Football's governing body FIFA has 'passed on' further evidence to Swiss and United States authorities as it completed its internal investigation into alleged corruption. It has been co-operating with law enforcement since May 2015 when FIFA members were arrested in Zurich. 'We have now completed that investigation and handed the evidence over to the authorities,' said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Criminal investigations are currently ongoing. FIFA says reports of more than thirteen hundred pages were produced after the review of more than two-and-a-half million documents and interviews with 'key witnesses.' 
There were also more than twenty thousand pages of exhibits. These were all shared with the Swiss authorities, according to the governing body. Infantino said THAT the investigation was carried out 'to hold wrongdoers within football accountable and co-operate with the authorities.' He added: 'The authorities will continue to pursue those who enriched themselves.' It added that from its findings it will make changes to its internal departments which will be revealed at the end of April. In May 2015, Swiss authorities raided a Zurich hotel and extremely arrested seven people who were among fourteen indicted on corruption charges in an inquiry led by the United States Department of Justice. In December that year, sixteen more officials were charged following the arrest of two FIFA vice-presidents in at the same hotel in Zurich. FIFA's internal inquiry may be at an end, but questions persist as to the level and depth of corruption that allegedly took place over many years. The review, led by FIFA's lawyers, was designed to assure the US Department of Justice that the governing body was a co-operative partner in unearthing the grubby truth. The results have now been passed to the Swiss Attorney General and will make their way to Washington DC from there. But the wheels of justice grind agonisingly slowly. It may be many years before any subsequent charges are brought or cases concluded and the guilty brought to justice. In the meantime, criminal investigations continue into a number of individuals along with the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. There's also an uneasy silence hanging over allegations of bribery surrounding South Africa's successful bid to host the 2010 tournament. The whole truth may emerge someday. Just don't expect it to be delivered any time soon.
FIFA is proposing a six-nation play-off tournament to decide the last two slots at the forty eight-team World Cup in 2026. Football's world governing body has revealed its plans for how the forty eight places will be allocated, with sixteen Europeans teams set to qualify. The proposals - approved by FIFA's president and his counterparts at the six confederations - are expected to be ratified by the FIFA Council on 9 May. FIFA members voted in January to expand the World Cup from the current thirty two teams to forty eight. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said he was 'satisfied' with the proposals and that European nations would be 'fairly represented.' All six confederations will have at least one team in the expanded tournament, with no inter-confederation play-offs prior to the play-off tournament. The World Cup hosts will still qualify automatically, with their slot taken from their confederation's quota. Should the proposals be ratified, as expected, it will consist of one team from each confederation except UEFA, with the final team taken from the confederation of the host country. Two teams will be seeded based on their FIFA ranking and then face the winners of two knockout games involving the four unseeded teams, with the prize a place in the World Cup. The play-off will be played in the World Cup's host country, with November 2025 suggested as a possible date for the 2026 qualifying play-off. It will also double as a test event for the main tournament. UEFA has achieved its stated aim of sixteen slots. Ceferin made it clear that would be his demand in return for supporting an expanded tournament. Ratification will likely be straightforward given the heads of the confederations have carved this up between them. The play-off tournament, however, is a new idea. It may sound the death knell for the Confederations Cup given FIFA has described the new tournament as a test event. FIFA is keen to expand the Club World Cup as a summer tournament and moving the qualifying tournament to November may create the necessary space in an already packed schedule. There are some significant issues still to be resolved in qualification processes, though. Conmebol (the South America confederation) has been granted six slots in the expanded World Cup. Given there are only ten countries in the confederation, questions have been raised over how to make qualification an attractive proposition to broadcasters, given the ease with which some countries will qualify. The recommended places for each confederation are: Africa - nine (up from five); Asia - eight (up from four or five); Europe - sixteen (up from thirteen); North and Central America and Caribbean - six (up from three or four); Oceania - one (from zero or one); South America - six (up from four or five)
Barcelona will honour their former player and coach Johan Cruyff with a statue of him at the Nou Camp stadium. The club will also name the new stadium which they are currently building for their B team after the former Dutch international, in this blogger's completely arbitrary opinion, the greatest footballer that ever lived. Barcelona made the announcement one day after the first anniversary of Johan's death at the age of sixty eight. Cruyff won thirteen trophies during his time coaching and playing for the club, including their first European Cup in 1992. His son, Jordi, also said that the family will donate a number nine Barcelona shirt worn by his father and the Ballon d'Or trophy from 1974 to a new exhibition at the Spanish club's museum. 'It is an agreement by which my father will always be present at the club that he loved,' Jordi Cruyff said. Barcelona, who are scheduled to start major redevelopment work at the Nou Camp in 2018, will also ask the city's council to name a street or space in the vicinity of their stadium after Johan Cruyff. 'It is an honour for me to say the name of the stadium we are building at the training ground will no longer be the Miniestadi, but from now on will be The Johan Cruyff Stadium,' club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said. 'Cruyff broke down barriers, he was the man who made us lift our heads up and see that nothing is impossible.'
Republic of Ireland skipper Seamus Coleman has had surgery following a horrific leg break in last Friday's goalless draw against Wales. The Everton full-back, suffered both tibia and fibula fractures in his right leg following a dreadful challenge from Neil Taylor, who was given a red card. 'Seamus suffered a serious leg injury and has undergone surgery,' said Republic manager Martin O'Neill. Coleman was given oxygen before being carried off at the Aviva Stadium. He was taken straight to St Vincent's University Hospital immediately after the incident and had surgery on Saturday morning. 'Seamus Coleman, who went off injured during the game, underwent surgery on Saturday morning after fracturing his right tibia and fibula, under the care of the FAI's orthopaedic surgeon, Professor John O'Byrne and Mister Gary O'Toole, consultant orthopaedic surgeon,' said a Football Association of Ireland statement. O'Toole is well known in Irish sporting circles as a former Olympic swimmer. Coleman's serious injury happened midway through the second half of the World Cup qualifier. 'He has had an exceptional season with both club and country and he will be a big loss,' added O'Neill. 'But, Seamus is so mentally strong that when he has fully recovered he will be as brilliant as before.' Wales's manager Chris Coleman claimed - rather unconvincingly - that Taylor was 'despondent' following the game. 'First and foremost, the most important thing is Seamus Coleman,' he said. 'We are told that it is not so good, which we are sorry for. Neil Taylor is not really that type of player, but it's a tough one for Seamus. Our thoughts are with him. I have not seen it again.' How, exactly, Coleman believes that Taylor is 'not that sort of player', whatever 'that sort of player' constitutes, when he'd just smashed a fellow professional's leg in two is not, at this time, known. FIFA is reported to have opened proceedings against Taylor over the incident. Taylor will automatically be suspended for Wales's next qualifier, in Serbia in June, but could have his one-game ban extended by FIFA.
Lionel Messi was banned for four international matches - just five and a half hours before Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Bolivia kicked off. The Barcelona forward was punished for directing 'insulting words' at an assistant referee during Thursday's one-nil win over Chile. Messi, who scored the only goal in the qualifier, was angered when he was penalised for a foul, waving and shouting at the assistant in response. The twenty nine-year-old was fined eight thousand one hundred smackers. Or, about five minutes wages. He will miss his country's next four competitive fixtures. Argentina are currently third in South American qualifying, with the top four teams advancing to next summer's finals in Russia. There are five matches still to play.
Kenya international Clifton Miheso has filed a complaint to FIFA over his claim he was forced at gunpoint to end his contract with Golden Arrows.
Miheso alleges the incident took place on 14 January at the South African club's offices in Durban. The twenty four-year-old is seeking a transfer ban 'or other sanction' to be placed on Golden Arrows and also wants twenty two thousand dollars that he claims he is owed in wages. Golden Arrows denied the allegations. The winger's legal representative says that the club has 'failed to provide any satisfactory information' about the incident. Miheso has won fourteen caps for Kenya.
A former member of Ghana's coaching team, Gerard Nus, has ended his 'sit-in' after the country's football association settled his bonuses. He has told BBC Sport that 'the matter is now over' despite not being paid in full. The Ghana Football Association, however, said it 'finally managed to raise the funds to pay all his outstanding bonuses on Saturday.' He had been refusing to leave his Accra hotel since the end of the Africa Cup of Nations in early February. 'Thanks to all people of Ghana. Great memories always from this passionate football country,' Nus posted on his Twitter feed. The Spaniard finally returned home from Ghana on Monday. 'All of this was more about having principles and claiming for the right things more than the money itself,' he explained. Yeah, but, it was mainly about the money. 'I'm just happy to see my family now.' According to the GFA statement there were 'disagreements' over whom should settle payments to the hotel where Nus had been staying. The situation was resolved between and the hotel on Sunday enabling Nus to return home. When Nus started his protest in February the GFA had explained that 'at the end of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations the entire technical team could not be paid their bonuses on time because of financial difficulties. The GFA engaged the staff to explain the difficulties, urging them to go home and be paid later when the money is available. Along with head coach Avram Grant, they all agreed and went home but Nus insisted on staying for as long as it takes to receive his money.'
A friendly match between Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal was extremely abandoned when fans invaded the pitch in Paris. The African sides were level at one-one after eighty eight minutes when a handful of fans broke onto the pitch, with one - wearing a particularly striking darza pair of pink pants - appearing to rugby tackle Senegal's Lamine Gassama. Players ran from the pitch and referee Tony Chapron opted to end the fixture. Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haw's Sadio Mane had given Senegal a second-half lead from the penalty spot but Bi Gohi Cyriac levelled three minutes later. L'Equipe journalist Herve Penot was in the ground and told BBC World Service that the incident 'could have been very serious.' He added: 'I wouldn't say the people were violent, it was much more about trying to be with the players. But you never know what can happen, the organisation was a disaster, it was incredible. After twenty to thirty minutes, a couple of people were on the pitch, then they couldn't start the second-half because they had people on the pitch and the referee said if it happens again he will stop the game. It was very messy.' Local media reported a group of supporters jumped over perimeter fencing at Charlety Stadium moments before the pitch invasion started. It is the second time in five years that a game between the two countries has been called off because of crowd disturbances. Senegal were very disqualified from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations when a riot led to a play-off between the sides being abandoned.
Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua's Hongkou stadium has been damaged by a fire. There were no casualties reported after the incident on Tuesday morning. The state news agency said the fire had 'not affected the stands or the pitch' and 'investigations were continuing' into the cause. The club, managed by ex-Brighton & Hove Albinos manager Gus Poyet, signed former Sheikh Yer Man City striker Carlos Tevez last year in a deal reported to be worth forty million knicker. Other ex-Premier League players in their squad include two of yer actual Keith Telly Topping's beloved (though unsellable) Magpies' former players, Demba Ba and Obafemi Martins. The Chinese Super League season started earlier this month with Shenhua scheduled to host Changchun Yatai in their next home game on Sunday 16 April.
The Football Association and Professional Footballers' Association are set to commission a study into potential links between heading footballs and brain damage. The two bodies have invited applications for independent research. Former England forward Jeff Astle died aged fifty nine in 2002, with a coroner ruling that his death was as a result of brain trauma. A re-examination of his brain in 2014 found he had died from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Neurosurgeon Doctor Willie Stewart, who carried out that examination, said that it had been caused by Astle heading footballs throughout his career. Astle's daughter, Dawn, said she was 'really pleased' by the announcement of the joint FA-PFA study, adding it had been 'a long time coming.' She added: 'As long as the research is the right research, and being done by the right people to answer the key questions which have been asked by the FA and ourselves, then that is fine.' The research will specifically address the question of whether degenerative brain disease is more common in ex-professional footballers than in the rest of the population. Those interested in carrying out the research have until 17 May to apply. The FA's head of medicine, Doctor Charlotte Cowie, said 'the process will not be rapid' to ensure those affected 'can be confident in the final results. Football can be a killer.' Astle was originally diagnosed with early onset dementia and his cause of death was listed by the coroner as 'an industrial disease.' Twelve years after the former West Bromwich Albinos player's death, Doctor Stewart found that he had died from CTE, a brain condition normally linked to boxing. In 2015, Astle's family launched the Jeff Astle Foundation, which promotes care of others affected and research and education into the condition. Later that year, the FA agreed to carry out research into head injuries in the sport, and also drew up new guidelines on how to deal with concussion. Dawn Astle said that the latest step will help the next generation of footballers make 'informed choices.' She said: 'It is like smoking - we all know smoking can give you lung cancer, the warning is there on the cigarettes. You choose whether you smoke or not, and this will be no different. We know smoking can be a killer, we know football can be a killer - it is on dad's death certificate. It is not about stopping football, banning it, anything like that. It is just about letting people make informed choices, and without the research you can't do that.'
Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale says that Craig Woodman will be 'out for a while' with a fractured arm, having previously joked that the defender could play with just such an injury. After beating Cheltenham in December, Tisdale said Woodman 'could've played with a broken arm, he was that good.' However, the thirty four-year-old suffered that precise injury in Exeter's draw with Yeovil last Saturday. Asked about the irony of his previous remark, Tisdale said: 'Maybe I won't mention that next time.'
Yer actual Keith Telly Topping's beloved (though unsellable) Magpies maintained their lead at the top of the Championship, as Wigan Not Very Athletic made them battle hard for a first win in four games on Saturday, United having, frankly, played a bunch of bloody part-timers in the last three matches. Dwight Gayle netted his twenty second goal of the season when Mo Diame put the ball on a plate for him to finish unmarked at the far post. But the visitors created a shock early in the second half when Michael Jacobs levelled from Alex Gilbey's cross. Matt Ritchie restored the lead for The Magpies when he headed in a rebound off the post from his own half-volley. Paul Dummett's cross from the left was mis-kicked by Yoan Gouffran and the ball fell to Ritchie who volleyed into the turf and when the ball came back off the post he reacted well to nod home at the Gallowgate End - thereafter booting a completely defenceless corner flag towards The Milburn Stand before celebrating with fans in the front row. Newcastle stay a point ahead of second-placed Brighton & Hove Albinos, who beat Blackburn Vindaloos at home, but they now have a ten-point cushion over third-placed Huddersfield Town who were surprisingly beaten at home by relegation-threatened Burton Albion. Reading leapfrogged Dirty Leeds into fourth place with a one-nil victory. Wigan's third straight defeat, in what was interim manager Graham Barrow's first game in charge, sees them slip seven points adrift of safety with seven games remaining. The Latics had caused the leaders some problems at St James' Park and could have taken the lead in the second half when centre-back Dan Burn headed over the crossbar when unmarked from a corner. Second-half substitute Ryan Colclough also went close on a couple of occasions, but Newcastle had enough to close out the game with some ease. Ritchie was denied a second to make sure of the points late on when Matt Gilks saved with his feet in a one-on-one when played in by Christian Atsu.
The jolly excellent nufc.com website pointed out an interesting factoid this very week. Well, this blogger thought it was interesting, anyway: Yer actual Keith Telly Topping's beloved (though unsellable) Newcastle United have now acquired more league points in their history than their closest geographical rivals, Blunderland. The Magpies' current total of five thousand three hundred and thirty two Football League points since they first entered what was, then, Division Two in 1893, is eight more than The Mackem Filth who currently have a total of five thousand three hundred and twenty four. Meaning that United's - at the time, very disappointing - home point against Bristol City earlier this month was the moment when they overtook The Black Cats as, if you will, The Cock Of The North. 
This is despite United having played one hundred and twenty four fewer league games with four thousand five hundred and eighteen compared to the red and white's total of four thousand six hundred and forty two - mainly down to Blunderland starting their league career three years earlier than United, in 1890 (which, additionally, gave them a one hundred and thirteen points head start). United previously came closest to overtaking The Wearsiders at the start of the 1997-98 season when they were but twenty seven points behind. Blunderland, however, had just been relegated from the Premier League the previous season - which was, you know, funny - and reached the Championship play-offs that year whilst United amassed a spectacularly modest Premier League total under Kenny Dalglish. The apex of Blunderland's points lead over The Toon was during the 1980-81 season when the gap was extended to a whopping one hundred and eighty nine points. Since then The Magpies have, gradually, been reeling The Black Cats in. Of course, all of this may change again next season, depending which divisions the two North East rivals start the 2017-18 campaign in. Newcastle currently sit fifteenth in the all-time Football League points total list with Bolton Wanderers (five thousand three hundred and forty two) and Notts County (five thousand three hundred and forty four) next in their sights. Those two have played two hundred and twenty six and three hundred and sixty eight more league games than United, respectively. In terms of the top tier of yer actual English fitba (the Premier League and, before that, the old Division One) United are currently three hundred and thirty three points ahead of the Mackems, having played fifty eight more top flight games whilst, in the Premier League itself (since 1992-93) United are a massive five hundred and sixty nine points clear having played two hundred and forty six more games.
All right, you can all wake up now, this blogger is finished with the stats.
Tributes have been paid to yer actual Keith Telly Topping's beloved (though still unsellable) Newcastle United's legendary tea lady, Kath Cassidy, who has died at the age of ninety. Kath retired in October 2015 after serving beverages to home and away players, managers and journalists at St James' Park since 1963. The club said that she had been 'adored by managers, players and staff alike.' Alan Shearer said: 'She was devoted to Newcastle, always made me smile and made the very best tea.' When Kath retired, aged eighty eight, she was a special guest at the club's game against Norwich City. In a statement, Newcastle United said: 'We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the club's legendary tea lady, our beloved Kath Cassidy. Kath loyally served the club for half a century and was adored by managers, players and staff alike. The thoughts of everyone connected with Newcastle United are with Kath's family and friends at this very sad time.'
Utter disgrace David Moyes has been forced to grovellingly apologise after he allegedly threatened to 'slap' a female radio reporter, but Blunderland are reported not to be planning to sack their manager's ass because he 'quickly admitted his behaviour was unacceptable.' Oh, so that's all right then. What a sodding hero he is, eh? Threatening a lady with 'a slap' for simply doing her job and then, having realised that such behaviour is a disgrace, snivelling to save his job. The incident, which occurred last month, has only now come to light. Vicki Sparks - a former colleague of this blogger at BBC Newcastle, who now works for 5Live and, not for nothing, a lovely person with a pleasant and polite interview manner - was speaking to the Blunderland manager following The Mackem Filth's failure to beat Burnley before the international break. 
Moyes was said to be 'furious' following a - seemingly, perfectly reasonable - question about whether the presence of Blunderland's usually absentee-owner Ellis Short at the game meant that his job was under threat and criticised Vicki after the interview had ended. However, it is understood that Vicki was still recording when the exchange took place and, although, she did not make a complaint - because, she's a class act who wouldn't do that sort of thing - her employers were rightly, properly furious when they heard the full, unedited audio clip and accused Moyes of crass and ignorant bullying. For which he was, frankly, banged-to-rights. 'It was getting a wee bit naughty at the end there so just watch yourself,' Moyes was heard telling Vicki, aggressively. 'You still might get a slap even though you're a woman. Careful the next time you come in.' The Torygraph claimed that it was Moyes who instigated the subsequent apology, ringing Vicki first thing the following Monday morning, in which he told her that his language was 'completely unacceptable,' before apologising and asking for her forgiveness. It is reported that it was this contrition - and that alone - which appears to have saved Moyes from getting his P45, along with the fact that both Vicki and the BBC have accepted the apology. Nevertheless, this ugly episode will increase the pressure on the former Everton and The Scum manager whose side have not been out of the relegation zone since August. The Black Cats remain rooted to the foot of the Premiership after Saturday's one-nil defeat to Watford.
A football fan has been found very guilty of trying to punch Crystal Palace's bald eagle mascot during an Capital One Cup game. Charlton Not Very Athletic supporter Daniel Boylett, of Eltham, was extremely arrested after 'trouble broke out' at the match on 23 September 2015. He was found pure-dead guilty at Croydon Crown Court of 'attempted damage' over the attack on Kayla, the eagle. He was also found guilty of violent disorder. Boylett was released on bail to be sentenced on 28 April. Crystal Palace - who are nicknamed The Eagles - adopted Kayla as their mascot in 2010. The court heard that Kayla's handler, Chris Belsey, was walking around the Selhurst Park pitch with the bird perched on his forearm. Prosecutor Daniel Higgins said 'three or four fans were shouting abuse' at the pair when one leaned over the barrier and 'threw a punch.' He said Belsey did not know if the punch had landed and Kayla 'seemed unhurt,' but 'due to her delicate bone structure if she had been hit with force, her bones could easily break.' Four other men were on trial with Boylett over the trouble which marred the Capital One third-round tie. Higgins said that there had been trouble 'before, during and after' the game which, at least proves those response are consistent. The first scuffles broke out as police escorted Charlton supporters to Selhurst Park. One officer suffered a cut lip after being hit by what he thought was a bottle as rival fans tried to break the police cordon, the court heard. At the end of the match, which Charlton lost four-one, one of the men facing charges, Sam Donegan, ran at police wielding a large yellow traffic cone and 'had to be subdued with a baton strike.' Which, frankly, is the single funniest comment imaginable given the circumstances. After his arrest, he told police that he was 'annoyed' as 'we just got battered. I picked it up and let my anger out.'
They were heady, historic days in the sporting history of Iceland. A Nordic nation of three hundred thousand people toppling former World Cup winners and footballing lawmakers England in a major tournament doesn't happen every week. It would appear, however, that those in Iceland ensured they celebrated that famous win in the best possible way. Nine months on from the two-one victory on the French riviera which cost Roy Hodgson his job and Joe Hart what remained of his reputation, local newspaper Visir has reported a record-breaking amount of births in Iceland. Indeed, the weekend of 25 to 26 March saw the highest-ever amount of epidurals administered to patients in Icelandic hospitals.
There were also more than twenty thousand pages of exhibits. These were all shared with the Swiss authorities, according to the governing body. Infantino said THAT the investigation was carried out 'to hold wrongdoers within football accountable and co-operate with the authorities.' He added: 'The authorities will continue to pursue those who enriched themselves.' It added that from its findings it will make changes to its internal departments which will be revealed at the end of April. In May 2015, Swiss authorities raided a Zurich hotel and extremely arrested seven people who were among fourteen indicted on corruption charges in an inquiry led by the United States Department of Justice. In December that year, sixteen more officials were charged following the arrest of two FIFA vice-presidents in at the same hotel in Zurich. FIFA's internal inquiry may be at an end, but questions persist as to the level and depth of corruption that allegedly took place over many years. The review, led by FIFA's lawyers, was designed to assure the US Department of Justice that the governing body was a co-operative partner in unearthing the grubby truth. The results have now been passed to the Swiss Attorney General and will make their way to Washington DC from there. But the wheels of justice grind agonisingly slowly. It may be many years before any subsequent charges are brought or cases concluded and the guilty brought to justice. In the meantime, criminal investigations continue into a number of individuals along with the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. There's also an uneasy silence hanging over allegations of bribery surrounding South Africa's successful bid to host the 2010 tournament. The whole truth may emerge someday. Just don't expect it to be delivered any time soon. 
This is despite United having played one hundred and twenty four fewer league games with four thousand five hundred and eighteen compared to the red and white's total of four thousand six hundred and forty two - mainly down to Blunderland starting their league career three years earlier than United, in 1890 (which, additionally, gave them a one hundred and thirteen points head start). United previously came closest to overtaking The Wearsiders at the start of the 1997-98 season when they were but twenty seven points behind. Blunderland, however, had just been relegated from the Premier League the previous season - which was, you know, funny - and reached the Championship play-offs that year whilst United amassed a spectacularly modest Premier League total under Kenny Dalglish. The apex of Blunderland's points lead over The Toon was during the 1980-81 season when the gap was extended to a whopping one hundred and eighty nine points. Since then The Magpies have, gradually, been reeling The Black Cats in. Of course, all of this may change again next season, depending which divisions the two North East rivals start the 2017-18 campaign in. Newcastle currently sit fifteenth in the all-time Football League points total list with Bolton Wanderers (five thousand three hundred and forty two) and Notts County (five thousand three hundred and forty four) next in their sights. Those two have played two hundred and twenty six and three hundred and sixty eight more league games than United, respectively. In terms of the top tier of yer actual English fitba (the Premier League and, before that, the old Division One) United are currently three hundred and thirty three points ahead of the Mackems, having played fifty eight more top flight games whilst, in the Premier League itself (since 1992-93) United are a massive five hundred and sixty nine points clear having played two hundred and forty six more games.All right, you can all wake up now, this blogger is finished with the stats.
Moyes was said to be 'furious' following a - seemingly, perfectly reasonable - question about whether the presence of Blunderland's usually absentee-owner Ellis Short at the game meant that his job was under threat and criticised Vicki after the interview had ended. However, it is understood that Vicki was still recording when the exchange took place and, although, she did not make a complaint - because, she's a class act who wouldn't do that sort of thing - her employers were rightly, properly furious when they heard the full, unedited audio clip and accused Moyes of crass and ignorant bullying. For which he was, frankly, banged-to-rights. 'It was getting a wee bit naughty at the end there so just watch yourself,' Moyes was heard telling Vicki, aggressively. 'You still might get a slap even though you're a woman. Careful the next time you come in.' The Torygraph claimed that it was Moyes who instigated the subsequent apology, ringing Vicki first thing the following Monday morning, in which he told her that his language was 'completely unacceptable,' before apologising and asking for her forgiveness. It is reported that it was this contrition - and that alone - which appears to have saved Moyes from getting his P45, along with the fact that both Vicki and the BBC have accepted the apology. Nevertheless, this ugly episode will increase the pressure on the former Everton and The Scum manager whose side have not been out of the relegation zone since August. The Black Cats remain rooted to the foot of the Premiership after Saturday's one-nil defeat to Watford. 
