Although Lucas Radebe his makeshift replacement kept like the goalkeeper he once was the numbers

Although Lucas Radebe, his makeshift replacement, kept like the goalkeeper he once was, the numbers game finally caught 10-man Leeds out.There were 18 minutes left and Old Trafford was tingling with tension when Leeds found themselves a man short on the right flank. Manchester United 1 Leeds United 0 The superstitious will point to the shirts, the realists the card. Either way, the colour red signified go for Manchester United last night as they put their championship challenge back on course at Old Trafford. The red card was given to Mark Beeney, the Leeds United goalkeeper, for handling outside his area after 17 minutes. Yesterday the 20 chairmen of the First and Second Division collectively sent a letter to Twickenham that left no one in any doubt.More rugby union, page 27Letters, page 26Leading article, page 16. Until five years ago, clubs received a commission of 10 per cent on ticket sales.This year's finalists' share-out - four per cent of the gate less the RFU's 15 per cent management fee plus other expenses - was agreed by the clubs before the start of the season, which makes it invidious for Bath and Leicester to start complaining now when the final is scarcely a fortnight away. As it is, the RFU will cover the extra payment under the loose headings of accommodation, travel and administration of tickets.Pilkington's renewed backing has occurred against an uneasy backdrop, since as things stand neither Leicester nor Bath nor any other members of England's club elite intend participating Hallett, however, ventures to suggest they will.

"We do need every now and again a bit of good news," he said. "We believe there is no intention whatsoever to leave the Pilkington Cup."David Roycroft, Pilkington's head of corporate affairs, added: "The last thing I want to do is get involved in RFU politics but it is quite clear from our actions that we see a great future for this competition." Whether this turns out to be the case will not be resolved this week, because Cliff Brittle, chairman of the RFU, will not meet club representatives until next week at the earliest.By then he will no longer be able to assert, as he has, that English Professional Rugby Union Clubs Ltd (Epruc) does not or cannot speak for the clubs with whom the union is at loggerheads. "Having spoken to Tony Hallett, I'm happy that they are now looking at ways of bringing about a fair amount of revenue for the competing finalists."Leicester have sold pounds 300,000-worth of tickets for the final, which has been a sell-out since before the quarter-finals, and feel entitled to some recompense. "We were concerned about the income we were going to get considering the large administrative costs we have incurred selling tickets," Wheeler said.

However, true to recent form, it was overshadowed.Telephone negotiations between Tony Hallett, the ever-more harassed RFU secretary, and Peter Wheeler, Leicester's chief executive, carried on even while yesterday's announcement was being made. The RFU is now to seek a new sponsor for the shield in conjunction with a competition for intermediate clubs to be introduced next season.After the week it has just had - a breakdown of its relationship both with its own senior clubs, who have announced their withdrawal from cup and league next season, and its neighbouring unions, which are threatening to expel England from the Five Nations' Championship - the RFU was blissfully relieved at finally having some good news to impart. The glass manufacturers' previous three-year deal, also covering the Pilkington Shield for junior clubs, was for pounds 750,000. Faced with yet another cause of controversy with its clubs, the Rugby Football Union yesterday acceded to indignant - and very belated - demands from its Pilkington Cup finalist clubs for a bigger share of the pounds 1.2m proceeds. Rather than have Bath and Leicester boycott the match instead of performing before a world-record club attendance of 75,000 at Twickenham on 4 May, the RFU will indulge in a form of creative accounting to ensure they each receive an additional pounds 10,000 or so on top of the pounds 40,000 already guaranteed. This latest dispute came at an acutely embarrassing time, on the very day that Pilkington was announcing a renewal of its cup sponsorship for pounds 1.1m over three years. World records set by the European champion, Denis Pankratov, cannot be recognised because no drug controls were carried out at the meeting, the international federation, Fina, said yesterday. Pankratov broke the short-course world marks in the 100 and 200 metres butterfly at a World Cup event in Paris, on 3 February clocking 1min 52.34sec in the 200 on 3 February and 51.94 sec in the 100m the following day. Fina decided last November that doping controls should be carried out within 24 hours for a world record to be recognised.The short-course 100m butterfly world record remains with Canada's Marcel Gery (52.07) and the 200m mark with Frenchman Franck Esposito (1:53.05).Pankratov broke the long-course 100 and 200m butterfly records last year..

In the end, we only cut short holidays by three days and, instead of playing friendly matches, we were playing official games."Now I see lots of coaches from teams in mid-table are starting to talk about qualifying for the Intertoto Cup."If Bordeaux have their name inscribed as 1996 Uefa Cup champions, it will all be considered worth it but, curiously, they will not go down as Inter toto winners.The four teams who won their way into the Uefa Cup last summer were paired up in the preliminary round which also counted as the Intertoto semi-finals.That left Bordeaux and another French team, Strasbourg, as Intertoto finalists, but it has apparently never been suggested that this final should ever be played.Bayern, comprehensive quarter-final conquerors of Nottingham Forest, clinched a thrilling 4-3 aggregate win over Barcelona with a 2-1 victory at the Nou Camp.The Spaniards were favourites to reach the final after holding Bayern to a 2-2 draw in Germany but Mehmet Scholl set up Bayern for the vital opening goal.Wing back Markus Babbel, whose terrible back-pass in the first leg led to Barcelona's second goal, made amends by putting Bayern ahead in the 40th minute and the Germans went clear seven minutes from time when Marcel Witezcek made it 2-0.Substitute Ivan de la Pena scored a consolation goal for Barcelona two minutes from time as his side tried desperately to force extra time.The arrival of De la Pena in the final minutes changed the game in which Barcelona had badly missed the Romanian playmaker Gheorghe Hagi, who was out with injury.Without a natural set-piece specialist, the Barcelona coach, Johan Cruyff, turned to Hagi's compatriot Gheorghe Popescu to take a series of dangerous free-kicks that the Spaniards forced in the opening 15 minutes.But neither Popescu nor the Bosnian striker Meho Kodro, who was twice guilty of wasting passes after being put through by Jordi Cruyff, could make the best of Barcelona's early dominance.Bayern's victory, which followed last week's Spanish Cup final extra- time defeat against Atletico Madrid and a disappointing draw against Racing Santander over the weekend to lose ground in the title race, also ended Barcelona's unbeaten home record this season to complete their miserable week.But Cruyff remained philosophical, claiming: "We have to be happy - you have to play well to be still playing the competitions at the end of the season.". League form has undoubtedly suffered though the club president, Alain Afflelou, will hear none of it."I know a lot of coaches were against entering the Intertoto Cup because they thought it would cut short players' holidays and damage pre-season preparations," he said."But I saw it as a reprieve for a team which had narrowly missed out on a Uefa Cup place. I would never have thought that possible," he said.Despite a team boasting three exceptionally talented players in midfielder Zinedine Zidane, striker Christophe Dugarry and defender Bixente Lizarazu, all prime targets for foreign teams, including Arsenal, it can be no surprise the team have been unable to hit the heights on all fronts. Now I believe we can win the trophy."Dutch midfielder Richard Witschge said reaching the final was the end of a long road "In all, we've beaten 11 teams to get this far. Their victory ended an 18-year gap since the last French team reached the Uefa final - Bastia in 1978 - after striker Didier Tholot scored the 46th- minute winner. The match failed to reach the heights of Bordeaux's stunning 3-0 quarter- final win over Milan, after they lost the first leg 2-0 in Italy, but the French club were rarely troubled by the Czechs on the way to their first European final.The Bordeaux coach, Gernot Rohr, said: "It may not have been as thrilling as our match with Milan but it was more important because it has put us into the final. The unfancied French side, lying 15th in their domestic league, sealed a 2-0 aggregate semi-final victory over Slavia Prague with a 1-0 home victory on Tuesday. They began their European quest in the much-maligned Intertoto Cup nine months ago.

Bordeaux will face Bayern Munich next month after completing an 18-match campaign to reach the Uefa Cup final. Wigan have made Skerrett available in order to cut their wage bill, but he would prefer a club nearer his Yorkshire home. Wigan have asked the Western Reds to explain why they played Barrie-Jon Mather in an Optus Cup match without agreeing a transfer with them. Mather failed in court to have himself declared a free agent, but is in the process of an appeal.The former Wigan and Great Britain forward Billy McGinty has been told not to play again for his present club, Workington Town, before the end of May. A brain scan has shown no bruising but McGinty has suffered from headaches since playing in the Fiji Nines in February.Leeds' new signing, Nathan Picchi, is to train with his new team-mates for the first time today and could come into contention for Sunday's game against Sheffield Eagles..