Sporting briefs

Clarke: Chelsea stalwart Steve Clarke was confirmed as West Ham United's first team coach yesterday. Chelsea failed to accept Clarke's resignation last week but agreed a compensation figure with West Ham yesterday, allowing Clarke to join Italian Gianfranco Zola in a new management team at Upton Park. West Ham said Clarke had signed a three-year contract.

Chelsea: Chelsea have appealed against the straight red card given to captain John Terry during Saturday's 3-1 victory at Man. City. Terry was sent off in the 77th minute for hauling down Brazilian Jo and his automatic ban rules him out of Saturday's home league game with Manchester United. The FA said it would consider the appeal today.

Ernst banned: Schalke 04 midfielder Fabian Ernst will be suspended for three matches after being sent off for a late tackle in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Borussia Dortmund, the German FA said. Ernst was red-carded in the 77th minute after a terrible foul on Jakub Blaszczykowski. Schalke, who were leading 3-0 midway through the second half, also had Christian Pander sent off for a second booking .

Metsu: Kuwait, without a national team coach in over three months, are interested in hiring United Arab Emirates' French coach Bruno Metsu, if he gets fired, Kuwaiti media reported. Metsu's team are bottom of their World Cup qualifying group having lost the first two final-round matches, sparking speculation he could be axed by the UAE's notoriously impatient soccer officials.

Bundesliga: The Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Karlsruhe, postponed on Friday after a Madonna concert left the pitch unplayable, has been rescheduled for October 22, the German Football League said in a statement.

English Premier League: Tottenham 1 (Bent 87) Aston Villa 2 (Reo-Coker 5, Young 54).

Italian football: Serie B - Ascoli vs Triestina 1-1; Salernitana vs Frosinone 3-2. Prima Divisione (Grp B) - Arezzo vs Juve Stabia 2-2.

Division Two/Three KO: Lija vs Siġġiewi 7-1; Sta Luċija vs Kirkop United 0-1 (Kirkop through to quarter-finals.

Cycling: Danilo Di Luca has been omitted from the Italian men's team for the world championships later this month. Di Luca, the 2007 Giro d'Italia champion, has struggled to regain his form after being cleared of wrongdoing in a doping probe. Paolo Bettini, who won last year's elite competition at the world championships in Stuttgart, has been named in the nine-man team for the Sept. 28 road race in Varese.

Tennis: The Bali Classic will be transformed next year into one of the most prestigious events on the WTA Tour calendar, offering a $1 million bonus. Currently held in the week following the US Open and won on Sunday by Patty Schnyder, the event will be renamed the Tournament of Champions with increased prize money from $225,000 to $600,000. The tournament will take place indoors from Nov. 4-8.

Rugby: All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen has claimed an Australian television network filmed one of their closed training sessions and handed the footage to the Wallabies before Saturday's final Tri-Nations encounter. Both the Australian team and a reporter for the Channel Seven network denied the claim. The All Blacks came back from 17-7 down with 30 minutes to play to win 28-24 and clinch their fourth successive Tri-Nations title.