Sporting briefs...

Shevchenko: Andriy Shevchenko is ready to return for Milan in time for their Champions League quarter-final against rivals Inter next week. Milan's medical chief Jean-Pierre Meersseman said Shevchenko could prepare by playing in Saturday's Serie A game with Brescia. "He is fine now and is actually better than we thought he would be at this stage," he said. The Ukrainian striker and European Footballer of the Year has been out of action since breaking his cheekbone in a Serie A match against Cagliari on February 20.

Ronaldo: The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has denied a report on Real Madrid's website that striker Ronaldo has been excused from June's Confederations Cup. "The CBF has announced that it will not release any players from the Confederations Cup," said a statement on the CBF's official website. "The CBF reiterates that, in dealing with an official competition organised by FIFA, it has the right to select the players who are picked by the coaching staff." On Sunday, Real Madrid's official website said Ronaldo had been given permission by the CBF to be rested from the competition. The Confederations Cup includes the champions from six continents plus hosts Germany and Brazil as World Cup holders. It takes place over 15 days with the final on June 29 in Frankfurt.

Club allegiance: Hearts fans have asked the Scottish FA to find out which teams their referees support after Rangers were awarded a late penalty in a 2-1 win over the Edinburgh club this month. Four supporters' groups have written to SFA chief David Taylor to protest about what they view as biased refereeing towards Rangers and Celtic. "We do not believe this is just about Hearts as we believe that every Scottish Premier League club outside Rangers and Celtic has had the same experience," the letter read. Referees and assistants in the English Premier League disclose which clubs they follow and the Hearts fans have urged the SFA to follow suit.

Berkovic: Israeli midfielder Eyal Berkovic has signed a one-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Neither Maccabi nor Berkovic gave details of the contract except that it is for one season, it could be extended and that Berkovic had insisted Maccabi invite 1,000 children from underprivileged areas for each home match. The former Israel international, 33, is making a return to Israeli soccer after a successful nine-year career in Britain during which he played for Southampton, West Ham, Celtic, Blackburn, Manchester City and Portsmouth.

Navarro: Sevilla centre-back Javi Navarro defended himself against accusations of deliberate aggression after a collision that left Real Mallorca forward Juan Arango with serious facial injuries. "I feel I've been tried and sentenced in the last few days," Navarro said. "I've even been called an assassin. But all I did was to protect myself when we challenged for the ball." Arango and Navarro went for a 50-50 ball during Sevilla's 1-0 victory at Mallorca on March 20. Navarro got to the ball first but as the two players collided his elbow caught Arango in the face knocking him unconscious.