Source: Daily_Mail
Charles Sale: Saux sorry but it's over, Graeme
Knocked out: Le Saux poses the FA Cup[LNB]Football pundit Graeme Le Saux, who quit the BBC after a disputewith their head of football Niall Sloane, has now been axed from ITV'sanalyst panel by the same TV sports executive. [LNB]Le Saux, a former England international who played for Chelsea,Blackburn and Southampton, was part of the ITV team for their coverageof the last England game against Ukraine in April, appearing on thehighlights show. But he has been told that he won't be involved inITV's future England broadcasts or other football programming. [LNB]This follows Sloane becoming ITV's head of sport last month havingleft the BBC upset at not being included in the short list ofcandidates after being encouraged to apply for the Beeb sports bossjob that went to Barbara Slater. [LNB] More from Charles Sale... Charles Sale: Freddie's Puma has the ECB fur flying07/05/09 Charles Sale: Arsenal still lean to Stayaway Stan Kroenke06/05/09 Charles Sale: Government cash for World Cup bid 05/05/09 Charles Sale: FA pitch up with a better Welch deal04/05/09 Charles Sale: Arsenal keep their Lady out of the loop03/05/09 Charles Sale: Dennis given wide berth by McLaren01/05/09 CHARLES SALE: Fight over ban is at the Stretford end for Rooney's agent01/05/09 Charles Sale - Sports Agenda: Premier League facing trophy trouble with Manchester United's crowning glory set to cause Hull-abaloo29/04/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Le Saux walked out of the BBC in April 2006 two days before ascheduled appearance on Match of the Day after being told colleagueMark Lawrenson would be the BBC co- commentator for England matches atthe World Cup. [LNB]Le Saux claimed that Sloane had already promised him thathigh-profle role as well as sending him a schedule of his proposedEngland games. The ex-footballer's upset was compounded by havingretired from playing early to establish his BBC career. [LNB]An ITV spokesperson said: 'There are no plans to use Graeme in the immediate future.' [LNB] [LNB]Andrew Flintoff will not have heard the last of appearing at Lord's for a medical check-up on his knee injury during the Test wearing a Puma branded top when rivals adidas are the England kit sponsors. The ECB, who pay his centrally contracted wages, regard Flintoff's blatant ambush marketing garb as 'disrespectful to adidas', and will look into whether his £1.5million deal with Puma has any incentive clauses if he promotes the company on England duty. [LNB] [LNB]Pele, the world's greatest footballer (right), has a reputation for demanding top dollar for his services. But he is appearing for expenses only for Rio's emerging bid to host the 2016 Olympics and has already committed to being in Copenhagen for the October vote. [LNB]Rivals Chicago have booked rooms for Michelle and Barack Obama and their massive entourage in the Danish capital, but can't guarantee their presence. [LNB] [LNB]Manchester United's secretive commercial offices in London's Pall Mall might have brought in yet another deal a five-year media content agreement with Indian telecom services provider Airtel but United's massive sponsorship drive will be undermined by the embarrassing comparison between the shirt sponsors of the two Champions League finalists. [LNB]Barcelona support children's charity Unicef while United are endorsed by a bankrupt American insurance company, AIG, who have rebranded to AIA and AIU around the globe because the parent company is so discredited. [LNB] Marland goes online Lord Marland and Leicester chairman Neil Davidson, the challenger and chief supporter in the aborted bid to usurp Giles Clarke as ECB chairman, have bounced back with a new initiative. [LNB]The pair are the main investors in new cricket website www.testmatchextra.com, which gives wide coverage of English county and international cricket compared to the more global approach of established rival cricinfo. The contributors include pundits Simon Hughes, Jon Agnew and Christopher Martin-Jenkins. [LNB]However, Marland and Davidson, who have been vocal with their criticisms of the ECB, do not intend to use their website to launch further attacks. Davidson and Marland, who had the idea for the site before his leadership attempt, will have no involvement in editorial decisions. [LNB] [LNB]With England's 2018 World Cup bid team still in the dark as to the extent of their financial support from the Government, they are looking to bring in extra money by appointing Wembley's Jonathan Gregory as sponsorship chief. [LNB]He has achieved a full complement of backers for Wembley's sponsorship programme and is sure to be approaching some of them including Microsoft, National Express, Carlsberg, npower and Betfred to support the bid. [LNB] [LNB]
