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• Prospective Roma buyer has stake in Liverpool ownership
• Uefa rules do not allow influence over more than one club

Will the takeover of Roma by the Boston-based private-equity investor Thomas DiBenedetto have any implications for Liverpool?

Digger only asks this question because DiBenedetto is also a stakeholder in the Fenway Sports Group, which owns 100% of the shares in the Anfield club. As the two teams’ respective leagues currently stand, Roma would qualify for next season’s Europa League. Liverpool are four points off qualification for that competition.

If both clubs qualify, then it is possible Uefa’s rules governing the integrity of its competitions would come in to play. These state: “No individual or legal entity may have control or influence over more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition”. This is defined as “holding a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights” or “being able to exercise by any means a decisive influence in the decision-making of the club”, among other things.

If any clubs fall foul of these rules the lower-ranked team (in this case Roma) would be excluded from the competition. It is possible that these rules would apply in this case, though one can not be certain because it is impossible to ascertain how much of the FSG DiBenedetto owns.

Last week FSG sent out a press release announcing that it would no longer be trading under its former guise of New England Sports Ventures LLC. However, NESV is still the name of the holding company that is registered with the Massachusetts Corporations Division. This official channel has no publicly available information relating to NESV’s equity structures. Neither does the Division of Corporations of the State of Delaware, where NESV is ultimately domiciled.

Usefully for investors who do not wish to disclose their identities or the nature of their investments, Delaware never does oblige them to make public this sort of information. The Premier League does oblige its clubs to make public the identities of any shareholders with stakes in excess of 10%. Regrettably, Liverpool does not do this, saying only: “The sole owner of the Liverpool Football Club and Athletic Grounds Limited is New England Sports Ventures, trading as Fenway Sports Group. John Henry and Tom Werner are generally responsible for the management of Fenway Sports Group.”

Ian Cotton, the Liverpool executive who deals with matters relating to the club’s ownership, could not be contacted. An email to FSG’s generic address went unanswered. So Digger asked the media department of the Boston Red Sox what it knew of FSG, the parent it shares with Liverpool. It responded that it would attempt to put Digger in touch with DiBenedetto (he did not call back last night either, although he was probably quite busy putting his deal for Roma together). It also said that the identity of the clubs’ shareholders and their respective stakes “is not public information”.

The one little chink of light FSG has recently shed on who owns it is as follows: “Fenway Sports Group is led by Principal Owner John Henry and Chairman Tom Werner, with additional ownership interests being held by a select number of prestigious individuals and The New York Times.” Why so secret? Surely fans are entitled to know who owns their club, whether they are baseball or football fans, because sometimes it just might have an impact on the integrity of a competition.

West Ham to upgrade Olympic stadium

West Ham United will spend £90m on a stadium upgrade in an effort to fix the problems suffered by other football-club tenancies of Olympic stadiums.

The Hammers take over the Stratford site after the Paralympic Games next year. Then they will direct a sum equivalent to that Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson spent on his ill-fated takeover of the club in 2006. The experience of other clubs who have moved in to purpose-built Olympic stadiums suggests West Ham have their work cut out in getting it right. The US private-equity investor Thomas DiBenedetto was quoted by the Gazzetta Dello Sport yesterday that the Stadio Olimpico does not serve Roma, the club he is buying this week, sufficiently well.

“The Olimpico simply just do justice to the fans’ passion; the stands are too far away from the pitch and the noise from the crowd is not the same at that distance,” said DiBenedetto. “A new stadium is a must, an English-style stadium so that it benefits the players too.” Roma’s difficulties may relate as much to the age of the stadium – it is 52 years old. However there have been similar complaints from Espanyol about their occupancy of the 20-year-old Barcelona Olympic stadium. West Ham insist their fans will benefit from a vibrant atmosphere, will invest in retractable seating and a new roof, in an effort to keep the noise in.

Dream come true for England mascots

The FA made it a once-in-a-lifetime experience for 10 young people who were the mascots at England’s game against Ghana on Wednesday night. Every one of them represented one of the FA’s charity partners: Action for Children, the Bobby Moore Fund, Coaching for Hope and Street League. The 10-year-old Jake Hancox, a sufferer of Asperger Syndrome, was one of Action For Children’s representatives. He had never been able to join his older brother in playing the game in organised matches but at Wembley the FA gave him the opportunity to do something in football most other kids can only ever dream of.

Follow Matt Scott on Twitter: @diggermattscott

LiverpoolRomaMatt Scottguardian.co.uk

Rafa Benítez gambled and won as Liverpool moved back up to fifth with a victory that was stylish as well as convincing. Either throwing caution to the wind or realising that he could afford to take a few risks against the bottom-placed club, Benítez backed up Fernando Torres with Alberto Aquilani as well as Ryan Babel and was rewarded when all three made it on to the score sheet.

Perhaps a comfortable stroll against a team with Portsmouth’s problems does not represent a turning point or even a return to business as usual for Liverpool but though at least the respite was welcome after two successive defeats and a truly grim performance at Wigan. For an eerie first half-hour until the goals arrived Anfield was noticeably quiet. By the end there were not only songs to sing and spontaneous bursts of applause for crisp passing moves but Aquilani’s first goal in English football. “He is a good player and that will increase his confidence but we had many good players tonight,” Benítez said.

Liverpool’s win would have been more emphatic still had Stuart Attwell awarded a penalty when Glen Johnson was scythed down by Nadir Belhadj midway through the second half, though equally Liverpool would have been down to 10 men had the referee spotted Steven Gerrard’s elbow on Brown, an assault that may jeopardise his involvement against Manchester United on Sunday should the official be invited to review his decision. Attwell penalised Gerrard for flooring Brown yet could not have seen the nature of the foul, otherwise a red card would have been produced. Benítez said he had not seen the incident.

Unusually poor delivery by Gerrard saw Liverpool waste a succession of free-kicks and corners in the opening minutes,, and Torres might have had an early penalty when Ricardo Rocha appeared to handle his shot in the area, though there were signs of growing understanding in a reshaped midfield. Aquilani started to link with Maxi Rodríguez and both were involved in setting up Gerrard for a shot that flew high into the Kop. Then the Italian was unlucky when his first-time volley missed by inches after Rodríguez’s pass dropped over his shoulder.

It took a double mistake by the reserve goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown to open the floodgates for Liverpool. First his weak clearance was returned by Gerrard, then he dallied too long over Rocha’s backpass and allowed the Liverpool captain to charge down his next attempt. Rodríguez unselfishly squared to Torres and the home side were in front. Two minutes later Liverpool doubled their lead and effectively killed the game, something of a rarity in these parts nowadays, when Torres picked up Johnson’s cross at the far post and comprehensively beat Steve Finnan to allow Babel to check round his marker and score.

Torres was again the provider for Aquilani’s goal, this time with a neat backheel. Once Gerrard’s dummy had wrongfooted the defence it was simple for Aquilani to slide in a shot from close to the penalty spot. “We went to sleep for seven minutes,” Avram Grant said after losing to Liverpool for the first time. “We made a mistake but you need to be awake all the time.”

Liverpool could have had more before the interval, with Torres striking a post and Gerrard putting a good chance wide, though Portsmouth showed character in keeping going. Frédéric Piquionne in particular was a handful for the home defence, on one occasion being rather harshly recalled after breaking clear from Daniel Agger for what appeared minimal contact. Then, as half-time approached, he cut in powerfully from the right and rolled a shot narrowly past Pepe Reina’s right-hand upright.

Ashdown partially atoned for his first-half errors by denying Gerrard and Babel in quick succession at the start of the second half though, not to be outdone, Reina produced an splendidly instinctive save, throwing out a hand to deflect the ball over the bar when Michael Brown seemed certain to score. The Liverpool goalkeeper produced one of the evening’s most inspired pieces of distribution, setting Babel free down the left wingwith a kick from his hands of perfect weight and accuracy. Babel galloped eagerly into acres of space, beyond Finnan, then spoiled the moment by crossing to no one in particular. It was not a total surprise. Liverpool were much improved, complete transformations take a little longer.

They scored their fourth with a typical finish from Torres, picked out by a precise pass from the impressive Aquilani, before Portsmouth gained a not undeserved consolation goal in the 89th minute, Belhadj tapping in after Piquionne had volleyed his cross back across goal to leave Reina furious at being denied a clean sheet. The question now is how much Liverpool’s teamsheet at Old Trafford will resemble this one.

Premier LeagueLiverpoolPortsmouthPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk

Liverpool are on the brink of elimination from the Champions League after conceding a close-range equaliser to the otherwise muted Argentinian Lisandro López in the last minute. The visitors, third in the group, are now five points adrift of Fiorentina immediately above them. A mere two fixtures remain for Rafael Benítez’s men.

They deserved far better last night, after dominating here. An utterly deserved victory seemed inevitable when the substitute Ryan Babel turned to drive a 30-yarder high into the net after 83 minutes. Despite the outcome, there can only be admiration for the endeavour of the visitors.

There was nothing self-pitying about the way Liverpool approached this test and the clearest chances belonged to them in the first half. The difficulties facing Benítez were made manifest by the fact that the outstanding opportunity in that spell was wasted by Andriy Voronin. Fans of the club would have been appalled yet not wholly surprised that he should fire against the goalkeeper Hugo Llloris after breaking through on to a long ball from Lucas after 28 minutes.

That had been the simplest opening, but there were others that might have been taken. Lyon had their excuses in injuries that required two substitutions before half-time, but there was a lethargy about Claude Puel’s men that had never been glimpsed during the win at Anfield.

The coach had tinkered with his selection and Liverpool’s left-back Emiliano Insúa ought to have been euphoric that Sidney Govou, his tormentor of two weeks ago, was on the bench. If anything lowered Liverpool’s spirits, it would have been their wastefulness. When Insúa’s cross broke to Fernado Torres in the 12th minute, the Spaniard directed a poor attempt against Llloris. Dirk Kuyt deserved credit minutes later for a good try that the goalkeeper tipped over the bar.

Liverpool were free of self pity despite the miseries endured of late. Benítez can find no enjoyment in this troubled Champions League campaign, but his reputation is that of a strategist and the challenge here was to think his way out of a crisis. He was bold in his use of a 4-4-2 system designed to apply pressure. Still, the handicaps borne by Liverpool should not be understated.

The news that the line-up had just a couple of alterations from the team that downed Manchester United 10 days ago would have been met with ambivalence. It meant that there was a numerical degree of continuity, but the differences were still substantial. Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Voronin came in for Glen Johnson and Fabio Aurelio, although not as direct replacements.

It looked more like a significant degree of disruption when it was realised that this was merely Kyrgiakos’s fifth start for the club. Voronin has appeared far more often, but seldom to the satisfaction of the supporters. The club’s plight was underlined as well by the need to resort to Jamie Carragher as a right-back.

The role is familiar to him, but those who believe his lack of pace is becoming more pronounced would not have wanted to see him there. Apart from that, he had been a major factor in the defeat of United when he challenged pugnaciously in and around the penalty area. There had, all the same, to be trust in Benítez. The manager has earned that much after ensuring that Liverpool famously survived previous scrapes in this tournament.

Any surprise here still lay with the passivity of Lyon. It brought back memories of the fact that they had looked near to defeat at Anfield until their two goals in a late spurt. It was the measure of Liverpool’s endeavour and confidence before half-time at Stade Gerland that the worth of Puel’s men was being doubted once more.

Liverpool took vast encouragement from the tentativeness of their opponents. Lyon had not resembled men inflamed by the knowledge that a win would clinch their place in the knockout phase. The visitors were galvanised by their plight.

In the second period it came virtually as a surprise when Lyon’s Michel Bastos had an opening after being picked out by the overlapping left-back Aly Cissokho, but he headed high. The onus, all the same, lay with Liverpool. With half an hour remaining the home side did start to act as if they would no longer allow their opponents to dictate the nature of the game.

There was no high excitement from them immediately, but Lyon were more vigorous and alert. A scrappy second-half was exasperating for Liverpool when a share could not be satisfactory. Despite Torres’ injury problems, Benítez was reluctant to replace such a striker at first, and Voronin made way for Babel in the first substitution for Liverpool.

The visitors were on the verge of a goal in the 69th minute. Lucas’s shot was parried by Lloris and Kuyt’s overhead kick was then cleared. Benítez’s men might have claimed a moral victory, but they had required more than that.

Champions LeagueLyonLiverpoolKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk