MAY 2003

1 The Football Association fined £70,000 by UEFA for racist abuse by England fans towards Turkish players and fans during the Euro 2004 qualifier in Sunderland in April.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson fined by UEFA for claiming the Champions League draw was fixed.
Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville ruled out for three months with a foot injury.

2 Arsenal striker Thierry Henry named Football Writers’ Player of the Year while Birmingham’s Christophe Dugarry was fined £12,500 by the FA for spitting at Aston Villa midfielder Joey Gudjonsson.
Steve Waugh scored his 30th Test century in a match against the West Indies, surpassing the legendary Donald Bradman.
Sale Sharks announced a merger with Second Division soccer club Stockport County. They planned to play home games at Stockport’s Edgeley Park ground from the start of the new season.

3 A goal by Paolo di Canio kept West Ham’s hopes of avoiding the drop into Division One alive as they beat Chelsea 1-0.
Seve Ballesteros was disqualified from the Italian Open after refusing to accept a one-stroke penalty for slow play.
Llanelli won rugby union’s Principality Cup with a 32-9 victory over Newport at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

4 Manchester United won their eighth Premier League title in 11 years by virtue of Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat at home to Leeds.
Brighton were relegated to Division Two after a 2-2 draw at Grimsby.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed Patrick Vieira would play no further part in the Gunners’ season because of injury.

5 Mark Williams won the Embassy World Championship with an 18-16 win over Ken Doherty at The Crucible, Sheffield.
Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon said he expected David Beckham to be at Old Trafford next season despite persistent reports linking him to Real Madrid.

6 Michael Vaughan was confirmed as England’s new one-day cricket captain.
David Beckham said he and his advisors had had no contact with Real Madrid or any other club.
Gloucester revealed French duo Ludovic Mercier and Olivier Azam were to leave the club at the end of the 2002-03 season.

7 Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle confirmed the club would not be renewing the contract of striker Teddy Sheringham at the end of the season.
There were no major shocks in the C & G Trophy third round as only two first-class sides are knocked out - Hampshire and Northamptonshire - and then against fellow county championship teams Sussex and Middlesex.
UK Sport revealed an unnamed professional footballer had missed a drugs test between January and March.

8 The Football Association confirmed they would not be taking up their allocation of tickets for the final Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey in October.
Quinton Fortune agreed a new three-year contract with Manchester United.
Yorkshire confirmed signing of India’s World Cup star Yuvraj Singh.

9 John Gregory was sacked as Derby manager after the club made “serious allegations” against him.
Peter Reid was confirmed as Leeds’ full-time manager for the 2003-04 season.
Wakefield pulled off one of the shocks of the Super League season by beating St Helens 16-10 at Knowsley Road.

10 Wolves beat Reading 2-1 in the first leg of the First Division play-off semi-final at Molineux, while Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United draw 1-1 at the City Ground.
Alan Thompson’s goal against Hearts put Celtic three points clear of Rangers at the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League.
Bristol finished bottom of the Zurich Premiership after losing 41-21 to London Irish - but were forced to wait to learn if they would be relegated.

11 West Ham were relegated to Division One after 2-2 draw at Birmingham. They needed to do better than Bolton to stay up but Wanderers beat Middlesbrough 2-1 to survive.
Chelsea pipped Liverpool to the final Champions League place by beating the Reds 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Paul Casey won the 19th and last Benson & Hedges International Open at The Belfry, beating Padraig Harrington by four strokes.

12 West Ham striker Jermain Defoe handed in a written transfer request less than 24 hours after the club’s relegation to Division One.
Wayne Rooney was included in the England squad for the friendly against South Africa despite suffering a knee ligament injury the previous day.
Rotherham’s promotion to the Zurich Premiership was confirmed by England Rugby Limited. The Titans took the place of Bristol, who were relegated.

13 West Ham turned down Jermain Defoe’s request for a transfer.
Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin was fined £6,000 after being sent off for head-butting Robbie Savage during the Birmingham derby in March.
Lancashire completed the short-term signing of former West Indies captain Carl Hooper

14 Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor resigned.
Wolves booked their place in the First Division play-off final by beating Reading 3-1 on aggregate.
James Anderson claimed a hat-trick for Lancashire in their Frizzell County Championship match against Essex. His second victim was England Test captain Nasser Hussain.

15 Culture secretary Tessa Jowell confirmed London was to bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Fulham announced Chris Coleman would be the permanent successor to Jean Tigana.
The Football Association appointed Mark Palios as their new chief executive from July 1.

16 Relegated West Ham announced that they were releasing 10 senior players, including Paolo di Canio, Lee Bowyer and Nigel Winterburn.
Experienced strike bowler Andrew Caddick was ruled out of opening two Tests of the summer against Zimbabwe.
Seven-times Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras withdrew from the 2003 event, sparking rumours he was set to retire from professional tennis.

17 Arsenal won the FA Cup by beating Southampton 1-0 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Robert Pires scoring the only goal.
Three uncapped players - James Anderson, James Kirtley and Anthony McGrath - were called up by England for the opening Test against Zimbabwe.
The Super League’s top two, Leeds and Hull, drew 10-10 at Headingley.

18 The Football Association confirmed Wayne Rooney had been ruled out of the England friendly against South Africa through injury.
A century by Mark Ramprakash helped Surrey stay top of the National League with a six-wicket win over Kent.
Michael Schumacher won the Austrian Grand Prix, with Kimi Raikkonen second and Rubens Barrichello third.

19 John Wardle was appointed chairman of Manchester City.
Gareth Barry was called up to the England squad for the friendly against South Africa.
The Lawn Tennis Association expressed concerns about the Davis Cup tie against Morocco in Casablanca after suicide bombings in the northern African country.

20 David O’Leary was appointed as manager of Aston Villa. The Irishman signed a three-year contract with the club.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was ruled out of the opening Test match against Zimbabwe with a shoulder injury.
Leicester Tigers signed former New Zealand centre Daryl Gibson.

21 Celtic lost 3-2 to Porto in the UEFA Cup final as Derlei scored a “silver goal” in extra-time to win the cup for the Portuguese side.
Members of the England soccer squad - including captain David Beckham - met former South Africa president Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg.
Seve Ballesteros was severely reprimanded for changing his scorecard at the Italian Open and fined for his comments about European Tour chief referee John Paramor and the tour.

22 England beat South Africa 2-1 in a friendly but David Beckham was substituted with a fractured bone in his wrist.
Zimbabwe restricted England to 184 for three on the first day of the npower Test at Lord’s.
Seve Ballesteros withdrew from the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth.

23 Newcastle agreed terms with out-of-contract Lee Bowyer on a four-year deal.
The Bank of Scotland Premier League voted against Falkirk joining the top flight despite them winning the First Division title.
Steve Kember was appointed manager of Crystal Palace. Luton manager Joe Kinnear and his assistant Mick Harford left the club after a new mystery consortium took control.

24 James Anderson marked his Test debut with five wickets as England beat Zimbabwe by an innings and 92 runs at Lord’s.
Bournemouth beat Lincoln 5-2 in the Third Division play-off final to win promotion to Division Two.
Toulouse won the Heineken Cup by beating Perpignan 22-17 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.

25 Rangers won the Bank of Scotland Premier League on goal difference from Celtic, beating Dunfermline 6-1 while the Hoops saw off Kilmarnock 4-0.
Cardiff beat QPR 1-0 after extra-time to win promotion to Division One in the Second Division play-off final.
Bath captain Danny Grewcock received a two-week ban after being sent off in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup final against Wasps.

26 Wolves were promoted to the Premiership by beating Sheffield United 3-0 in the First Division play-off final.
Andre Agassi breezed past Karol Beck in the first round of the French Open.

27 Scotland were held to a 1-1 friendly draw by New Zealand and were booed off the pitch.
London Broncos’ Dominic Peters was suspended for 12 months after testing positive for a banned substance.
Tim Henman ended a nine-month break from Grand Slam action to beat Vladimir Voltchkov in straight sets in the first round of the French Open.

28 AC Milan won the Champions League by beating Juventus 3-2 on penalties in the final after a 0-0 draw after extra-time at Old Trafford.
Danny Grewcock withdrew from the England squad to tour Australia and New Zealand because of his suspension from domestic rugby.
Andre Agassi was tested to the limit but ultimately reached the French Open third round with a five-set victory over Mario Ancic.

29 John Gregory was sacked as manager of Derby after an appeal by him against the decision failed.
Darren Gough was included in England’s 15-man one-day squad for the NatWest Challenge and the NatWest Series.
Halifax, Hull and St Helens deducted two Tetley’s Super League points by the Rugby Football League for breaching the salary cap last season.

30 Leicester manager Micky Adams signed new three-year deal.
Wayne Rooney was included in the England squad for the friendly against Serbia & Montenegro.

31 Rangers won the Tennent’s Scottish Cup, and domestic treble, with 1-0 win over Dundee at Hampden Park.
Richard Johnson was called up for the second npower Test against Zimbabwe in place of the injured Matthew Hoggard.
Jenson Button was stretchered away after suffering a massive 180mph shunt at the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo but he made a swift and full recovery.

Tweet