Ferguson's side took another step towards securing a top-four berth with a crushing 4-0 victory over struggling Gold Coast United at nib Stadium on Monday night.

The result extended Perth's unbeaten run to a club record eight games, but more importantly created a four-point gap between it and fifth-placed Heart.

Ferguson is out of contract at season's end but is almost certain to be offered a new deal barring a remarkable collapse in form.

However, the Scotsman wants more than just a one-year extension in order to ensure the progress made this season won't be lost.

"If I get a new contract, I want a two to three year deal where we can try and take this club forward, where this club is going to be a top-six regular and not a yo-yo club," Ferguson said.

"(Club owner) Tony (Sage) knows my plans and knows my feelings.

"I'm not going to put pressure on anybody. Tony's been great.

"Ten or 11 weeks ago I was under a lot of pressure where a lot of people were calling for my head and he could have easily put me out the door, but he didn't.

"He stuck by me and it's great things have turned around."

Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg labelled Perth a genuine championship contender, saying it had the depth and talent to challenge high-flyers Central Coast and Brisbane.

"You get the calibre of Andrezinho, Billy Mehmet and Adam Hughes on the bench ... any of these players could walk into my team with red carpet," Bleiberg said.

"Even if you have one or two injuries, you have the depth.

"I'm not sure if the Roar or the Mariners have the same depth.

"And again Perth have the advantage of not going to play in Asia (for the Asian Champions League).

"It's tiring.

"What will happen in the finals when they (Roar and Mariners) will come travelling from Asia, from Uzbekistan, from China, and your guys will wait for them here hungry.

"With a bit of luck in the draw, Perth can go all the way."

Perth Glory has plundered 11 goals in its past three matches, and will be eager to continue that hot form when it takes on an out-of-sorts Sydney FC at the SFS on Saturday night.

Gold Coast takes on fellow battler Adelaide United at Skilled Park on Sunday.

The corporation reported that during a civil case last year, Mr Whyte told a court his seven-year ban from being a company director did not relate to the treatment of creditors.

But the BBC claimed the judge who imposed the ban said company assets were "put out of the reach of the creditors".

Mr Whyte has accused the BBC of being on a "witch-hunt".

His spokesman said last night the allegation was "defamatory" and claimed it was "part of a concerted campaign by the BBC to embarrass Craig Whyte personally and to damage Rangers Football Club".

He said: "In specific terms, Mr Whyte totally refutes the scurrilous allegation that he may have committed perjury in a court of law in December last year. The responses he gave to questions relating to matters that took place some 17 years ago were given truthfully and to the best of his recollection."

A statement posted on the club's official website noted the "attack" would be "contested robustly" by Mr Whyte's lawyers.

Canberra United's Kete picked up an ankle injury at training last week to give Patterson, 17, her chance.

Patterson featured for the Young Football Ferns at the under-17 World Cup in 2010 and is one of only two players in the squad yet to play for the senior side.

The side plays USA at Frisco in Texas on Sunday morning (NZT).

The last six clubs rounding out the field of 32 were decided last week: Arsenal of Argentina, Flamengo and Internacional from Brazil, Penarol of Uruguay, Libertad of Paraguay and Union Espanola of Chile.

Play in the eight groups begins on Tuesday with Arsenal at Fluminense of Brazil, Velez of Argentina at Defensor Sporting of Uruguay, and Deportivo Quito at Chivas of Mexico.

The Copa Libertadores was won last year by Brazil's Santos.

On Wednesday, Nacional of Uruguay is at Brazil's Vasco da Gama, Libertad of Paraguay is home against Peru's Alianza Lima, and Nacional of Paraguay (there are two clubs named Nacional in the tournament) is home against Mexico's Cruz Azul.

On Thursday, Internacional of Brazil is at home playing Juan Aurich of Peru, Ecuador's Emelec is host to Olimpia of Paraguay, Union Espanola of Chile is home against Junior of Colombia, and Universidad Catolica of Chile is host to Bolivar of Bolivia.

Group play ends in April with the top two in each group advancing to the round of 16.

Although Liverpool was condemned for its initial reaction to the eight-match ban Suarez received for making racist comments to Evra during a Premier League draw at Anfield, it appeared both sides had opted to calm the situation down during the build-up to last month's FA Cup fourth-round tie.

However, the uneasy truce was broken by Dalglish after Suarez had made his re-appearance as a substitute during tonight's 0-0 draw with Tottenham at Anfield.

"We don't think he should ever have been away but we are delighted to get him back," said the Liverpool boss.

"He has not played since December, so it was a wee bit unfair to throw him straight in.

"He has had half an hour and that will have done him the world of good. It is better than anything we could have done at Melwood."

If Dalglish's comments have raised more than an eyebrow, they followed an equally inflammatory tweet from Wayne Rooney following a challenge by Suarez on Scott Parker that resulted in a yellow card and left the England midfielder doubled up in pain.

"If the referee sees that kick from Suarez and books him for it, it should be red," proclaimed Rooney.

The view was endorsed by former United team-mate Gary Neville in his role as Sky TV pundit.

At least Dalglish opted not to get involved in that argument.

"He just never saw him," said the Scot.

Then, when informed of what had been said he replied: "Who said that? Why don't you tweet Wayne back and give him your answer.

"I don't have a view on what they have tweeted, especially when I have not seen it. If Neville or Wayne were standing there and asked me the question, I could answer them.

"I don't think you can speak for either Gary or Wayne so unless they want to ask me the question, I will just plead the fifth amendment."

Dalglish did admit Liverpool's attack will benefit from Suarez's presence, although the forward is certain to receive a hostile reception from the United supporters on Saturday lunchtime.

He came nearest to breaking the deadlock for Liverpool tonight, but Brad Friedel kept out a header from Steven Gerrard's free-kick, condemning Liverpool to its eighth home draw in the league this season.

"We are disappointed to come away with just the one point," said Dalglish.

"But you couldn't criticise the players for their effort or the quality in their performance.

"Like everything else, if you just get a kind bounce somewhere near the goalmouth, we might have walked away with the three points."

The result, whilst not doing much for Tottenham's hopes of winning the Premier League, is another nudge forward in its quest to secure an automatic place in next season's Champions League.

It would have been some kind of consolation for Harry Redknapp, who failed to get to the game after a plane due to take him north from London City airport was grounded because of a technical problem.

"Harry would normally give the team talk and he was unable to do that," said assistant boss Kevin Bond.

"He couldn't get here. But we knew the side and the way we were going to play. It was just a different voice giving the instructions to the players.

"But he is our leader and we wanted him here as much as he wanted to be here.

"It is horrible. We had a similar situation the month before last when we played Fulham and he was unable to be at the game.

"Speaking to him afterwards, it was a nightmare for him sat at home, kicking every ball when you can't affect anything.

"I know he would have been feeling that way tonight.

"But all's well that end's well. We are pleased with the point."

Charlton won the lifetime achievement award in London on Monday, 54 years to the day after surviving the Munich air disaster that killed eight members of his Manchester United team.

But Laureus says the 74-year-old Charlton felt unwell on Sunday in London and returned to Manchester on Monday for minor surgery.

United manager Alex Ferguson collected the award on Charlton's behalf.

Ferguson says Charlton "is fine but it was felt he should go back to Manchester. He is very annoyed not to be here to receive this award."

"He loves the work he does for Laureus and I know how delighted he is to have received this tribute."

Earlier, Odion Ighalo had put Granada ahead before Salomon Rondon equalised an entertaining and hard fought Andalusian derby which saw Malaga end the match with 10 men after Argentinian central defender Martin Demichelis was sent-off.

The defeat denied Malaga the chance to go sixth while Granada will welcome the points that lifts it to 14th spot, three points clear of the relegation zone.

Malaga had the better early exchanges as the game started at a fast and furious pace with first Enzo Maresca then Rondon shooting high and wide from good positions in the opening minutes.

Malaga's Argentine centre-half Demichelis then met a corner with a bullet header that had to be acrobatically saved by Julio Cesar in the Granada goal, before the home team started to create some danger of its own.

First Carlos Martins tried from long range on 36 minutes then again on 52 minutes with Malaga goalkeeper Willy Caballero quick to push both efforts wide.

Granada was now on top and on 57 minutes came the opening goal, man of the match Carlos Martins found Mikel Rico who crossed from the right for Ighalo to head home.

Malaga fought back and levelled 11 minutes later when Seba Fernandez played Nacho Monreal through with a delightful flick that allowed the overlapping full-back to cross for the waiting Rondon who had an easy finish for 1-1.

Demichelis headed just wide from a free-kick on 75 minutes and Malaga seemed the likely winner until Lopez's goal six minutes later.

Caballero could not hold a Guilhermo Siquiera shot and it was the centre-half Lopez who was the quickest to pounce on the rebound to the delight of the partisan home crowd.

Demichelis was sent-off for a wild challenge on Franco Jara before the final whistle to signal Granada's second consecutive win since the arrival of new coach Abel Resino.

On Saturday Real Madrid won 1-0 away at Getafe with a Sergio Ramos header to stay seven points above Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Barcelona also won 2-1 at home to Real Sociedad thanks to goals from Cristian Tello and Lionel Messi.

Redknapp failed to make the trip to the north-west after spending the day at London's Southwark Crown Court, where he has been for the last few days contesting two charges of cheating the public revenue.

Without him, Tottenham relied on a man-of-the-match performance from Parker as it held Liverpool to a seventh draw in its past nine home league games.

"Harry gives that extra bit of energy. We've missed him the past couple of weeks," Parker told Sky Sports 1.

"We'll be absolutely delighted when he comes back.

"It was a tough night. When you come to Anfield it's difficult and tonight was no different.

"I thought we were a little but one-paced tonight.

"We've come and got a point, kept a clean sheet and that's most important thing."

Suarez received a rapturous reception from Liverpool fans when he came on in the 66th minute - his first action for six weeks - after serving a ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

But the Uruguay striker was left frustrated as third-placed Tottenham secured a point in the absence of its manager Harry Redknapp in a scrappy contest.

All the hype surrounding the game had been about the return of Suarez following his lengthy ban after an FA board found him guilty of making a racist comment towards Evra.

In the end, Suarez's return was third billing on a night that saw Redknapp forced to abandon his flight to Anfield due to technical problems after he earlier appeared at Southwark Crown Court in the closing stage of his trial on tax evasion charges.

England manager Fabio Capello, fresh from publicly criticising the Football Association's decision to oust John Terry as captain, did make it to Anfield.

With Terry having been stripped of the armband pending his trial in July over alleged racial abuse of Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand, Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has been tipped to lead England at Euro 2012.

But in a game briefly stopped when a cat ran across the pitch, the fur was really flying after Parker's wild 39th minute challenge floored Gerrard just outside the visitors' penalty area.

Liverpool had flown out of the blocks with Gerrard slipping a delightful through-ball to Andy Carroll only for Michael Dawson to make a goal-saving fifth minute challenge.

Parker's reckless lunge on Glen Johnson a minute later presented Gerrard with a scoring opportunity from a free-kick but it came to nothing.

In a game punctured with misplaced passes by both sets of players, Niko Kranjcar forced the first save in the 32nd minute when his 25-yard effort was comfortably saved by Pepe Reina.

With Craig Bellamy and Carroll struggling to trouble the Tottenham defence, it was left to midfielder Jay Spearing to go closest for Liverpool with a curling 25-yard effort which whistled narrowly wide of Brad Friedel's post in the 34th minute.

The second half started with Gareth Bale booked for pushing Daniel Agger after the Tottenham player's blatant dive before Friedel denied Martin Kelly with a full length dive to keep out the Liverpool's defender's angled drive.

With the game drifting towards a stalemate, Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish introduced Suarez.

It did not take long for the 25-year-old to get booked after leaving Parker in a heap while challenging inside the visitors' area.

Liverpool looked the more likely to score in the closing stages.

Carroll spurned a fine chance in the 74th minute when, unmarked, he blazed over the bar from a good position.

And a scrappy contest ended with Reina standing his ground to deny Bale, who was victim of a hefty challenge by Martin Skrtel, after the Tottenham player found himself clean through in the 85th minute.

Capello claimed "I can't talk" about the furore when quizzed at Anfield, where he watched Liverpool's Premier League encounter with Tottenham.

The Italian also rejected an opportunity to confirm whether he would be staying in his job, even if his mere presence on Merseyside was a positive indication.

However, the speculation continues to fill the void neither Capello nor the FA have attempted to cover since those damaging comments to RAI 1 yesterday.

Talking to the Italian television station, England manager Capello criticised England's FA for demoting Terry from the captaincy before his court case into racism allegations, which the Chelsea player denies, has been held.

Terry's case will be held in July, after England plays at Euro 2012.

And Robertson came out this evening and backed the FA, no matter what the consequences.

"The FA had a difficult decision to make," Robertson told Sky Sports News.

"The chairman spoke to his board, I think weighed it all up and took, in my view, exactly the right decision.

"If the consequence of that is the manager walks away, the consequence of that is John Terry walks away, I would regret both of those two things enormously, but so be it."

Robertson said: "The FA have acted very sensibly, very reasonably, and they have come to the right decision.

"There were really two things they have to tackle at the end of last week.

"There was the moral case, which was a very difficult one because in this country you are innocent until you are proven guilty, so it would have been very tough to take action on that front.

"There was also the practical side of it which makes it extraordinarily difficult for John Terry, fabulous footballer and a great captain though he is, to discharge that responsibility in the white heat of this kind of publicity during the European Championship."

The comments should embolden FA chairman David Bernstein when he eventually gets to speak to Capello later this week.

And by then, Sir Alex Ferguson believes the whole situation should have calmed down a little as, for him, Capello is entitled to his view.

"There's nothing wrong with having an opinion," said the Manchester United manager.

"I think what will happen in the next few days is there'll have to be a coming-together of the FA hierarchy and Fabio Capello because he's the team manager, he has the importance of that position.

"Without question the most important person at a football club is the manager."

Not that the view is shared by everyone, including former England boss Graham Taylor, who told BBC Radio Five Live: "It doesn't help the situation at all, as England go into the European Championships.

"I can't see what Capello's agenda is. All it does is disturb everything even more.

"It may be that he wants the FA to take a decision on this job. It depends really on how strongly he feels about it."

Taylor pointed out that whoever is now chosen as England captain by Capello will know full well that the Italian would prefer to have Terry, who refutes the allegation he racially abused QPR's Anton Ferdinand in a Premier League game, in charge.

Taylor added: "Fabio Capello, having been told by the FA in a private situation what they were going to do, has been a little bit unwise to come out as publicly as this.

"Whoever he makes as captain knows that he is not the manager's choice. That in itself doesn't help the dressing room."

Asked yesterday whether he was in agreement with the decision regarding Terry, Capello replied: "No, absolutely not.

"I have spoken to the chairman and I have said that in my opinion one cannot be punished until it's official and the court - a non-sporting court, a civil court - has made a decision to decide if John Terry has done what he has been accused of.

"I thought it was right that Terry should keep the captain's armband."

Capello travelled north today to watch two of the most talked-about candidates for the England captaincy, in Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker.

However, there may be a few hurdles to cross yet, with former FA executive director David Davies, who left his post in 2006 before Capello was appointed, telling BBC's Breakfast programme that the Italian may have breached his contract with his comments and could face action.

"It is being taken very seriously by the FA because it may be that Fabio Capello has breached his contract," said Davies.

"You have to ask what his motive is. You have to suspect he wants to prevent John Terry retiring as a player before Euro 2012 but there are wider issues.

"A contract may have been breached, there is strong leadership now at the FA from David Bernstein. Last week he wasn't slow to take things forward and he may not be slow to do so now."

Meanwhile, the FA is working on a code of conduct covering all selection criteria for England players that should be up and running for next season which will cover anyone charged with a criminal offence.

Egypt's football federation president and his board were dismissed by the prime minister immediately after Wednesday's Port Said rampage.

Bradley, a former coach of the US national team, told broadcaster Al-Jazeera that: "when a tragedy like this occurs it's important that people can come and can be strong."

He added: "In my role as coach of the national team I want to do whatever I can in my responsibilities to help with this process."

Bradley is unsure if Egypt's 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier will go ahead in the Central African Republic as planned on February 29.

The 20-year-old ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in Saturday's Premier League match at QPR.

Frimpong limped off in the 24th minute of the 2-1 win at Loftus Road, and a scan has revealed the severity of the injury.

"Bad News is that I'm out for 6-9months with my Knee," he told his Twitter followers on Monday.

"I wanna thank all the wolves fans for their support since I've been here and really Hope wolves stay up this season."

Statements from both clubs said Frimpong will see specialists in London over the next few days before surgery and a program of rehabilitation.

Frimpong, who suffered a similar injury to his left knee in 2010, had made a fine start to his time at Wolverhampton.

"Emmanuel is expected to be out for a number of months and will therefore miss the remainder of this season," read a statement from the club.

"Everyone at Wolves would like to thank the midfielder for his efforts whilst at the club and join Arsenal in wishing him a swift recovery."

The payment of two million euros ($A2.45 million) by Bayern was made and repaid in 2003 after heavy investment by the Dortmund board had put the club into dire financial straits.

The loan was accepted by then president Gerd Niebaum and manager Michael Meier.

In March 2005, the club was again in financial trouble and on the verge of bankruptcy as it only just managed to avoid insolvency but corrected its cash situation enough to become German champion last season.

"When they couldn't pay up any more, sometimes even for salaries, we gave them an unsecured loan for a few months," revealed Bayern president Hoeness.

"I'm a big fan of tradition in sport and I don't think that was a bad thing to do."

Dortmund's chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke has confirmed the Bayern loan to local newspaper the Ruhr Nachrichten.

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes has said he does not believe Hoeness' comments are planned to unsettle its Dortmund rival which is top of the league on 43 points with Bayern in second place on 41 points and level with Schalke 04.

"I do not see this as calculated," said Heynckes on Monday at a press conference.

"It was a good few years ago and I think it is a positive thing there is some solidarity in the league."

Dortmund has since turned its finances around and managed to sign Borussia Moenchengladbach's rising star Marco Reus for 17.5 million euros ($A21.46 million) to play for it next season, fighting off competition from Bayern.

Bayern has picked up four points from a possible nine in its last three games and came from behind to draw at Hamburg on Saturday which saw it replaced at the top of the table by Dortmund.

In contrast, Borussia's 2-0 victory at Nuremberg on Friday means it has won all three of its league matches since January.

With Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp insisting Munich will win the title in May, ex-Bayern president Beckenbauer, who both captained and coached Germany to World Cup wins, aimed his message straight at the Borussia boss.

"Listen, forget this overmodesty and hide-and-seek games with the motto 'only Bayern will be German champions'," wrote Beckenbauer in his column in Bild.

"Kloppo, you are the current champions, you are now the league leaders and you are the favourites for the title."

Beckenbauer says Bayern is lacking the "ease" of the first half of the season - the confidence with which players like Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Mueller and Mario Gomez had going forward.

"This confidence is exactly what Dortmund have rediscovered."

Things are tight at the top of the German table with Dortmund leading with 43 points, Bayern and Schalke are on 41, while Moenchengladbach is fourth with 40.

Dortmund has lost teenage playmaker Mario Goetze for up to two months with a groin injury but Beckenbauer says that could even be an advantage.

"Dortmund are playing with confidence, despite the injury to Mario Goetze and that gives the young team even more confidence," he said.

And while Dortmund is out of the Champions League, Bayern faces FC Basel in the Round of 16 on February 22 and its European campaign is an added distraction.

"The difficult period begins with the added burden of the Champions League, while Dortmund sit comfortably on the sofa, just as they did last season when they won the title," said Beckenbauer.

But Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said it is just a matter of time before his team fires again.

"What we have shown in the last three games doesn't meet the aspiration levels of Bayern Munich," said Heynckes at a press conference on Monday ahead of Bayern's German Cup quarter-final with Stuttgart on Wednesday.

"But it's only a matter of time before we again play successfully and good football again, which is why I am calm and relaxed."

Dortmund hosts Leverkusen on Saturday in the Bundesliga, while Bayern is home to Kaiserslautern.

After Terry was stripped of the England captaincy by the Football Association on Friday, Barton made a series of pointed observations on the case.

Terry is facing charges of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand - charges the Chelsea defender has always denied.

Although Barton defended his actions on the grounds of free speech, some observers felt he was close to being in contempt of court and possibly prejudicing a trial.

However, the British attorney general's office, released a statement on Monday that revealed the QPR midfielder Barton wouldn't face any action. It also warned of the dangers of contempt ahead of Terry's case at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on July 9.

"Between February 3-5, Twitter exchanges on Joey Barton's page which related to the forthcoming trial of John Terry were brought to the attention of the Attorney General's office," the statement read.

"They have been considered in relation to any possible contempt of court they could create. In this instance the Attorney has decided no action is necessary."

A spokesman for the attorney general's office said: "Although in this instance no action will be taken, we would like to remind those who publish material that proceedings for the John Terry trial are active.

"Any discussion of a live court case has the potential to interfere with its proper course."

Kamara scored in the 10th and 21st minutes to put the host two goals clear, but Metin Depe pulled one back seven minutes later.

Bulent Ertrugul finally grabbed a third for Eskisehirspor to kill the game off in the 87th minute, just two minutes after coming off the bench.

At the bottom, Ankaragucu lost again - 1-0 at home to Manisaspor courtesy of Nemanja Vucicevic's strike on the hour - and there was an important win for Karabukspor.

Ilhan Parlak scored on 15 and 55 minutes, and Karabukspor held on for a 2-1 win over Samsunspor despite having Luton Shelton sent off on the stroke of half-time.

Murat Yildirim scored three minutes from time for Samsunspor, which then had Kemal Tokak dismissed.

The club confirmed Abramovich spoke to Villas-Boas during a rare visit to the club's training ground on Saturday before attending yesterday's Barclays Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.

But it insists the Russian billionaire remains fully behind the 34-year-old's project, following a report he had become frustrated with results under the Portuguese.

A spokesman said: "Roman likes to get down to Cobham and watch training whenever he can. He was able to visit on Saturday and he and Andre had a good chat after the training session, which is normal."

It is thought Saturday was the first time Abramovich had watched Chelsea train this season, with the 45-year-old's focus having been on his high-profile court case with former associate Boris Berezovsky.

He spent 35 minutes casting his eye over the session before spending another 20 speaking with Villas-Boas.

He also spent half an hour talking to players in the dressing room after yesterday's game, which saw Chelsea controversially held to a draw having led 3-0.

The match provided just the kind of entertainment Abramovich is believed to demand, but represented more points lost from a winning position by the side at home this season.

Juan Mata, who scored a stunning volley and also set up the third goal, told Chelsea TV: "After that, the game was crazy. It was so fast, without midfielders, and it was box to box."

The winger, who joined from Valencia last northern summer, added: "Here, it's faster than Spain. Until the 90th minute, you haven't got the three points. Man United is a very, very good team and they always try to win and to draw."

United needed two penalties to get back into the game, the second particularly controversial.

Villas-Boas was critical of referee Howard Webb but managed to steer clear of comments that might have landed him a Football Association charge.

Opposite number Sir Alex Ferguson was also angry with the officials, claiming Gary Cahill should have been sent off for what he considered a last-man challenge.

Cahill, who made his Chelsea debut yesterday, said: "At the time I thought I had got the bottom of my studs on the ball.

"I have seen the replay and sometimes when you go through the player and across the player to get the ball they are given against you, so I was fortunate to get away with that one, but if you see the direction the ball moves I think my studs actually touched it first."

He added: "It was a fantastic game to be involved in and it was in at the deep end, but these are the games you want to be involved in.

"However, any game you go 3-0 up in, you expect to win, so that has put a dampener on my debut. It is a sickening feeling like we have lost the game. The mood is a bit flat and we are disappointed."

Chelsea now lies 14 points behind leader Manchester City and, perhaps more importantly, just one ahead of fifth-placed Newcastle.

Villas-Boas has repeatedly declared he has no doubt he will still be in charge at Stamford Bridge next season, despite Abramovich having sacked almost every manager who has failed to win the title during his nine years as owner.

The Russian appears to be more patient with the current regime, perhaps recognising the squad needs a significant overhaul before being able to challenge United and City.

However, failure to qualify for the Champions League may test that patience to the limit.

The French Football Federation postponed Paris Saint-Germain's match at Dijon on Tuesday and Marseille's game against Bourg-Peronnas on Wednesday in the last 16 of the French Cup.

They will now be played on February 15.

The FFF on Monday also called off the French Cup game between Quevilly and Orleans on Tuesday, setting February 21 as the new date.

The cold snap also led to the postponement of three French league matches last weekend.

Cote d'Ivoire's star-studded squad has won all four matches without conceding a goal in its quest for a first cup success in 20 years, while Ghana, the losing finalist two years ago, is looking for a fifth title.

Ghana must first beat Zambia, which has enjoyed an impressive cup campaign so far and is motivated to make the final in Libreville in memory of 25 players and officials who died in a plane crash near the Gabonese capital 19 years ago.

Cote d'Ivoire's opponent, Mali, is bidding to reach its first final after having beaten co-host Gabon on penalties in the quarterfinals.

Wrapping up the defence case, Redknapp's lawyer attacked prosecutors for relying on a 2009 interview with a journalist from the paper, which was closed in 2011 amid Britain's phone-hacking scandal.

"I do not shrink from suggesting to you it is repugnant to all our basic instincts of fairness in the criminal justice process," defence lawyer John Kelsey-Fry told Southwark Crown Court.

He said the evidence from reporter Rob Beasley was "primarily despicable".

Kelsey-Fry said there was an "inherent absurdity that shrieks out at you" in some of the allegations that Redknapp hid money from British authorities in a secret offshore bank account.

Judge Anthony Leonard will begin summing up evidence on Tuesday (northern), after which the jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict.

Redknapp, 64, and co-defendant Milan Mandaric, 73, deny two counts of cheating the public revenue by failing to declare $US295,000 stashed in a Monaco bank account.

Prosecutors say the money was paid to Redknapp by Mandaric when the two men were manager and owner of Portsmouth respectively as part of a bonus arising from the sale of striker Peter Crouch.

In an interview with Beasley, Redknapp appeared to acknowledge the money had arisen from the sale of Crouch, but during his trial he said he had misled the News of the World journalist.

"I don't have to tell Mr Beasley the truth. I have to tell police the truth, not Mr Beasley; he's a News of the World reporter," he said.

During his trial, Redknapp has said the money was paid by Mandaric to help with investments in the United States, and that he believed any taxes owing on the amount had been paid by his chairman.

Australian-born media tycoon Murdoch closed the News of the World in July after it admitted hacking the phones of celebrities and crime victims.

Redknapp is the most successful English manager in the modern game, having led Portsmouth to FA Cup success and guiding Tottenham to the quarter-finals of last season's UEFA Champions League.

Mandaric is now chairman of Sheffield Wednesday, having previously worked at Leicester City.