Sporting briefs

Ribery: Bayern Munich's appeal against the three-match ban handed to Franck Ribery, which is set to keep him out of the Champions League final, will be heard by UEFA on May 5 in Nyon. The Frenchman was shown a straight red card for treading on the foot of Lyon striker Lisandro Lopez in the first-leg semi-final on April 21 which Bayern won 1-0 in Munich.

Blanc: Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc revealed yesterday that his decision on whether to stay with the reigning French champions or bid to take over as national boss will depend on how his club finishes this season. "I haven't made up my mind. What other way can I tell you, in Chinese, in English..." said Blanc.

Eduardo: Arsene Wenger believes Eduardo remains "very important" to Arsenal, but is set for talks with the Croatian striker over his future. The 27-year-old has battled back from a career-threatening injury, when he suffered a broken leg and ankle at Birmingham during February 2008. Wenger said: "Eduardo is very important, but I will assess that situation and sit down with him before the end of the season, to see how he feels."

False passports: Four Argentinian footballers suspected of having used false Italian passports to play in Europe have been summoned to appear before a judge in Buenos Aires at an as-yet-undetermined date. Diego Placente, who plays for Bordeaux, Zaragoza goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo, Panathinaikos midfielder Sebastian Leto and Boca Juniors defender Juan Forlin all received summons along with Forlin's father Hugo.

Cisse: Djibril Cisse assured Panathinaikos fans that he would honour his contract with the current Greek champions. "I have a four-year contract. I will remain here," the 29-year-old, the leading scorer in the Greek Super League this season, said.

Vida: Domagoj Vida, a defender with Croatian first division side Osijek, signed a five-year contract for German club Bayer Leverkusen. "I am so happy that everything is over and that I have joined a great club," the 21-year-old Vida said after the 2.4-million-euro transfer was finalised.

MFA Division Three: Pembroke vs Kalkara 4-2; Naxxar Lions vs Sirens 4-1; Żejtun vs Xgħajra 5-0.

Snooker: Graeme Dott fired the second 146 break of the World Championship as he extended his lead over Mark Selby in their semi-final clash. Having resumed at 5-3, Dott produced his near-maximum clearance in the 13th frame to move into an 8-5 advantage. A 147 was never on as Dott took a pink early on but his smooth display was enough to put him on track to share the 10,000-pound prize for the highest break with Mark Allen. Other SF: Robertson leads Carter 15-9.

Boxing: Japan's Toshiaki Nishioka pulled off a technical knockout victory over Balweg Bangoyan, of the Philippines, to retain his WBC super bantamweight title yesterday. The knockout came one minute 14 seconds into the fifth round. It was the fourth defence of the title for the 33-year-old Nishioka, who improved his record to 36 wins.

Basketball: China's sports authorities named Robert Donewald to coach the national team, after the American took the Shanghai Sharks to the semi-finals in the country's pro league. Donewald will coach the team at this year's World Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Cycling: American cyclist Lance Armstrong announced that he and his girlfriend are expecting their second child in a year. Armstrong made the announcement using the social networking site Twitter indicating that the new-born could arrive in October. It would be the fifth child for Armstrong who also has three children from a former wife. Armstrong and his girlfriend Anna Hansen had a son, Max, last summer.

Basket, NBA: Manu Ginobili, who played with a bandage on his broken nose, scored 26 points as San Antonio beat Dallas 97-87 in game six, handing the Mavericks another first-round NBA play-off exit. The Spurs got payback after second seeded Dallas ousted them a year ago.

Cricket: A new variety of mango has been named after India's record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar in honour of his cricketing success. Kalimullah Khan said he has created a hybrid version of the creamy, sweet-tasting fruit by combining two of the finest Indian varieties, including the Chausa. "There is no player like Tendulkar in the whole world and that's why I have named this mango Sachin," the elderly farmer said.