Katan answers West Ham call

West Ham United FC

A French industrial tribunal has awarded former Paris Saint-Germain FC coach Vahid Halilhodžić almost €3.5m (€2.6m for breach of contract and €850,000 in damages) in compensation for his dismissal in February because of poor results. The 53-year-old Halilhodžić, now in charge of Turkish club Trabzonspor, had claimed €9m from PSG for unfair dismissal.

Halilhodžić is now working under a new man at Trabzonspor after businessman Nuri Albayrak was elected as the club's president. Previous incumbent Atay Aktug decided to step down after two years in charge following a disappointing start to the season which saw the club eliminated from the UEFA Champions League qualifying stage. They are currently eighth in the Superleague.

Meanwhile, tenth-placed Gaziantepspor have brought in Hüseyin Kalpar to replace Bosnia-Herzegovnian coach Faruk Hadžibegic. Club secretary Bülent Mamatoglu said: "A disagreement occurred between us and Hadžibegic. Nobody is bigger than Gaziantepspor or the Gaziantepspor community." Kalpar has signed an 18-month contract. It is his second spell with the club.

In Spain, Valencia CF defender Roberto Ayala has been sidelined for two months after suffering a right knee injury in training. The 32-year-old Argentinian international will require surgery but is not too concerned, saying: "It isn't that serious. It's an injury that has been bothering me for some time but it didn't stop me playing.”

S.S. Lazio winger Valon Behrami faces a month out - up to five matches - after injuring his right foot during Saturday's 1-1 draw against Juventus. The 20-year-old Swiss international left the Stadio Olimpico pitch after 44 minutes following a hard tackle from Fabio Cannavaro, and now needs three weeks' rest before resuming training.

Krisztián Vadócz, Róbert Feczesin and István Ferenczi scored as Hungary beat Antigua and Barbuda 3-0 in Miami in the second game of their United States tour yesterday. "We did not play against a world-class side but they played very defensively, which made our job difficult," said coach Lothar Matthäus. "I'm happy we concentrated well and scored three goals."

The 2006 Armenian Premier League will be expanded from six teams to eleven after the Football Federation of Armenia (AFF) allowed both FC Gandzasar Kapan and FC Yerevan United - both of whom were founded this year - to join the top flight. "We want to increase the depth of the Armenian league to make it more interesting," said AFF president Ruben Hayrapetyan. "Only then will young players be able to develop properly."

Former Hungarian international striker Lázár Szentes will take charge of Zalaegerszegi TE following the resignation of László Dajka after the final league match of 2005. The coach, who previously led Haladás VFC and Debreceni VSC, has joined fifth-bottom ZTE from Pápa TFC but no details have been revealed about the length of his contract.

FC Krylya Sovetov Samara have made their first winter signing, landing Cameroonian defender Benoît Angbwa from LOSC Lille Métropole. The 23-year-old has signed a two-year contract with the Russian team, having made 20 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille in 2004/05. He has previously played for Fovu de Baham in his homeland, Montpellier Hérault SC and Club Nacional de Football in Uruguay.