Blues set to lose Pienaar battle

Everton will almost certainly be forced to release Steven Pienaar for African Nations Cup duty after trying to retain the South African for tomorrow night’s Carling Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea.

The Toffees had hoped that FIFA’s 14-day ruling would allow them to play Pienaar, with South Africa’s first game not being played until January 23, but a spokesman for the sport’s world governing body insists the rule relates to the start date of the tournament, which is January 20.