Sporting briefs

Nihat: Turkish champions Besiktas are in talks with Spanish side Villarreal over the transfer of their Turkey international striker Nihat Kahveci, 29. Popular Turkish newspaper Sabah reported that Nihat, who spent four years at Besiktas between 1998 and 2002 after graduating from their youth set-up, has agreed to sign a four-year contract at the club.

Burdisso: Inter defender Nicolas Burdisso does not intend to leave Inter despite reports that he will be seeking pastures new this summer. The 28-year-old defender is once again being linked with a move to Fiorentina. "My desire is to continue playing for Inter. I have spoken with Mourinho and he said that he is happy with me and I have a lot to give Inter," Burdisso said.

Friendly: Real Madrid and Milan will contest the Santiago Bernabeu trophy in the Spanish capital on August 25. The trophy commemorates former club president Bernabeu and is played each year at the stadium that bears his name with a different team invited each time.

Johnson: Birmingham City have signed Cardiff City defender Roger Johnson for £5 million. "Premier League football is the dream at the start of any footballer's career, so I am pleased I have been given that chance with Birmingham," Johnson told reporters. The 26-year-old centre-back, who has signed a three-year deal, left Cardiff after three years and was manager Alex McLeish's sixth signing since winning promotion to the top flight last season.

Racism charge: Argentine striker Maxi Lopez, of Gremio, was accused of racism by midfielder Elicarlos, of Cruzeiro, after the team's Libertadores Cup semi-final first leg this week. "Maxi Lopez called me a macaco (monkey), he said that to me," Elicarlos told reporters after Cruzeiro's 3-1 victory in Belo Horizonte, adding that he would report the incident to the police. Elicarlos, who is black, and Lopez had a heated argument on the pitch during the first half.

Cricket: Players will be allowed to challenge close umpiring calls after the controversial video review system was cleared by the ICC. The experiment, allowing players a set number of unsuccessful challenges per innings, was trialled in four test series before it came up for review.

Motorcycling: Italy's Marco Simoncelli, the 250cc world champion, will race for Honda Gresini in his debut MotoGP season next year. "Marco has in his DNA that grit and character we want," team principal Fausto Gresini said. Simoncelli will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Valentino Rossi, who is targeting his 100th bike victory in this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

Cycling: Spaniard Alberto Contador will be Astana's leader on the Tour de France, team manager Johan Bruyneel said. Contador, winner of the Tour in 2007, will be helped by seven-times champion Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden. The Tour de France starts on July 4 in Monaco.

Swimming: Germany's double Olympic champion Britta Steffen set a new world record in the 100 metres freestyle at a meet in Berlin yesterday. Steffen won the preliminary heat of the German national championships in a time of 52.85 seconds, beating the mark of 52.88 set by Australia's Libby Trickett in March 2008.

Ryder Cup: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden are to bid to stage to the 2018 Ryder Cup, the European Tour said yesterday. The deadline for confirmation of the bids is April 20, 2010 and the winning bid will be announced in 2011.

Ice hockey: Six-times NHL All Star Sergei Fedorov has signed a two-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the Russian club said. Fedorov, 39, was negotiating with several NHL teams but decided to return to Russia, ending an 18-year career which included winning three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings.