Soccer Shorts

■ England
Good news for Owen
England striker Michael Owen received a welcome boost on Sunday after scans revealed his knee injury was not as bad as he feared. Newcastle star Owen, 26, suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament just two minutes into England's World Cup Group B draw against Sweden on June 20. It was thought he may have damaged his medial ligament as well, which would have prolonged his spell on the sidelines. But new scans have shown the former Real Madrid and Liverpool player has only sustained a ruptured ligament, leaving him on course to return to action by the New Year.

■ France
Man shoots fans
A man angry about loud, jubilant French soccer fans opened fire on a crowd celebrating France's World Cup victory against Brazil, injuring two people before being shot dead by police. Police said the man seemed to have been drunk. He was shot after he threatened officers with a sabre and died on the scene. Angered by the noise following France's quarter-final victory on Saturday, the man left his house and opened fire on a crowd in the southern village of Cap d'Ail near Monaco, police said on Sunday. One woman was seriously injured and treated in hospital.

■ Pakistan
100 gamblers arrested
Authorities have arrested around 100 people on charges of betting on World Cup soccer matches, a crime in this conservative Islamic republic, officials said yesterday. In their first crackdown since the tournament kicked off in Germany last month, law enforcement agencies raided an underground bookmakers in the southern city of Karachi. "We got information that some people were involved in betting on football World Cup matches so we raided the building in a main shopping area and arrested some 100 people," Citizens-Police Liaison Committee chief Sharfuddin Memon said.

■ Germany
Man drives into fans
A car "apparently driven deliberately" crashed through crowd barriers at Berlin's soccer World Cup fan zone on Sunday, injuring 21 people, a city senator said. The 33-year-old driver was apparently a person "who wanted to hurt other people or draw attention to himself," said Interior Senator Ehrhart Koerting. There was no clear motive, however. It happened when the area -- where 750,000 fans have gathered for matches before the capital's landmark Brandenburg Gate -- was unusually empty. A search of the vehicle yielded no evidence of any explosives. "There was no bomb in the car and it was not a major attack," Koerting said. Koerting said a girl aged 11 was believed to have suffered several broken ribs.

■ Australia
FFA denies Houllier signing
Football Federation Australia (FFA) yesterday denied reports that Frenchman Gerard Houllier had been chosen to replace Guus Hiddink as coach of the Australian soccer team. The FFA released a statement to say Houllier was one of a number of candidates in its search for a replacement for Hiddink, who stepped down after leading Australia to the second round of the World Cup in Germany. "Contrary to media reports, the FFA has not signed an agreement with Gerard Houllier for the position of Head Coach of the Socceroos," an FFA spokesman said.