Sporting briefs

Barcelona: Former France defender Lilian Thuram and winger Santi Ezquerro have completed their contracts and been released from Barcelona. Thuram, 36, failed a medical test ahead of a move to Paris St Germain last week after the French club detected a heart problem. He will undergo further tests to see if he can continue playing and complete the move. Ezquerro, 31, leaves after three seasons spent mainly on the bench.

Video officials: The head of the Italian Referees Association believes it is a matter of time before football follows the lead of other sports and uses video officials. "It's clear that sooner or later UEFA and FIFA will have to understand that it will be difficult to do without (video replays)," AIA head Cesare Gussoni said. But Gussoni said he was not convinced about the idea of introducing goalmouth referees. "We already struggle with four men on the field, it'll be even worse with two more," he said.

Barton: Newcastle midfield Joey Barton pleaded guilty yesterday to assaulting team-mate Ousmane Dabo during a training session last year when both played for Manchester City. Barton attacked Dabo after an argument over a late tackle as the players were leaving the pitch.

De Rossi: Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi has extended his contract with Roma by three years until June 2012, the Serie A club said. Next season the 24-year-old will earn a gross salary of €7.2 million a year under the new deal, a figure which will gradually go up to 8.1 million for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns.

Vieri: Former Italy forward Christian Vieri is to have a third stint at Atalanta next season. The 34-year-old spent the 1995-96 season at the Bergamo side and came back in the 2006-07 campaign on a minimum-wage contract as he tried to revive his career after a knee injury. News of Vieri's likely return was met last week with posters of protest put up by fans angry that he left last season for Fiorentina.

Napoli: Napoli have bought 26-year-old Argentine striker German Denis from Independiente. Denis has signed a five-year contract.

SPL TV deal: The Scottish Premier League (SPL) announced a new four-year television deal with Setanta Sports which is worth 125 million. The deal for domestic broadcast rights extends the SPL's partnership with Setanta and runs from the 2010/11 season to the end of 2013/04.

Cycling: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected an appeal yesterday by American cyclist Floyd Landis against a two-year doping ban. The 32-year-old American, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a dope test, was ordered to pay $100,000 towards the cost of arbitration over the ban, which started on Jan. 30, 2007. "The decision sends a strong reminder that no athlete is above the rules," a USADA spokesman said.

Basketball: US centre Dwight Howard has a stress fracture of his sternum and missed the team's one-day training camp in Las Vegas last weekend, but still expects to play at the Olympics. The Orlando Magic player sustained the injury during his team's second round play-off defeat by the Detroit Pistons in May. Howard expects to be fit for the US team's pre-Olympic training camp on July 21.

Athletics: Japan's Nobuharu Asahara will compete in his fourth Olympics after being named in his country's athletics squad yesterday. The 36-year-old secured his spot in August's Beijing Games by finishing runner-up in the 100 metres at the Japanese national championships at the weekend behind Naoki Tsukahara. Asahara's personal best in the 100 is a modest 10.02 seconds.