United in row over injections

BY GUY HODGSON

Manchester United are to protest to the Russian Football Union over injections given to Andrei Kanchelskis prior to the European Championship qualifying match against Scotland on Wednesday.

The winger was unable to play against Leeds yesterday, after returning to Old Trafford in pain from a stomach injury that has interrupted his season. His manager, Alex Ferguson, is angry that Kanchelskis was given injections so he could play in Moscow.

"Andrei allowed himself to be given eight pain-killing injections. I don't know why he allowed that to happen," Ferguson said. "We have a policy at this club where we do not give players injections."

Howard Kendall yesterday described his dismissal after just 12 weeks in charge at First Division Notts County as "ruthless". Ken-dall was sacked within an hour of the bottom-placed club's 3-1 home defeat by Barnsley on Saturday, mainly for "off-the-field reasons". Russell Slade, Kendall's assistant and predecessor, has also been dismissed. Slade's former assistant, Wayne Jones, is in charge of first-team affairs along with Steve Nicol and Dean Thomas.

The consortium seeking to buy Gillingham, the Third Division club in the hands of receivers, is likely to withdraw, after unfavourable publicity about its leader, Ross Hemsworth.

Radio Five Live yesterday challenged Uefa's three-foreigner rule, claiming it is illegal under the Treaty of Rome, which allows citizens of member states free movement to work anywhere within the European Community. The Premier League and Manchester United have commissioned law reports, which concluded the rule would be unlikely to survive a challenge in the European court.