Euro blow for duo

NEIL McCANN and Julien Brellier will both be missing when Hearts enter the UEFA Cup next month as the ruthless officiating of Russian Yuri Baskakov continues to impinge upon the club's European campaign.

The Edinburgh club were drawn against Sparta Prague yesterday in the first round of the UEFA Cup, but Europe's governing body have confirmed that suspensions for red cards accumulated in the final Champions League qualifying round will remain in place for those clubs, like Hearts, who have parachuted into their secondary competition.

Head coach Valdas Ivanauskas has been privately seething since Wednesday night's defeat by AEK Athens, believing that Baskakov adopted a harder-than-necessary stance against his players because of the heavy Lithuanian influence at Tynecastle.

Brellier was ordered off for two cautions just 30 minutes into the game, the first for wearing an earring and the second for leading with an elbow as he challenged Vladimir Ivic.

McCann was shown a straight red card for a two-footed lunge at Ivic just after the hour mark and both players will now be suspended for the first leg of UEFA Cup round one, which takes place on September 14. A UEFA spokesperson confirmed: "Cautions and red cards carry forward to the next stage even if that involves another competition, so yellow and red cards gathered in the Champions League continue in the UEFA Cup. The only situation when cautions do not carry forward is when a single caution from the qualifying phase of a competition expires upon completion of the qualifying phase in question. In respect of Hearts, we can confirm that the red cards issued to Julien Brellier and Neil McCann will remain in place and they will each be suspended for one match."

The first leg against Sparta will take place at Murrayfield with the return in Prague's 20,000-capacity Toyota Arena on September 28. Ivanauskas today welcomed the draw cautiously whilst recognising that he must ready his players to confront the Czech Republic's third-placed side from last season. "I played twice against Sparta Prague eight years ago when I was with Casino Salzburg in Austria," revealed the Lithuanian.

"We must be properly prepared. "I like Czech football, it's very technical and strong."

Meanwhile, the Evening News can reveal that Hearts have rejected a number of offers for record signing Mirsad Beslija. The club are understood to be keen to recoup the majority of the £800,000 transfer fee they agreed with Racing Genk for the player in January, even though they have yet to pay the Belgians in full.

Several offers have been put to Hearts from clubs in England and on the continent but Vladimir Romanov appears to be holding out for a transfer fee well in excess of £500,000.

One of the clubs to have a loan bid rejected for Beslija is Sporting Lokeren. Their head coach Ariel Jacobs revealed: "Beslija is still one of our three or four targets but I don't think Hearts are willing to release him on loan. We will are hoping for a final decision in the early part of next week."

A source close to the player admitted: "Things aren't really working out for him regarding a move so it looks like he could stay with Hearts until January when the same situation will begin all over again. They still want to move him out."

Taken from the Scotsman