LONDON -- The head of England's soccer players' union has spoken out against the influx of foreign players in the domestic leagues.


Gordon Taylor was particularly scathing Monday toward clubs trying to sign American players who made an impressive impact at the World Cup in the United States this summer.


Coventry almost signed U.S. defender Alexei Lalas, who eventually went to Italian club Padova, and has since snapped up his World Cup teammate Cobi Jones.


"You don't want people coming in who are no better than the people here, just cheaper," Taylor said. "Not so long ago we were teaching the Americans how to play. Now I've got work permits for them piling up on my desk. It could be disastrous for us."


Taylor warned that big-money transfers -- such as Chris Sutton's British record 5 million pound ($7.5 million) move from Norwich to Blackburn -- were inflating the market, forcing less wealthy clubs to look abroad for cheaper options.


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Tottenham will start the English soccer season level with the rest of the Premier League this weekend, despite having six points deducted from its total.


The Football Association announced Monday that the six points it docked the club over financial irregularities will come off its total at the end of the season, so it doesn't have to face a negative total at the start.


The north London club was originally deducted 12 points from the start of the 1994-95 season by the FA after being found guilty of making irregular payments to players several years ago.


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The Macedonian High Court Monday ordered the extradition of Turkish soccer star Tanju Colak. Colak, the leading scorer in European soccer in the 1987-88 season, fled Turkey 24 hours before a warrant was issued for his arrest last month for knowingly buying a smuggled car. He was arrested last Tuesday at a friend's house in Macedonia.


The Anatolian news agency reported that Colak's extradition will come into effect after the court makes a ruling on Tuesday, but legal procedures will delay his return to Turkey by at least a week. He faces 22 months in prison and a fine of 772 million lire ($24,500).


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Alan Rothenberg survived a bitter campaign to win re-election as the president of the United States Soccer Federation on Saturday, narrowly defeating USSF treasurer Richard Groff on a second ballot.


Rothenberg, who as chairman also presided over the best attended World Cup in history last month, won another four-year term at the USSF's annual general meeting by getting 53.4 percent of the vote, while Groff took 46.6 percent.


Rothenberg said he won because of his record, which includes heading arguably the most successful World Cup in history this summer, that is expected to net the USSF an estimated $20 million to $50 million.


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Bolivian World Cup soccer player Alvaro Pena is in hospital after being attacked by his former wife, police sources said Monday.


Pena, 29, is expected to be in intensive care for a further three days and will take at least six weeks to make a full recovery after being attacked with a kitchen knife by his ex-wife in a jealous rage on Saturday. (Reuters, AP)