NBC Sports: Soccer

Beckham has bone bruise but expects to play

Los Angeles midfielder David Beckham says he'll need an injection in his right ankle to reduce pain and allow him to play in Sunday night's MLS Cup final against Real Salt Lake.

FIFA suspends Iraq for political meddling

ZURICH (AP) -FIFA suspended Iraq from world football on Friday because of political interference in the national federation.

Henry wants to replay game, but FIFA says no

FIFA rejected Ireland’s request to replay its World Cup qualifier against France on Friday, while Thierry Henry said a rematch would be “the fairest solution” to resolve the furor over his extra-time hand ball that set up the deciding goal.

Henry says ‘fairest solution’ is to replay game

Thierry Henry says the “fairest solution” is to replay the France-Ireland World Cup playoff after he set up the deciding goal with a hand ball.

FIFA rules out replaying France vs. Ireland

FIFA ruled out the possibility of replaying the disputed France-Ireland World Cup qualifier on Friday, rejecting an Irish appeal to stage the playoff again after Thierry Henry handled the ball to set up the deciding goal in extra time.

Authorities: 17 arrests in match-fixing probe

FRANKFURT (AP) -German prosecutors investigating match-fixing in football say 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland have been arrested and that about 200 games in Europe are affected.

Spain regains 1st place from Brazil in rankings

ZURICH (AP) -Spain regained first place from Brazil in FIFA's monthly world rankings Friday.

Dunne criticizes France coach ahead of WCup match

DUBLIN (AP) -Ireland defender Richard Dunne accused Raymond Domenech of messing up a talented France team and said Wednesday he believes the coach could be the weak link when the two teams meet in the World Cup playoffs.

Donovan wins MLS MVP award for first time

SEATTLE (AP) -Los Angeles forward Landon Donovan has been named the Major League Soccer most valuable player after helping to lead the Galaxy to the final for the first time since 2005.

Los Angeles Galaxy cancels European tour

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany (AP) -David Beckham won't be coming to Kaiserslautern.

Irish lodge protest after ‘travesty’ shuts them out

Ireland appealed to France and soccer authorities Thursday to replay their World Cup playoff after an obvious hand ball by Thierry Henry produced the winning goal.