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No FA action for Ferguson

Author: Sir David Smith
Date: 10/11/2009
Football betting

Sir Alex Ferguson will not be punished by the Football Association following the Manchester United manager's strong criticism of referee Martin Atkinson following Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.

Ferguson saw red after Atkinson awarded the home side a controversial free-kick which led to John Terry heading home a 76th-minute winner.

To compound the matter in Ferguson's eyes, an offside Didier Drogba then appeared to pull down Wes Brown before Terry diverted Frank Lampard's free-kick into the back of the net.

"You lose faith in refereeing, that's the way the players see it," fumed the veteran Scot, who will not be censured by the FA.

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Sunderland striker Darren Bent has been included in the England squad for Saturday's friendly against Brazil, but David Beckham has pulled out due to club commitments.

Bent, who has scored eight goals in 12 appearances for the Black Cats so far this season, has been named alongside Aston Villa full-back Stephen Warnock and Tom Huddlestone of Spurs in the squad for the high-profile game in Qatar.

Meanwhile, after helping Los Angeles Galaxy reach the Major League Soccer Western Conference Final, Beckham has pulled out of the squad.

Elsewhere, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Aaron Lennon and David James have all been omitted due to injury concerns.

Liverpool have received a boost with confirmation that Fernando Torres has not been included in the latest Spain squad.

The striker has been omitted following concerns over his long-running groin problem, which has kept him out of domestic action in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is close to agreeing a new contract to remain at the helm of the Craven Cottage club.

Hodgson, who took the reins in December 2007, saved the Cottagers from relegation in his first season before guiding them to a place in Europe last term.

The experienced manager was recently linked with the Sweden national team job, but has revealed that talks over a new deal with the Cottagers are at an advanced stage.

In rugby union, New Zealand have successfully asked for Dan Carter's disciplinary hearing to be delayed by 24 hours.

The All Blacks fly-half was cited for a dangerous tackle on Wales scrum-half Martin Roberts during his side's 19-12 victory at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

His hearing was originally scheduled for Monday but he will not now discover whether he faces a ban until Tuesday.

Lee Westwood is up to fourth in the latest golf world rankings after taking over the mantle as Europe's leading player following his performance at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai.

The 32-year-old from Worksop replaced Paul Casey at the top of the European Tour's Race to Dubai standings after finishing eighth in the lucrative World Golf Championship event in China.

Westwood, who is the online betting favourite to win the Race to Dubai, has not been as high as number four in the world since 2005.

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