No help from Poles for Scottish referee problem

Polish referees have withdrawn their services from Scottish football matches this weekend, the Polish Football Association has announced.

The Polish Football Federation confirmed they were planning on sending match officials, with Israel also confirmed and countries such as Portugal and Malta also reportedly co-operating with the Scottish Football Association.

However, as top-level referees in Scotland refused to budge on their plans to strike today and tomorrow, the Poles now claim to have other commitments.

In a statement on STV's website, a spokesperson for the Polish Football Association confirmed: "We will not be sending our referees to Scotland tomorrow because they are needed for our domestic games."

Africa

The governing body of African football (CAF) has received a protest from the Nigerian Football Federation over "the gender status" of a player on Equatorial Guinea's women's team.

CAF said in a brief statement the player in question" played for Equatorial Guinea in the recent African Women's Championship in South Africa, but did not identify the player.

Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon complained that Equatorial Guinea fielded men on their team in South Africa, but only Nigeria filed an official protest.

England

The second round of the FA Cup takes place in England this weekend, the final stage of the competition before teams from the top two divisions - the Premier League and the Championship - enter the draw.

Among the noteworthy teams still playing today are the non-league sides AFC Wimbledon and FC United, clubs set up by disaffected fans of MK Dons and Manchester United respectively.