplished central defender.
Savage said: "Moyes needs to establish his first-choice pair. When he does that, he has to think who he will be building his defence around in the future, and the answer is clearly not Ferdinand or Vidic.
"Instead he needs to look to Phil Jones. His best position is going to be at centre half and that is where Moyes needs to play him now if he is to make the most of his talent.
"If that means playing Jones regularly there for the rest of this season, then Moyes has to do it. Even if Jones plays badly there, he cannot do much worse than United are doing at the moment."
We can still improve: Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has demanded that Bayern Munich continue to work towards correcting their faults despite their record-breaking runs in both the domestic league and the Champions League.
Bayern extended their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 40 matches with Saturday’s 7-0 rout of Werder Bremen, while the European champions are also on a record run of 10 consecutive Champions League victories.
Furthermore, if they beat Manchester City on Tuesday they will top Group D with 18 points, something they failed to achieve last season under former coach Jupp Heynckes despite winning the title.
Nevertheless, Guardiola remains on the quest for perfection.
"We lose the ball too often over 90 minutes. I can't stand losing possession," he said.
"A 7-0 win at Bremen is good for the confidence, but they had their chances in the first half.
"We have to keep improving and that's why we are here.
Forget Belgium, we're favourites, says Capello
Russia manager Fabio Capello has claimed that it is Russia rather than Belgium that are favourites to progress out of Group H in the World Cup finals next year.
"Everybody is saying that Belgium are the favourites in our group, but I feel that it’s Russia who are the true favourites," Capello was quoted as saying by Sport Express daily.
However, he added: "Belgium are an excellent team consisting of young and skilled players. We will need to find the means to cope with them."
South Korea and Algeria make up the remainder of the group.
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