Rome  - Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has played down the importance of his team's lead in the Serie A and quelled rumours of new arrivals when the transfer market opens in January.

Inter's website Monday quoted Moratti as saying that "this is a good moment and there have been problems for the other teams. It was great that Inter played a very good first half (as they beat Napoli 2-1)."

The Italian champions at the weekend beat the Naples guests and now hold a six-point lead over AC Milan, who lost 3-1 at Palermo and trail second-place Juventus on goal difference. Inter have 33 points from 14 games.

Sydney - Austria beat hosts Australia 3-0 Monday in the opening game of an unusual football competition that has drawn teams from 56 countries to Melbourne.

The qualifications for entry to this all-amateur event are stiff: players must have been homeless since July 2007, be receiving help for drug or alcohol abuse or be an asylum seeker.

It's the Homeless World Cup and it's in its sixth year. Scotland is the defending champion.

The week-long competition - there are 349 matches of 14 minutes on makeshift pitches in the city centre - has for the first time a section for women's teams.

Psychologists and physiotherapists are on hand, as well as 1,000 volunteers.

London, Dec. 1: Chelsea boss Phil Scolari has demanded an apology from match referee Mike Dean, saying the latter cost his side a crucial victory against Arsenal.

The Chelsea boss blamed Dean and his assistant Simon Beck for failing to call Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie offside before that team had scored an equaliser.

Van Persie scored the winner three minutes later to condemn Chelsea to their second home defeat of the season.

Big Phil fumed: “Never before at Chelsea have I said anything about the referee. But today is different. I don’t want the referee to do something different, only for him to look at the TV, see he was wrong and say sorry. Tell the assessor to ask the referee to do both sides, not one side.”

STARKVILLE, Miss., Nov. 29  -- Mississippi State football Coach Sylvester Croom resigned Saturday, one day after the Bulldogs ended their season with a 45-0 loss to Ole Miss.

Croom directed the Bulldogs to a 21-38 record, including 4-8 this season, in his five years at the helm.

"Five years ago, Mississippi State gave me the unprecedented opportunity to be a head football coach in the Southeastern Conference and to build a program based upon a strong foundation," Croom said. "I believe the foundation has been set for those goals to be reached under the leadership of someone else, and it was my decision to resign."

Madrid  - A 3-0 win away to Sevilla, with two goals from the exuberant Lionel Messi, late Saturday has left impressive Barcelona six points clear at the top of the Spanish Liga.

Their sixth successive away win means that Josep Guardiola's slick side now have 32 points from 13 games, six points more than Real Madrid, who crashed 3-1 in Getafe earlier on Saturday.

In third place, on 25, are Villarreal. Sevilla stay tied on 24 with Valencia.

Sevilla were expected to give Barca a tough test but the "Pep Team" carried on from where they left off on Wednesday against Sporting Lisbon - dominating possession and creating countless chances.

Hamburg - UEFA has agreed to pay compensation to broadcasters who lost live pictures as a result of a power blackout during a Euro 2008 match, Germany's Spiegel news magazine reported.

Football's organizing body in Europe has agreed to pay "a high six-figure sum" to the German public broadcaster ZDF, according to the report released in advance of Monday's publication.

All broadcasters affected will be paid unspecified compensation, according to the report.