Benitez charged

LONDON: Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez on Tuesday has been charged with improper conduct by the English Football Association (FA) after his rant at the officials after his side’s defeat against Tottenham last month. Benitez was furious with referee

Phil Dowd for failing to award two late penalties in Liverpool’s 2-1

opening weekend loss at White

Hart Lane. Tottenham defender Bonoit Assou-Ekotto shoulder-charged Andriy Voronin and then handled Fernando Torres’s cross. Benitez has until 15 September 2009 to respond to the FA charges. — AFP

Ballack sits out

COLOGNE: Germany captain Michael Ballack, striker Lukas Podolski and midfielder Mesut Oezil sat out of training on Tuesday as the national side prepare to face South Africa this weekend in a friendly. Germany take on the World Cup 2010 hosts in Leverkusen on Saturday, but Chelsea star Ballack missed training here on Tuesday with a groin strain, while Werder Bremen’s Oezil has a knee injury. Both are expected to be back in training with the national squad by Wednesday at the latest, while Cologne’s Podolski has a calf injury and is not expected to train until at least Thursday. — AFP

Bojan out for weeks

MADRID: Barcelona striker Bojan Krkic will be out of action for two to three weeks due to a thigh muscle injury, the Spanish and European champions said on Tuesday. The 19-year-old picked up the injury during Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon at home on Monday in their opening match of the new Spanish season. Krkic limped off the pitch with 10 minutes left in the match. The injury means Krkic will miss Barcelona’s upcoming Spanish league matches against Getafe and Atletico Madrid as well as Champions League group match against Italian champions Inter Milan. — AFP

Barca sell Gudjohnsen

BARCELONA: European champions Barcelona have announced they have reached a deal with Monaco to sell their Icelandic international striker Eidur Gudjohnsen to the French first division side. The fee “could reach two million euros depending on the player’s performance,” the club said in a statement on its website. It said the 30-year-old striker will sign a two-year contract with Monaco. Gudjohnsen joined Barca in 2006 from Chelsea. In three seasons he played 72 league matches and scored 10 goals, while helping the club to win the Champions League, league title and the Kings Cup. — AFP

Turner in Sunderland

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland completed the signing of central defender Michael Turner from Hull on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee on Monday. Sunderland manager Steve Bruce told the club’s Web site he was delighted to have picked up the 25-year-old Turner, who was named Hull’s player of the year for the past two seasons. Turner, who joined Hull from Brentford for just £350,000 in July 2006, becomes Bruce’s seventh summer signing after Darren Bent, Lee Cattermole, Fraizer Campbell, Lorik Cana, Paulo da Silva and loanee John Mensah. — AP

Stoke sign Collins

STOKE: Stoke City signed defender Danny Collins from Sunderland for £2.75 million on Tuesday. The fee for Collins, 29, could rise to £3.5 million and Stoke boss Tony Pulis told his club’s website: “Danny has been Sunderland’s player of the year for the past two seasons which speaks volumes for the impact he has had at that level.” — AFP