Football: Welsh clubs' row over Europe

WALES'S three major clubs, Cardiff City, Swansea and Wrexham, were horrified to discover yesterday that next season could be the last that any of them will play in European competition.

Uefa insists in future Wales can only be represented in the Cup-Winners' Cup (Cardiff City are next season's representatives) by clubs who play in their national league, the Konica League of Wales: none of their leading clubs do so. Though they play in the Football League, they are not members and under FA rules cannot represent England.

The runners-up in the Welsh league - this season it was Inter-Cardiff - are also ineligible to play in the Uefa Cup next season. The Welsh FA intends to lodge an appeal.

Southend are telling those interested they want up to pounds 3m for Stan Collymore - pounds 2.5m immediately and pounds 500,000 should he play for England. Collymore cost them pounds 150,000 from Crystal Palace last November.

Roy Keane is expected to tell Frank Clark, the Nottingham Forest manager, that he wants to leave the club when he returns from Albania with the Republic of Ireland squad. An opt-out clause in his contract came into play after Forest's relegation.

Gary Lineker scored his first goal in the J League but Nagoya Grampus Eight lost, 2-1, to Yokohama Flugels. Italy's longest-serving president, Corrado Ferlaino, of Napoli, has been arrested on corruption charges. He is accused of bribing politicians to win contracts for his construction companies.