A SENIOR official from the International Olympic Committee yesterday disputed an American ethics panel's contention that the committee fostered a "culture of improper gift giving" that led to corruption in the bidding process for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. The US Olympic Committee panel levelled most of the blame for the Salt Lake City vote-buying controversy at the IOC. Batty, a pounds 4.5m signing from Newcastle, was taken off in the first half of his second Leeds debut against Coventry in December and has been out of action since.. Only time will tell on that issue."Meanwhile, Leeds are to put forward detailed plans for the development of their Elland Road stadium after the Government gave the go-ahead to the club's expansion plan.David Batty made his comeback for Leeds in a reserve match at Derby last night after three months on the sidelines with a rib injury.
"The aim is to be able to challenge for the League over the next few years. There is quality in the current squad, but we are not in that position yet," O'Leary said."I want to buy quality, the people who will take us on for the next few years and get us up there in terms of squad quality Hopefully I will get the backing to do that. Now they want me to take the club on for the next five years and I am delighted," O'Leary said.O'Leary's side gave another demonstration of their potential when they won 2-1 at Leicester on Monday, but he knows there is still much work to be done before the club can claim to be part of the elite. O'Leary said that the Leeds chairman, Peter Ridsdale, had offered him the new deal last week and insisted: "I would love to stay and there are no problems with signing the contract from my point of view." It will earn the former Republic of Ireland player a pay increase as a reward for steering Leeds into the top four of the Premiership and in developing youngsters such as Jonathon Woodgate and Alan Smith.Now O'Leary is banking on Ridsdale and the board of directors giving him the necessary funds to bring in the quality players he feels are required to push Leeds onto the next rung of the ladder and be a League-challenging force."When I took over I tore up my old contract and had a pay rise, but the agreement was that I was working on the basis of having the two and a half years to go of my old deal The club wanted to see what I could do. I think the FA would have let Keegan have anything to take the job - just as long as it wasn't me."I've not spoken to anybody at the FA about it They didn't ask me if I wanted it in the beginning If they had, I would have said yes But I'm not interested now.". DAVID O'LEARY is poised to sign a new five-year contract with Leeds United and he has set his sights on the Yorkshire club becoming a force to rival Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Speaking for the Football Association, Noel White said last week: "We will look at certain names put before us and Terry's will almost certainly be among those." But Venables has snubbed that olive branch from the man viewed as one of the key men behind his departure from the post in 1996.Venables said: "It's too late now I am no longer interested in the job.
THE FORMER England coach Terry Venables has ruled out a return to the job once Kevin Keegan's four-match reign comes to an end in June. "We want to have a master calendar, but it is possible only after 2004. Contracts have already been signed for competitions," Blatter said in Zurich yesterday. "We could start in 2005."Blatter accepted it would also not be possible to stage a World Cup in 2008 because the Olympic Games and the Confederations Cup would be held that year, leaving 2009 as the first viable year.. The England Under-21 forward has been dogged by the problem for several months and again had to be substituted in Monday night's home Premiership meeting with Leeds.The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has said harmonising the international calendar could not be achieved before 2005, making 2009 the first year in which his planned biennial World Cup could be staged.
Maric completed his pounds 3.5m move to Tyneside last week, but the mid-season break in Croatia means he is short of match fitness.Emile Heskey, Leicester City's striker, is to see a specialist to determine the extent of his long-term back problem. Silvio Maric, the Newcastle midfielder, could make his debut in that FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday, despite the fact that the 23-year-old Croatian has not played in more than six weeks. Dacourt will miss the FA Cup quarter-final tie at Newcastle on Sunday, and the Premiership visit to Blackburn a week today. Dublin will have to serve a one-match ban after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season in Saturday's home defeat against Coventry City.Olivier Dacourt, the Everton midfielder, has been suspended for two games as of yesterday and fined pounds 1,000 for reaching 11 bookings this season. We understand that he will be back in this country at the end of the week." Dion Dublin, the Aston Villa forward, will miss the Premiership match with Tottenham at White Hart Lane on 13 March through suspension. However, the FA has accepted Di Canio's reason for missing the meeting and its spokesman, Steve Double, said: "The meeting has been rescheduled for one day next week. Di Canio accused Alcock of feigning stress since being pushed to the ground by the Italian in a match in September.