England's longest-serving football manager is retiring aged 71, and he is not ALEX FERGUSON. JIMMY DAVIES "will step aside from his post" at amateur club Waterloo Dock after a 50-year stint that makes the former ManU boss's 26 years "look short" (REUTERS, 5/23). ... PRINCE WILLIAM will represent the FA at the XXXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress in London Friday (FA). ... Bulgarian A side Litex Lovech coach HRISTO STOICHKOV was fined 7,000 levs ($4,500) on Thursday for "threatening to beat up" Bulgarian Football Union president BORISLAV MIHAYLOV after his team's 2-1 home loss to Lokomotiv Sofia (EUROSPORT, 5/23). ... Indian basketball coach DR. S. SUBRAMANIAN died in Patiala, India early Wednesday after "being hospitalised for about two weeks following heart ailment" (THE HINDU, 5/22). ... Pakistani cricket umpire ASAD RAUF "has been stood down from next month's ICC Champions Trophy in England after he was investigated by police in Mumbai." The Pakistani was "one of the umpires in the controversial match" that saw Rajasthan Royals players S. SREESANTH, AJIT CHANDILA and ANKEET CHAVAN "arrested for alleged spot-fixing" (TELEGRAPH, 5/22). ... GLORIA VISERAS is "not the only gymnast that claims to have suffered sexual abuse as a minor at the hands of former Spanish national gymnastics coach JESÚS CARBALLO." Another woman, a 41-year-old who wished to remain anonymous, said that she "was also abused by Carballo, beginning when she was 12" (EL PAIS, 5/22). ... Argentinian NBA N.Y. Knicks guard PABLO PRIGIONI wants to remain in the NBA next season and has "denied rumors of a possible return to Spain for family reasons" (MARCA, 5/23).
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: Tennis coach JOHN TOMIC "has been banned from Roland Garros" as his son, BERNARD, prepares to contest next week's French Open. Although Team Tomic "has employed a new hitting partner" to replace the wounded THOMAS DROUET, there is not, as yet, "any suggestion of a coaching change" (THE AGE, 5/22). ... British Paralympian DAVID WEIR "has refused to sign a contract with UK Athletics" after he accused the governing body of lacking ''respect'' toward his long-term coach JENNY ARCHER. Weir is angry that Archer "was overlooked for the position" of heading Britain’s wheelchair racing program, which was offered instead to Australian JENNI BANKS (TELEGRAPH, 5/23). ... Veteran ABC broadcaster DAVID MORROW "has been spared the sack," but will need to complete training and cultural awareness programs before returning to the airwaves. Morrow was "suspended following comments he made before the match between St. George Illawarra and Manly on May 6" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 5/24).
