Many football fans must have found themselves wishing that offside could be abolished, usually when their team has scored an apparently good goal only to find it ruled out by a linesman's flag. No law is calculated to cause more controversy, yet the purpose of its existence and the consequences of its repeal are rarely thought through.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Martin O'Neill has vented his frustration in the wake of his side's Carling Cup final defeat to Manchester United last weekend. The Aston Villa manager said the referee Phil Dowd should be prevented from taking another Villa match this season, suggested that the Wembley pitch "looked like they had played 35 games on it the previous week" and rounded on the Premier League for failing to ease his club's fixture congestion.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

The group of wealthy Manchester United fans looking to wrest the club from the Glazers today moved to play down speculation that they would pay up to £1.5bn, believing it to be worth little more than half that. The Red Knights, a group now numbering more than 60 wealthy United fans from around the world, are understood to believe that a more sensible valuation is around £800m.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant was not ready to commit his future to the Premier League club beyond the end of the season, he said on Friday.

Source: Reuters UK