UEFA backs red card referee

A UEFA spokesman says the governing body has "no issues" with Nani's red card against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

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Manchester United were leading their Champions league last-16 tie 2-1 on aggregate when Nani caught Alvaro Arbeloa with a high foot and was sent off by referee Cuneyt Cakir.

Real went on to win 2-1 on the night and progress to the quarter-finals, and the outcome left Sir Alex Ferguson so "distraught" he delegated his post-match media duties to assistant Mike Phelan.

But despite widespread criticism of Cakir's decision in the English press, UEFA is backing its man.

The Guardian newspaper quoted a spokesman who said: "We have no problem with him.

"There are no issues for us regarding the sending off and we will wait for the official reports of the match delegate and the referee's observer, as is procedure.



"If they raise concerns then we will act. He remains on our list of officials."

UEFA reject Drogba appeal

UEFA have rejected the protest lodged by Schalke over the eligibility of Galatasaray star Didier Drogba to play in their Champions League tie.



The German side had asked European football's governing body to investigate whether Drogba was allowed to play in the last-16, first-leg tie on 20 February, following his move from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.



However, in a statement on their website, UEFA said: "Having examined all the documents of the case, the Control and Disciplinary Body decided to reject the protest lodged by Schalke."



Former Chelsea player Drogba, 34, agreed to join Galatasaray on 28 January after ending his short stay with Shenhua amid claims he had not been paid his salary.



Shenhua countered that Drogba was in breach of his contract and it fell to FIFA to provisionally clear the way for the Ivorian to make his Galatasaray debut in the 2-1 win over Akhisar on 15 February.



Schalke earned a draw in Istanbul after Jermaine Jones's away goal cancelled out Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz's early opener.



The two sides meet in the second leg of the tie on 12 March in Gelsenkirchen.

Europol probing 380 matches

The European police agency has revealed that a wide-ranging investigation into match fixing has uncovered more than 380 suspicious matches.

These games include Word Cup and European Championship qualifiers and two UEFA Champions League games.

Europol's chief Rob Wainwright said the investigation uncovered "match fixing activity on a scale we have not seen before."

Wainwright revealed the probe uncovered around £7million in betting profits and £1.27m in bribes to players and officials and has already led to several prosecutions.

The investigation identified about 425 corrupt officials, players and serious criminals in 15 countries.

Wainwright also stated that the involvement of organised crime "highlights a big problem for the integrity of football in Europe".

It was not immediately clear how many of the matches mentioned have been revealed in previous match fixing investigations at a national level in countries including Germany and Italy.




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UEFA team of the year 2012

For the first time, no players from the Premier League have been named in UEFA.com's team of year.



This is the 12th edition of the UEFA team of the year, with nearly half a million visitors to the body's official website casting 5.3 million votes on Europe's best XI.



Eight of the final line-up ply their trade in La Liga, with Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo spearheading the 4-4-2 formation.



FIFA's team of the year, announced this month, was composed entirely of players from La Liga.



UEFA.com's team of year:



Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)



Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (AC Milan/Paris Saint-Germain), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)



Midfielders: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid)



Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)