Sporting briefs

Dutch play-offs

Marcus Berg scored twice to help Groningen to a 5-3 aggregate win over Utrecht yesterday in the Dutch play-offs for a UEFA Cup place. Groningen will face NEC Nijmegen, who eliminated Roda JC Kerkrade with a 3-0 aggregate win, for a place in Europe's second-tier club competition. On Saturday, Twente Enschede reached the play-off final for a place in the Champions League third qualifying round by beating NAC Breda 8-1 on aggregate. They will face either Ajax or Heerenveen.

Milan

Ronaldinho is not needed at Milan, club owner Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday, but Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini should sign for the club today. Milan had agreed personal terms with Ronaldinho's agent but have said Barcelona's price of 40 million euros for the Brazil forward is too much. Their pursuit of Ronaldinho intensified during Berlusconi's recent election campaign, where he won a third term as Italian prime minister, but now Milan's interest has cooled. FRENCH APPEAL: The French Football Federation said it would appeal to one of the country's highest courts for the reinstatement of a one-point deduction imposed on Ligue 2 side Bastia which was suspended by a local tribunal last week. The sanction was handed down to Bastia, who are mid-table in Ligue 2, by the French League after the team's fans displayed a racist banner targeting Libourne-St Seurin's Burkina Faso-born striker Boubacar Kebe before a match in February.

Ibrahimovic

Inter and Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic could return to action next Sunday and will be fit to play in Euro 2008, he told Swedish newspaper Sydsvenska Dagbladet. "There are two matches left in the league and possibly two cup matches," he told the newspaper after a training session in the southern Swedish city of Malmo. "Perhaps I can play even as early as next Sunday."

Ligue 1

St Etienne vs Lille 0-0; Marseille vs Bordeaux 1-2.

Leading standings: Lyon 73; Bordeaux 71; Nancy 60; Marseille 58; St Etienne 54; Lille 53; S. Rennes 52.

Primera Liga

Ath. Bilbao vs Mallorca 1-2; Barcelona vs Valencia 6-0; Levante vs Espanyol 1-1; Santander vs Real Murcia 3-2; Sevilla vs Valladolid 2-0; Almeria vs Real Betis 1-1; Villarreal vs Getafe 2-0; Osasuna vs Real Madrid 1-2.

Leading standings: Real Madrid 78 (champions); Villarreal 68; Barcelona 64; Atl. Madrid 58; R. Santander 56; Sevilla 55; Mallorca 50.

Snooker

World Championship final (latest): O'Sullivan leads Carter 10-5.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.