All eyes are likely to be on Jose Mourinho when Inter Milan take on Livorno in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia tonight. Mourinho was involved in a bust-up with a journalist following Inter's 1-1 draw with Atalanta on Sunday, a game during which he served a one-match ban. Mourinho's actions have been condemned by the sportswriters' union in Italy and further action could now follow.
The club president Massimo Moratti has now promised to look into the incident. "For the moment I don't want to comment as I still don't have all the facts, but I'm sorry," he told the club's website. "I will talk to the head of the union to find out what he means by action." Mourinho must hope the spat does not rub off on his players as they take on a Livorno side who may be 17th in the table, but will have renewed confidence after beating Catania away from home on Sunday.
"We played with heart and grit, and battled into the 90th minute and beyond," said Tomas Danilevicius, scorer of the only goal in the 88th minute. In France, Le Mans are to appeal against the result of their Ligue 1 clash with Rennes last month, raising doubts over the eligibility of striker Asamoah Gyan. Le Mans have asked the competition committee of the French Football League to look into the match, which they lost 2-1 with Gyan netting the winner for Rennes.
Le Mans say they are responding to reports Gyan may not have been eligible to play having turned down selection for Ghana's friendly against Angola on November 18, three days before the Ligue 1 clash. However, the Rennes coach Frederic Antonetti has hit back at Le Mans' decision. "My advice to Le Mans is to win matches on the pitch, that's how you earn points," he said. "It is a problem between Ghana and the player, it has nothing to do with us."
* With agencies