Sporting briefs

Bologna: Reports from England suggest Bologna are close to capturing Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic on loan. The 22-year-old Serb needs regular playing time to develop and Bologna would be the ideal destination. It’s believed the official confirmation of this transfer could be announced towards the end of next week.

Karimi: Iranian footballer Ali Karimi has been fired by his club for not fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the club said. Steel Azin FC said that it was “forced to sack one of its players, Ali Karimi, for being disobedient and not fasting during Ramadan,” when devout Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. Karimi had even “insulted officials of the (Iranian) football federation,” Steel Azin said.

McCourt: Nigel Worthington insists the “door is still open” for Paddy McCourt to return to the Northern Ireland fold. The talented Celtic midfielder has been left out of Worthington’s recent squads while a host of new faces have been drafted in. “The door is still open for Paddy,” he said. “We all know the quality he possesses but I’ve told Paddy that he has to work hard when he plays, as do all the players in the team, and he knows that.”

Taylor: Steven Taylor’s agent admits the defender’s contract talks with Newcastle have become “difficult and drawn-out”, but remains hopeful an agreement can be reached. His representative Paul Stretford told the Mail on Sunday: “Matters are not progressing as I would like them to or would expect, but I am hopeful that there will be some movement in the near future.”

Bellamy: Cardiff boss Dave Jones confirmed his interest in signing Craig Bellamy but admitted the Bluebirds are outsiders to land the Manchester City forward. He said: “You can dream about things but miracles take a little bit longer. If it happens, it would be fantastic and we would all love him to be here but there are bigger fish for him.”

Fiorentina: Fiorentina may have found the replacement for Stevan Jovetic with a bid for Atletico Madrid talent Eduardo Salvio. The Viola had insisted they would not sign a new player after Jovetic was ruled out for eight months with a devastating knee injury. However, it’s reported in Tuttosport that director Pantaleo Corvino is in the midst of a swoop for 20-year-old Salvio. Atletico could well release the Argentine if they manage to sign Tiago Mendes on a permanent basis from ­Juventus.

Squash: England’s world number one Nick Matthew downed Egyptian rankings rival Ramy Ashour in straight games in the final of the Australian Open in Canberra yesterday. Matthew stuck with Ashour through the mercurial Egyptian’s periods of brilliance then squeezed the challenge out of the world number two as he battled to a 16-14, 11-7, 12-10 victory. Matthew became the first Englishman to win the Australian title since Gawain Briars in 1978.

Cricket: England named the same XI yesterday that had put them 2-0 up in their four-match series against Pakistan for the third Test starting at The Oval on Wednesday. Tim Bresnan, left out from a 12-man squad in the sides that won the first Test at Trent Bridge by 354 runs and the second Test by nine wickets at Edgbaston last week, was retained as bowling cover.

Diving: Britain’s world champion diver Tom Daley is a doubt for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games after pulling out of the European Championships with a triceps injury. The 16-year-old, who was a shock winner of the men’s 10m platform event at the world championships in Rome last year, was due to compete in the 10m synchro platform final at the Euros in Hungary yesterday. He will travel to Singapore regardless and hope to be ready for the 3m springboard competition in a week’s time and then the 10m platform.

Athletics: Australia’s world indoor long jump champion Fabrice Lapierre will compete at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October. The 26-year-old had been reported as being in two minds about whether to go to India, saying it was his lay-off time and he was also concerned about the security situation and infrastructure problems. “The timing of the Games is not ideal, but the call-up to compete for Australia is most important and I’ll be in India doing my best for my country,” he said.

Basketball: Washington center JaVale McGee and Oklahoma City forward Jeff Green were trimmed from the US roster of NBA talent for the World Basketball Championships yesterday. Neither player took part in a scrimmage against China on Saturday ahead of an exhibition game today against France at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Cutting McGee, who had been bounced off the team once before but brought back for workouts, leaves the American squad for the world championships with 13 players but only one center, Tyson Chandler of Dallas.