Sporting briefs

Ferreira: Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira has been banned from the touchline for today's Champions League quarter-final, second leg against Manchester United. Ferreira's appeal against a two-match ban for gestures he made to the referee during the first leg of Porto's first knockout round tie against Atletico Madrid in February has been only partially upheld, UEFA said.

Melo: Fiorentina's Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo has been banned for five matches after fighting with Cagliari's Diego Lopez in the tunnel at the weekendy. Uruguayan Lopez has been given the same suspension for Saturday's incident, which happened after Fiorentina's 2-1 home win. Roma's bid for the fourth Champions League qualifying spot has also suffered a blow with news that defender Philippe Mexes will be banned for three games for his red card in Saturday's 4-2 defeat by city rivals Lazio.

Eduardo: Hoffenheim midfielder Carlos Eduardo has been banned for five matches after his red card for elbowing Bochum's Philipp Boenig. Eduardo received a tougher punishment than the usual three-match ban because he was also red-carded during a friendly match against Hamburg in January.

Bullfight ponder: Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has apologised for leaving before the end of the match at home to Real Valladolid to go and watch a friend compete in a bullfight nearby. The Spain international, who was suspended for Sunday's game, left the Bernabeu before the end of his side's 2-0 victory.

CSKA Sofia: Bulgarian company Titan Sport finalised its acquisition of top Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia, 7 Days Sport reported. The Bulgarian group acquired the club from an offshore company linked to Indian businessman Pramod Mittal.

Serie B: Sassuolo vs Avellino 1-1.

Boxing: Oscar De La Hoya, who has held world titles in six different weight classes, announced his retirement from the ring last night. The 36-year-old, arguably the biggest name in contemporary boxing, ended a glittering career with a win-loss record of 39-6. "This was a decision I was going back and forth with, thinking can I do this one more time," De La Hoya said.

Volleyball: The volleyball-playing son of a South African father and Chinese mother is being heralded as the first black athlete to play top level sport in China. Ding Hui, 19, was named in China's national volleyball team this week and is expected to be key to the nation's drive towards the London 2012 Olympics. Ding was raised in Hangzhou city and is a driving force on the Zhejiang provincial volleyball team.

Figure skating: Star Japanese figure skater Fumie Suguri competed in last month's World Championships with a broken rib. The 28-year-old, a world silver medallist in 2006, picked up the injury during practice ahead of the championships and skated with painkillers to finish eighth in the women's singles. The fact that she had broken her rib was only discovered during a more thorough examination last week.

Golf: Argentina's Angel Cabrera soared 51 places to 18th in the world rankings after securing his second major victory at the US Masters. The 39-year-old became the lowest-ranked player to win the coveted Green Jacket since the rankings began in 1986 when he defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a three-way play-off at Augusta National on Sunday. Cabrera's triumph also helped him leap 145 positions to third in the European Tour's inaugural Race to Dubai.

Boxing: Former Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation flyweight champion Noriyuki Komatsu has been found dead after falling from a waterfall, Japanese media reported. The 29-year-old is believed to have accidentally fallen into the pool below while carrying out rigid training after visiting a Kyoto temple for meditation courses. Komatsu had a professional record of 24 wins, six defeats and six draws.

Basket, NBA: Ben Gordon's tie-breaking lay-up with 14 seconds left gave the Chicago Bulls a 91-88 away win over the Detroit Pistons, lifting the visitors into sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The victory helped the Bulls (41-40) leapfrog Philadelphia 76ers (40-40) with two days left in the NBA regular season.