Belgium

A deal to bring soccer's transfer system more into line with EU labour and antitrust laws could be agreed this week, according to European Commissioner Mario Monti.

The European Commission (EC) and soccer's world and European ruling bodies cleared most obstacles to a deal on a new player transfer system during talks on Wednesday, a Commission source said today.

Soccer officials, lawyers and European Commission experts held a series of meetings on Friday in a bid to thrash out a compromise deal on a new transfer system.

Soccer's ruling bodies will press players to sign up to a revamped transfer system agreed in principle with the European Commission.

Football appears to have been saved from chaos after "an historic" agreement between the game's two most powerful figures and the European Commission.

Bayern Munich vice-president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has criticised governing bodies FIFA and UEFA and the European Union for the way they are handling soccer matters.

Celtic supporters have dug into their pockets to help the Scottish premier league leaders net their second favourable result in three days.

Soccer's leaders headed for a "summit" with the European Commission today with no clear consensus on how to revamp a player transfer system the Brussels executive says is illegal.

The European Commission still expects talks on a new football transfer system with soccer's bosses to go ahead as planned on Wednesday despite a players union walk-out from a preparatory meeting.

The EURO 2000 football championships were watched by a cumulative audience of seven billion people, a new survey reveals.

A solution was "closer than ever" to the dispute over soccer's transfer system, UEFA said on Wednesday.

A number of Formula One car manufacturers are seeking an equity stake in F1 holding company SLEC, the family trust controlled by Bernie Ecclestone, a senior executive has confirmed.

FIFA and UEFA are confident of reaching agreement on new player transfer rules within 10 days.

There is still no date for a European summit involving the European Commission and the presidents of FIFA and UEFA aimed at helping break the deadlock over the player transfer system.

Clubs who form a breakaway northern European League will not be able to take part in the lucrative Champions League, according to European soccer's ruling body UEFA.

The Belgian FA has said it was handing over its investigation into an alleged bribery scandal involving a Yugoslav agent and first division leaders Club Bruges to soccer's world governing body FIFA.