Sporting briefs

Norwich: Norwich sacked manager Bryan Gunn yesterday, less than a week into the new League One season. Gunn paid the price for his side's humiliating 7-1 home defeat against Colchester in their first match of the season last weekend.

Zhirkov: New Chelsea signing Yuri Zhirkov will miss the opening game of the Premier League season at home to Hull today after failing to recover from a knee injury in time to make Carlo Ancelotti's first squad. But the new Italian manager, who said the 18 million pound 25-year-old Russian midfielder should be fit in a week, will be sure to use him in the London side's high profile multi-national team after indicating he was keen to rotate his squad.

Bolton: Bolton Wanderers have signed South Korean winger Lee Chung-yong from FC Seoul for an undisclosed fee. Lee, 21, who has scored two goals in 16 appearances for his country, becomes Bolton's fifth signing of the transfer window after agreeing a three-year-deal.

Sevilla Sponsor: Sevilla have agreed a two-year shirt sponsorship deal with Asian online gaming company 12BET. The www.12BET. com website is operated by Pacific Sea Invests SA, a remote gambling operator licensed in the Philippines, that offers sports betting products and services to European and Asian markets. Sevilla finished third in the Primera Liga in May behind Real Madrid and champions Barcelona.

Gignac: Andre-Pierre Gignac followed his starring performance for France in Wednesday's narrow World Cup qualifier win over the Faroe Islands by signing a new deal with Toulouse yesterday. The 23-year-old, heavily courted by former France champions Lyon over the close season, has decided to extend his stay by a year up to 2013.

Vignal: Birmingham agreed to sign former Liverpool defender Gregory Vignal. He joined Alex McLeish's promoted squad on a one-year contract. The 28-year-old French left-back played for McLeish during a loan spell at Rangers and impressed the Blues manager during a trial this pre-season.

Carlsberg Tournament: Qormi vs Marsaxlokk 2-0; Birkirkara vs Hibs 2-2 (Birkirkara win tournament).