Around the world: British fan give Ince a fat lip. World Cup ticket fiasco continues.

(Thursday, April 23, 1998) -- Paul Ince, one of the heroes of England's qualification for the World Cup, was punched by one of his own fans after Wednesday's 3-0 victory against Portugal.

Police arrested a 33-year-old Englishman, believed to be a West Ham fan, and released him on bail pending possible charges. According to Football Association spokesman Steve Double, the Liverpool midfielder was signing autographs and having his photo taken with fans after the game.

Ince often has been criticized by West Ham fans after he walked out on the club to move to Manchester United eight seasons ago. "If the punch had landed on my jaw, it would have broken it," he said. "I got away with a sore lip. The fact that my wife Claire was with me at the time meant it was not very nice at all. I am treating this as an isolated incident."

Just 35,000 tickets for the World Cup have been sold in the two days French phone banks have been open, organizers said. Some 90 operators received five million calls from France and two million calls from 17 other European countries today, according to the French Organizing Committee.

They reported about 20 million calls Wednesday. Some 110,000 tickets were available at the start of the hotline.

Ottmar Hitzfeld has signed a two-year contract to take over from Giovanni Trapattoni as coach of Bayern Munich (Germany). He led Borussia Dortmund to the European Champions Cup last year, and is the club's sporting director this season.

Real Madrid (Spain) players will receive $262,000 apiece if they defeat Juventus (Italy) for the European Champions League title May 20 in Amsterdam, according to club president Lorenzo Sanz. Coach Jupp Heynckes is under contract for $393,000 if the team triumphs.

Club America (Mexico) tied River Plate, 1-1, in the South American Libertadores Cup second round, first-leg match in Mexico City. Second match will be April 30 in Argentina. Gabriel Cedres scored for Club America.

Other results:
Alianza (Peru) 1, Penarol (Uruguay) 0
Cerro Porteno (Paraguay) 1, America (Colombia) 0
Nacional (Uruguay) 1, Gremio (Brazil) 1
Barcelona (Ecuador) 2, Colo Colo (Chile) 1
Vasco da Gama (Brazil) 2, Cruzeiro (Brazil) 1
*Bolivar (Bolivia) 2, Bucaramanga (Colombia) 1
(*) - First teams named were home except for Bolivar

Still to be played:
Olimpia (Paraguay) at Colon (Argentina)