Glazer Increases Ownership

Malcolm Glazer, owner of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has spent $53.5 million to increase his ownership interest in Manchester United to 37 million shares, or 14.3% of the English Premier League champion.

But David Gill, Manchester United’s chief executive, rejected rumors of a possible American takeover of the club, saying that he had met Glazer and his two sons in Tampa last week and that no such intention had been evident.

“We talked a lot about what we can achieve and how we can do that,” Gill said Monday.

“He has invested in the shares at the moment and sees it as a good investment. That was the end of the discussion. There has been no discussion about his intentions for the future.”

As recently as October, Glazer increased his stake in Manchester United from 3.2% to 9.7%.

Meanwhile, the club announced that it had extended its sponsorship agreement with the mobile telephone company Vodafone in a deal worth more than $57 million.

“This [money] will go into our pot of revenue and then we will sit down with the manager [Coach Alex Ferguson] and decide what needs to go into the team,” Gill said.

Europe’s player transfer window opens again in January and United reportedly is seeking creative help in midfield.

Blatter Criticized

Comments Sunday by Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president, suggesting that defender Rio Ferdinand of Manchester United and England’s national team should have been suspended once he failed to show up for a drug test in September, were harshly criticized by Gill.

“We are at liberty [under the rules of the English Football Assn.] to keep playing Rio Ferdinand and that is what we are doing,” Gill said. “Frankly, this is an incomprehensible statement by Sepp Blatter.”

The Football Assn. (F.A.) said its disciplinary hearing for Ferdinand would be Dec. 18.

Last week, Ken Bates, the chairman of league leader Chelsea, blasted the F.A. as “incompetent” for waiting months to give the player his day in court and called the delay “a disgrace.”

“At first, the disciplinary proceedings were a shambles,” Bates said. “Now they have descended via farce to make them a laughingstock.”

Hudson Ousted

Ray Hudson was ousted as coach of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United when Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the team, decided not to pick up the option on his contract. In his two years in charge, Hudson compiled a 19-14-25 record.

Rivaldo Released

Rivaldo, who last year helped Brazil win the World Cup for a record fifth time, has been released from his $7.2-million-a-year contract by AC Milan. “We thank Rivaldo for the contribution he gave to the winning of the [European] Champions League, the Italian Cup and the European Super Cup and wish him all our luck for the continuation of his extraordinary career,” the club said in a statement.

Rivaldo, 31, has rejected offers from two unidentified English and Scottish clubs and is considering a move to Qatar, his agent said.

Quick Passes

Defending champion Argentina advanced to the second round of the FIFA World Youth Championship with a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan, courtesy of a controversial injury time penalty kick. Burkina Faso also advanced by beating Slovakia, 1-0. The U.S. can advance by beating Germany today.

Norway chose Rosenborg Trondheim Coach Age Hareide, 50, as its new national team coach.

Arsenal has denied rumors that it would sell French striker Thierry Henry to Real Madrid. “Thierry is coveted by other top clubs because he is an extraordinarily gifted player, but he’s going nowhere,” said David Dein, Arsenal’s vice president.

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Times wire services contributed to this report.