Sporting briefs

Iraq: The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal by the Iraqi FA against FIFA for clearing Qatar of blame for fielding an ineligible player in a World Cup qualifier and upheld Qatar's victory in the match. FIFA exonerated Qatar over their decision to field naturalised Brazilian Emerson in their 2-0 win over Iraq in March, denying the Asian champions a chance to reach their first World Cup in 24 years.

Eriksson: Sven-Goran Eriksson considered picking foreigners during his time as England coach, according to the FA's former executive director David Davies. Davies said Eriksson suggested four players who were uncapped by their countries and could be brought into the England squad under FIFA's eligibility rules. Eriksson, now in charge of Mexico, considered selecting Italian goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, Brazilian midfielder Edu and French pair Steed Malbranque and Louis Saha.

Totti: Roma striker Francesco Totti will miss today's Champions League match at Bordeaux because of a knee problem, the club said. Goalkeeper Doni has also been ruled out for the Italian side, who lost their opening game 2-1 to unheralded Romanians CFR Cluj in Rome.

Friendly: Scotland are to play Argentina in a friendly at Hampden Park on Nov. 19. "We want Scotland fans to see the players pit themselves against the best in the world and there are few teams better than Argentina," said Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith.

Cahill: Everton midfielder Tim Cahill will be banned for three matches after the English Football Association dismissed his appeal against the red card he was shown in the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool on Saturday. The Premier League club said the Australian international would miss the forthcoming matches against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Parma: Italians Parma, who dropped out of the top flight last season, have sacked coach Luigi Cagni and brought in former Palermo boss Francesco Guidolin. Parma, UEFA Cup winners in 1995 and 1999, are 14th in Serie B with six points from six games.

Cycling: Lance Armstrong is still hoping to make his comeback in next year's Tour Down Under in January despite being ineligible to return to racing until Feb. 1, the record seven-times Tour de France winner said yesterday. The 37-year-old American is banking on an exemption to allow him to take part in the six-day race in South Australia from Jan. 20-25. "It's my hope that I get down there," Armstrong said. "We'll respect whatever decision they come down with."

Rugby: Japan has formally applied to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The Japan Rugby Football Union said they had sent a letter of intent to the IRB confirming the country's bid for both the 2015 and 2019 tournaments. Japan lost out to New Zealand in the bidding for the 2011 World Cup.