FA charge Ferguson

LONDON: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was charged on Monday with using abusive and insulting words toward referee Mark Clattenburg during his team’s 1-0 defeat at Bolton. Ferguson faces a fine and a possible ban from the team dugout. The FA also charged Everton manager David Moyes with improper conduct for criticising Clattenburg following his team’s loss to Liverpool last month.— AP

Koertzen taken out

Colombo: Umpire Rudi Koertzen, who angered Sri Lankans this month for wrongly giving Kumar Sangakkara out on 192, has been withdrawn from the England Tests. South African Koertzen, 58, was due to stand in the three-Test series between Sri Lanka and England starting in Kandy on Saturday, but officials said the ICC had replaced him. Koertzen will be replaced by Pakistani Aleem Dar, who will officiate with fellow countryman Asad Rauf in the Kandy Test. — AFP

Empoli fire Cagni

EMPOLI: Luigi Cagni was fired as Empoli’s coach on Tuesday and replaced with Alberto Malesani. Cagni led Empoli to a team-record seventh-place finish in Serie A last season, qualifying the club for the UEFA Cup for the first time. Empoli are next to last with 10 points through 13 rounds this season and have scored only seven goals with 19 allowed. The Tuscan club was eliminated by Swiss side Zurich in the first round of the UEFA Cup. — AP

Davies quits

DERBY: Billy Davies left as manager of last-place Premier League club Derby, the fifth topflight coach to lose his job after three months of the season. Derby, which lost 2-0 to Chelsea on Saturday, has won only one game from 14 this season and is at the bottom of the 20-club standings with six points. Kevin Thelwell, the club’s academy director, will take charge on an interim basis for Saturday’s game against Sunderland. He will be assisted by goalkeeping coach Alan Fettis and senior players Matt Oakley and Darren Moore. — AP