THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GLASGOW, Scotland — Scotland manager George Burley recalled 39-year-old Rangers defender David Weir on Tuesday for his team’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and the Netherlands.
Weir has not played internationally since October’s 0-0 draw against Norway, but Burley decided to bring him back after the team lost 4-0 to the Norwegians two weeks ago.
If he plays, Weir would be the oldest player to represent Scotland since goalkeeper Jim Leighton made the last of his 91 appearances at age 40 in 1998.
Scotland needs wins in Glasgow over Macedonia on Sept. 5 and the Netherlands four days later to have a realistic chance of clinching a place at next year’s tournament in South Africa.
Scotland is third in European qualifying Group 9 after losing three of its six matches. The Netherlands has already secured top spot and qualified for South Africa, leaving Scotland vying with Macedonia, Norway and last-place Iceland for second place and a possible playoff spot.
Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon was recalled to the 25-man squad following his recovery from injury to replace Aberdeen’s Jamie Langfield, while Kilmarnock forward Kevin Kyle replaces Ross McCormack.
German federation investigates Lehmann, Subotic
BERLIN — Germany’s football federation has opened an investigation into Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann and Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic after they appeared to elbow each other during a weekend match.
The federation, or DFB, said Tuesday that a committee would investigate suspicions of grossly unsporting behaviour by both players.
The DFB said television footage from Saturday’s 1-1 draw suggested that Lehmann deliberately elbowed Subotic in the back of the head, and that the defender then hit back and caught Lehmann’s face.
The match referee said he didn’t seen either incident. Both players have been asked to respond quickly to the accusations.
Everton signs Russia midfielder Bilyaletdinov
LIVERPOOL, England — Everton signed Russian midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov from Lokomotiv Moscow on Tuesday for its first transfer since agreeing to sell defender Joleon Lescott to Manchester City.
The English side, which reached last season’s FA Cup final and finished fifth in the Premier League for a second straight year, said it will pay an undisclosed fee for the Lokomotiv Moscow captain.
The 24-year-old Bilyaletdinov signed a five-year contract and will be able to play for Everton manager David Moyes once he secures a visa to play in Britain.
"I know David Moyes has wanted to bring him to Goodison for some time and we look forward to welcoming him," Everton chief executive Robert Elstone said.
Everton had been attempting to fend of Manchester City’s interest in Lescott for several weeks, but agreed to sell the England international on Sunday for a fee reported to be 22 million pounds (C$39 million).
The northwest England side now appears to be refreshing its team with the proceeds of that sale, which may be completed Tuesday.
"I can’t say that negotiations with Everton were swift," Lokomotiv Moscow president Nikolai Naumov said on his club’s Web site. "Of course, the sum offered for Diniyar was very high."
Naumov said Everton first tried to sign Bilyaletdinov, who has played 28 times for Russia, last year.
"We told Diniyar immediately," Naumov said. "But at that moment Lokomotiv was in a tricky situation, and like a real patriot of the club and upstanding captain, Diniyar refused the move.
"He didn’t want to leave the club at that time. So now, after a further 18 months of Everton watching the player, we didn’t have the right to ask Diniyar not to examine the offer of the Englishmen."
Pokrivac joins Salzburg
MONACO — Croatia midfielder Nikola Pokrivac is set to join Austrian champion Red Bull Salzburg from Monaco, his current club said Tuesday.
The 23-year-old player, who arrived in Monaco last year, played 36 games and scored 3 goals for the team.
Financial terms of the deal were not given. Pokrivac is reported to have signed a three-year contract with an option for another year.
Savidan happy despite career-ending illness
PARIS — Former Caen striker Steve Savidan feels lucky to have been diagnosed with the heart condition that forced him to stop his career earlier than expected.
Poised to join Monaco until tests revealed the problem, the 31-year-old Savidan retired from football this summer.
"I thought it was my lucky day," Savidan said Tuesday in an interview with L’Equipe sports daily. "I’ve been told to stop before it breaks. I’ve been betrayed by my body and the only medication is to stop intensive sport."
Last season, Savidan scored 14 league goals for Caen, which was relegated to the second division, and he made his debut for France in a friendly match against Uruguay.
"We applied a medical precautionary principle," Savidan said. "I was risking sudden death. To play my life at Russian roulette is not my thing."
Savidan added that his condition wasn’t in any case related to doping practices or to his hectic life.
"I have never been doped," Savidan said. "My only dope is beer. With moderation. Some people believe that my illness results from my rock and roll lifestye. It is the result of my sports activities."
Earlier this month, the 26-year-old Espanyol captain Daniel Jarque died of heart failure in his team’s hotel on the eve of a friendly against Bologna in Italy.
Last year, Lilian Thuram, France’s most capped player, announced his retirement at age 36 — citing a heart condition that stopped him from moving to Paris Saint-Germain.
Campbell reunited with Eriksson at Notts County
NOTTINGHAM, England — Sol Campbell has signed with Notts County and will team up again with former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is director of football of the fourth-tier English club.
The 34-year-old former Arsenal, Tottenham and Portsmouth centreback, who has played 73 times for England, was out of contract at the end of last season and hoping for a move to another Premier League club.
But County, now backed by a Middle Eastern business consortium, Munto Finance and top of the League Two standings after four games, announced his arrival on Tuesday on a five-year contract.
Campbell won the 1999 League Cup with Spurs, two Premier Leagues and three FA Cups with Arsenal and an FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008.
UEFA orders 3-0 loss for Dinamo after fans’ riot
NYON, Switzerland — UEFA’s disciplinary panel imposed a 3-0 loss by default against Dinamo Bucharest on Tuesday after rioting fans forced a Europa League match to be abandoned.
The Romanian club must also play its next two home matches in European competition in an empty stadium, UEFA’s paned ruled.
Dinamo trailed Czech opponent Slovan Liberec 2-0 in the first leg of a Europa League playoff round tie last Thursday when home fans tried to invade the pitch in the 88th minute.
The referee abandoned the match fearing for the players’ safety, although police and security officers prevented the rioters advancing beyond an athletics track circling the pitch.
Dinamo must now overcome a three-goal deficit when the return match is played in Liberec on Thursday.
UEFA, the governing body of European football, also fined Dinamo 50,000 euros (C$77,300) and ordered a third closed-doors match to be imposed if crowd trouble is repeated in the next two years.
Dinamo has three days to appeal the decision.
Wilhelmsson dropped from Sweden squad
STOCKHOLM — Al-Hilal midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson has been dropped from Sweden’s 22-man squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Malta because of his poor form.
"We simply don’t think he has been good enough in the national team this year," coach Lars Lagerback said, but didn’t rule out Wilhelmsson returning to the national team.
Lagerback said veteran striker Henrik Larsson and midfielders Viktor Elm and Daniel Andersson will also miss the games due to injuries.
In Larsson’s absence, newly recruited FC Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will take over the role as captain of the Swedish team.
"When such a good player comes to such a good club, it can only be good," Lagerback said. "It might even be so that it can make Zlatan an even better player, if possible."
IFK Goteborg’s Tobias Hysen, one of the leading scorers in the Swedish league, was also included in the squad despite uncertainties regarding an injury.
Sweden plays Hungary in Budapest on Sept. 5 and faces Malta in Ta’Qali four days later.
Denmark leads Group 1 with 16 points from six games, while Sweden is fourth with nine points from six matches.
Chicago player signs with Boulogne-sur-Mer
BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France — Chicago Fire player Bakary Soumare is set to move to Boulogne-sur-Mer, the Ligue 1 club said.
The player has agreed a four-year contract, the club said on its Web site Monday.
The 24-year-old Mali defender was named to the MLS’ Best IX last year but was fined an undisclosed amount following a halftime altercation with coach Denis Hamlett during a 3-2 loss at Houston on August 9. He didn’t return to the team after the incident.
Soumare was born in Mali before moving to France as a youth and later moved to New York City as a teenager. He was drafted by Chicago in 2007 after just one year playing at the University of Virginia.
Promoted to Ligue 1 last season, Boulogne-sur-Mer is currently seventh with two wins and a loss, three points behind