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Arsenal cleared over Beveren deal
 Former French international Guillou helped to bring about the deal. LONDON, England -- Arsenal have been cleared by the Football Association of effectively taking over their Belgian feeder club Beveren, in breach of FIFA regulations. FIFA had asked the FA to investigate allegations in a BBC Newsnight program which claimed Arsenal had established control of the Belgian club. In a statement, the FA said they had "not identified any evidence to suggest Arsenal have breached any rules of the FA or the FA Premier League in relation to their dealings with Beveren and specifically any breaches of the FA and FAPL rules concerning dual interests or associations between clubs." The FA said they had passed on all the evidence gathered in the case to FIFA. Newsnight reported on June 1 that Arsenal had covertly handed over £1m ($1.83 million) to fund a 2001 takeover of the Belgian club by a consortium called Goal. Among those involved with Goal was Jean-Marc Guillou, a former French international and a close friend of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who helped set up a football academy in the Ivory Coast, which has produced a string of top players -- including Arsenal defenders Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue. In 2001, Guillou put together a financial restructuring package for heavily-indebted Beveren, who at the time were on the verge of financial collapse. Arsenal said they provided funds to help Beveren stabilize their finances but denied the deal gave them any say in how the club was run. 
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