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Arsenal manage Arsene Wenger has labelled Barcelona midfielder Xavi as disrespectful following the Spaniard’s latest comments regarding Cesc Fabregas’ potential transfer to the Catalan club.

The Camp Nou midfielder has stated that his countryman is suffering in England, is unhappy and desperate to leave to return to Pep Guardiola’s side.

“I spoke to Cesc in Ibiza and he said he was suffering because he wanted to come. It’s more like, he did everything he could to come and wants to leave Arsenal,” the Champions League winner stated on Barcelona’s official website.

Fabregas’ current boss is not pleased with Xavi or Barcelona’s conduct in the affair, and feels it lacks respect.

“What is important is that Cesc Fabregas is contracted to Arsenal. That is a fact. Arsenal wants to keep him and all the rest is comment,” the Frenchman is reported to have said in The Telegraph.

“If I found Barcelona in exactly the same position, I believe a mutual respect between the clubs should stop this kind of comment. If it is true then it is very disrespectful and it is not the first time that Xavi has been disrespectful to Arsenal.”

The Emirates side have slapped a  £35 million valuation on the Spanish international, but so far La Liga’s winners have only offered £27 million, which has turned down.

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The Carling Cup has lost a certain amount of glitz and glam in recent times, not that it had too much glitz and glam in the first place. News north of the border surrounds ways in which to rejuvenate their current set up, and it got me thinking about the current format of the Carling Cup.

Does anyone really hold the cup competition in high esteem any more? Arsene Wenger in the past has shown little respect to the competition as year after year he has fielded lesser teams against the opposition. However, this season with the club desperate for silverware the Arsenal boss has taken the competition a little more seriously.

With uncertainty surrounding the Carling Cup I was thinking a great way for it to gain back some of its creditability and respectability would be to open it up to teams from Scotland, after all you do have Welsh teams competing year after year.

With the inclusion of Celtic, Rangers and co would the competition evoke more interest from the fans? I personally think it would. I think something like this is more likely than to occur than Celtic and Rangers joining the Premier League.

If the competition was opened up to teams from other countries, namely Scotland, revenue within the cup would increase, thus suiting all involved, including clubs and sponsors. I feel that the inclusion of teams form north of the border would be a better idea than the others that have been brought up.

So what do you lot think, would the inclusion of teams from Scotland enhance the competition and put it back on the right track? If you’re not a fan of that idea why not mention ways in which you think the competition could be made more credible.

If you like what I’ve written why not follow me on Twitter

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Australia’s FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign remains on track after an entertaining 3-2 win over Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.The Matildas struck through Leena Khamis, Emily van Egmond and Lisa De Vanna but were kept on their toes by a brace from Guinea captain Genoveva Anonma, who put her side within a goal with seven minutes to play having capitalised on two defensive errors.

The win puts Tom Sermanni’s side equal on points with Norway in Group D after they lost 3-0 to Brazil and Australia only need a draw against Norway on Wednesday to progress to the quarter-finals because of their superior goal difference.

Australia made a bright start after their first-up loss to Brazil and Khamis found the opener on eight minutes after neat build-up play.

Van Egmond played a delightful pass over the top to Heather Garriock and although her shot was parried by Guinea goalkeeper Mirian, Khamis was on hand to tap in the rebound.

Khamis went close again after quarter of an hour when she struck the post from close range, and Guinea defender Bruna picked up the rebound with her hands in a bizarre incident.

Bruna then dropped the ball and Mirian picked it up, delivering a long kick up field with officials seemingly missing a clear handball.

Guinea’s Anonma gave Australia two warnings with strikes going wide, and she equalised after 21 minutes.

Servet Uzunlar was dispossessed as she positioned herself for a pass back to shot-stopper Lydia Williams and Anonma took advantage, rounding the goalkeeper before scoring into an empty net.

Although they went into the break level, Australia produced a strong start to the second half and were rewarded with two goals in the space of four minutes.

Khamis worked hard to put in a cross from the left and van Egmond, moving into the area, struck a powerful drive into the corner on 48 minutes.

Substitute De Vanna made it 3-0 when McCallum delivered a pin-point long pass for her to poke home from inside the area.

But they were forced into a nervous finish when Uzunlar was again dispossessed in defence, leaving Anonma free to place into the bottom corner to pull another goal back for Guinea.

In Group D’s other game, Brazil handed Norway a 3-0 thrashing after five-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year Marta capped off a brilliant display with a brace and Rosana scored the other.

The five-time world champions have already booked a place in the quarter-finals ahead of their clash against Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday.

Chelsea's former assistant manager Ray Wilkins is to take legal advice following his departure from Stamford Bridge.

The ex-England international left the club nine days ago after being told his contract would not be renewed.

But in a statement released by the League Managers Association, Wilkins said:"I'm very disappointed that the board decided that I had no further contribution to make at Chelsea Football Club which has played such a huge part in my life.

"Since rejoining the club, I am extremely proud to have assisted in Chelsea's recent successes.

"I enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the staff, players and the supporters and I now wish them all the very best for the future.

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"The LMA's legal advisors are assisting me in obtaining answers to a number of questions arising from my undoubtedly unfair dismissal, and all efforts are being made to reach an amicable solution. I therefore will be making no further comment at this stage."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez feels that Chelsea will struggle against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals.

The Blues overcame Benfica in the quarter-finals to set up a mouth-watering clash with the reigning champions, with the first leg to be played at Stamford Bridge.

Martinez, who takes his relegation-threatened Wigan side to west London this weekend, feels that his countrymen may be too strong for Roberto Di Matteo’s team.

“If the second game had been at their place, Chelsea would have had an advantage,” he told The Sun.

“They need to take at least a two-goal lead to Barcelona to win. Ninety minutes in the Nou Camp is a long period to address things and put them right.

“Barcelona did that against AC Milan the other night. If the second leg had been at the Bridge, Chelsea would be favourites,” he opined.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Chelsea manager-in-waiting Guud Hiddink has asked the club to sign Wesley Sneijder, according to The Sun.

The West London club hope to agree terms with the Turkish FA for their national manager by next week and has reportedly made the Inter Milan playmaker his number one transfer target.

A fee in the region of £30 million is unlikely to deter Chelsea in moving for the player who looks certain to leave the San Siro this summer.

The Dutch international moved to Inter two summers ago from Real Madrid in a €15 million deal and won the Champions League in his first season at Inter. The 26-year old has made 79 appearances for the club but Inter only made the Quarter Finals of this year’s Champions League. Despite finishing second in Serie A, Sneijder is still rumoured to favour a move away.

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Manchester United have also regularly been linked with the player as they look for a replacement for the retired Paul Scholes. He is seen as a key acquisition as United look to bridge the gap on Barcelona following their Champions League Final defeat. However, his reported £200,000 a week wages could prove to be a stumbling block in any deal.

West Ham United coach Avram Grant was proud of his battling players as they fell to a cruel 1-0 Premier League loss at Arsenal on Saturday.

Alex Song's late winner separated the two sides at the Emirates Stadium and, although they remain at the foot of the table, Grant was pleased with his team's efforts.

He paid particular praise to goalkeeper Robert Green after he kept them in the contest with a number of stunning saves as the Gunners stamped their mark on proceedings.

"I think we played well today," the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss said.

"We played against a very good team and I think they only had two chances to score. We also did some things on the counter-attack and then they scored in the last moment.

"But I'm very proud of the players after what they did today. They showed a lot of good things, fighting spirit and tactical understanding.

"Unfortunately they scored in the last moment, it happens. He is a good keeper, he did a good job today. All the defence did a good job today.

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"They closed the spaces well. It is not easy to play against Arsenal and we did do well. I don't remember Arsenal not able to create so many chances in a long time, this is because of the whole team.

"We can take a lot of positive things from this game even though we lost."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has admitted that his side’s derby fixture against title rivals Manchester City on April 30th may well decide who becomes champions this season.

The Red Devils hold a three-point advantage over Roberto Mancini’s men with eight games left to play, but still have to travel to the Etihad Stadium, where City are unbeaten this season.

The veteran has stated that the game between the two may well be decisive, due to the teams being neck-and-neck.

“We have the experience but City have the hunger. If we both keeping going like this, everything will be decided in the derby,” he stated to Gazzetta dello Sport, translated to English by Sky Sports.

The 38-year-old bypassed the 900 appearance mark for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side earlier in the season, and has admitted that he is not ready to retire from the game just yet.

“For now, I just want to play football but I’m prepared for my life after retirement.

“Becoming manager of Manchester United? We’ll see, for now I just want to enjoy the moment.

“My goal as a youngster was to play one game for Manchester United. I achieved that dream, which I’m continuing to live at 38. I could not ask for more,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has urged England’s FA to reconsider its decision to abstain from voting on June 1.The FA announced last Thursday they would not cast their vote in the election between Bin Hammam and incumbent Sepp Blatter, following allegations of corruption in the bidding process that saw Russia chosen over England to host the 2018 World Cup.

But Bin Hammam, who has promised wide-ranging reforms of FIFA should he be elected, believes the FA have a responsibility to world football to take part in the vote.

“The football family is vast and diverse – perhaps more so than any of us can truly comprehend – and that is one of our sport’s greatest strengths,” the Asian Confederation chief said in a blog post on his website on Tuesday.

“So it is always disappointing when someone opts not to engage with the rest, when one of our national associations takes the decision not to try to affect change from the inside.”

“The FA, with its status as the oldest association in the world and England’s position as the birthplace of the modern game, is one of the most important institutions in world football.”

“As a result, they should be working with FIFA and the rest of the global game to improve and enhance football. By choosing to abstain, the FA is, sadly, forfeiting that right.”

“I realise they have their reasons for making their decision but I hope in the days leading up to the election that they will reconsider their position and make moves to engage fully with the global football family, both on June 1 and beyond.”

England managed to secure just two votes in their bid to bring the World Cup back to the birthplace of football for the first time since 1966.

The disappointing outcome led to accusations of corruption in the bidding process, prompting the FA to launch an inquiry.

The bidding for the 2022 World Cup has also come under scrutiny, with a British parliamentary inquiry hearing allegations that Qatari bid officials offered two Confederation of African Football FIFA executives US$1.5 million in bribes in return for their votes.

Qatar’s bid committee angrily denied the allegations in a statement on Monday, and moved to discredit the forthcoming testimony of a whistleblower as the grumblings of an embittered ex-employee with an axe to grind.

FIFA is expected to hear evidence from the ex-employee on Wednesday.