Sporting briefs

Hosts' upset: 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa suffered another embarrassing home defeat on Tuesday, beaten 1-0 by Guinea in a friendly near Pretoria. The loss followed a 1-0 defeat by Nigeria on Saturday that all but ended South African hopes of qualifying for the next African Nations Cup finals in Angola.

Berlusconi: Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has denied Italian media speculation that he agreed to sell Brazil playmaker Kaka to Chelsea in the future to persuade them to let Andriy Shevchenko return to the San Siro. "I absolutely have not promised Kaka to Chelsea," the Italian premier told Antenna 3 television.

Agent guilty: Former top players' agent Marc Roger has been found guilty of improper management and the forging of documents following a jury trial into the 2005 bankruptcy of Swiss top division club Servette Geneva. The 45-year-old Frenchman, who took over the presidency of the club in the year leading up to its collapse with debts of around $15.06 million, was cleared of fraud and financial mismanagement. The court has not yet sentenced Roger who has already served 18 months on remand.

Fans' cemetery: German Bundesliga club Hamburg opened a cemetery for fans this week, offering its supporters the chance to rest in peace next to the club's stadium. "With the fan cemetery, Hamburg is giving its fans the possibility to remain associated with the club beyond death," a statement on the club's website read.

Bomb alert: Salernitana's Serie B home game against Frosinone on Saturday has been postponed after an unexploded World War II bomb was found near their ground. Around 5,000 people had to be evacuated from the Salerno area while experts tried to disarm the 65-year-old weapon.

In South America: Paraguay vs Venezuela 2-0.

MFA DIV. II/III KO: Mellieħa vs Sta Lucija 0-0; Naxxar vs Żurrieq 2-1.

Boxing: Japanese boxer Daiki Kameda is set to return to the ring in November after serving a one-year ban for a violent meltdown during a world title fight last year. The boxer was hit with the suspension after the fight in which he punched WBC flyweight champion Daisuke Naito as the two men wrestled on the canvas and picked Naito up and slammed him down.

Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has opted against surgery on his little finger to take part in pre-season training. Bryant picked up the injury in February and decided not to undergo surgery in order to finish the NBA season and to go to the Olympics with the US team. After winning a gold medal in Beijing it was expected that the NBA's Most Valuable Player would deal with the injury before the start of the new season.

Davis Cup: World number one Rafael Nadal will lead Spain's Davis Cup team against the United States for their semi-final, captain Emilio Sanchez Vicario said. Along with Nadal, Sanchez Vicario called up David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez and Nicolas Almagro for the tie. The semi-final against the holders will be held outdoors on clay in Madrid's 21,000-seat bullring at Las Ventas on September 19-21.