Fifa are hoping new credit card scheme will be just the ticket

David Will is behind a revolutionary plan by Fifa that will result in match tickets being replaced by an electronic credit card.

The Brechin City director has been designated by world football's governing body to devise a "smart card" to be introduced at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

The idea is that fans will order a card for the three opening games and each subsequent match their country plays after that. Supporters will supply their financial details and will have their account debited after each game.

A Fifa spokesman said: "David Will will oversee the development of a smart card scheme for the next World Cup. The card will have coded information that will give the holder access for Scotland games at the finals, for example. We will then debit the account of the card holder for the matches he wishes to attend.

"We hope that this will mean there will be no tickets printed for the next finals. However, I would stress the scheme is still at a very early stage and far from being confirmed."

Last year's World Cup ticketing arrangements were heavily criticised with most countries complaining they had not received enough briefs. Scotland, for example, only received 5,000 tickets out of 80,000 for the opening game against Brazil in the Stade de France. Even when the organisers did release more tickets, their hotline was undermanned and only caused more problems.

Will, a vice-president of Fifa, will now be put in charge of operations to implement the new electronic scheme and also try to ensure there will be no repeat of the problems that arose last year.

o Paul Gascoigne has claimed that the current state of Premiership refereeing is in danger of turning football into a farce.

Middlesbrough star Gascoigne was controversially sent off for dissent with seconds remaining of his side's match with Chelsea last month, and he believes referees must begin to give players more leeway, otherwise the situation could get out of hand.

Gascoigne, speaking on Sky Sports' Soccer AM, said: "I think in a couple of years' time you're going to get sent off for sneezing. You just call a ref the W word and you get sent off for it. I think it's going to become like netball shortly."

Meanwhile, Patrick Vieira fears his bad-boy image will damage his reputation in English football. The Arsenal midfielder was sent off against West Ham last Sunday and later charged with misconduct by the Football Association for spitting at Neil Ruddock.

"I worry about how I'm going to be remembered," Vieira told ITV's On the Ball programme. "I do not want people to think of me as a bad person. I don't think I deserve a long suspension. I only live to play football; this is my life.

"When I saw what I did on television I did not feel it was me. It is the first time in my life I have done anything like that. I want to say sorry to everyone, especially the Arsenal fans."

o Motherwell are preparing to join Hibs in the chase for Celtic's veteran defender Tosh McKinlay, writes Alex Gordon. The frozen-out former international left-back signed a new one-year deal at the start of the season, but has been ignored by head coach John Barnes.

McKinlay, who will be 35 in December, will be allowed to move on for a nominal fee before he is free to go at the end of the campaign under the Bosman Ruling.

Hibs boss Alex McLeish made the first move for the former Hearts star a week ago and is weighing up the possibility of making a bid.

Motherwell, though, were keen on the player in the summer when it looked as though he would be quitting Parkhead. Now they are showing an interest again and could make a move within the next 48 hours.

That would mean McKinlay joining up with his former Old Firm rivals Andy Goram and John Spencer at Fir Park.

Celtic, meanwhile, will have to react swiftly to get international midfielder Paul Lambert to sign a new deal in the forthcoming weeks.

Barnes is confident the former Borussia Dortmund star will agree a two-year extension on his current deal, but there is interest from abroad in the 30-year-old.

Spanish sides, in particular, like the look of the cultured Lambert, currently standing in as Celtic skipper in place of the injured Tom Boyd.

The player has gone on record as saying he would like to end his playing days at Parkhead, but that will not stop Atletico Madrid from attempting to lure him to the Primera Liga. Celtic hope to have talks with Lambert this month to settle the issue.

o English First Division high-fliers Manchester City have joined the chase for St Johnstone star John O'Neil, writes Gordon Currie. The Maine Road club sent a scout to run the rule over the midfielder as soon as Sandy Clark transfer listed him.

The scout returned south with a positive report after watching O'Neil shine against Monaco in the Uefa Cup-tie at McDiarmid Park. Now City manager Joe Royle is planning to have a look himself.

O'Neil and defender John McQuillan were put up for sale after failing to agree new terms with the Perth club. Clark wants to avoid a repeat of last season when Philip Scott moved to Sheffield Wednesday for just #75,000. He is keen to raise what he can for O'Neil and McQuillan before they go out of contract and move for nothing.

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