Sporting briefs

Slomka: Hanover coach Mirko Slomka is set to extend his contract with the Bundesliga club until 2013. The 43-year-old took charge of Hanover in 2010 on a 18-month contract, but has been rewarded for guiding them to third in the Bundesliga with a two-year extension.

Kanu: Brazilian defender Kanu is on the move from Portuguese side Beira Mar to Standard Liege. The 26-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half year contract with Liege in a deal reported in the local media to be worth less than €500,000.

Bernstein: David Bernstein, 67, was confirmed as the new chairman of the English FA yesterday. Bernstein won a unanimous vote by the FA board in December to become the permanent successor to Lord Triesman. That vote was approved by the FA Council yesterday.

Elm: Fulham have sold Swedish forward David Elm to Elfsborg, for an undisclosed fee. Elm, who joined in July 2009, scored just one Premier League goal for the club – against Burnley in February last year.

Majstorovic: Defender Daniel Majstorovic has been ruled out for up to three weeks, Celtic have confirmed. The 33-year-old Sweden international has played in every Premier League match this season since moving to Parkhead from AEK Athens last August, missing only the season-opener with Inverness.

Wolves: Wolves have been boosted by the news that captain Karl Henry and defender Richard Stearman have signed new contracts with the Molineux club. Henry’s deal was due to expire in 2013 while Stearman had 18 months to run on his contract, but their new agreements will see the pair remain at the Premier League outfit until the summer of 2014.

O’Neil: West Ham have completed the signing of Gary O’Neil from Middlesbrough. The 27-year-old midfielder at West Ham on a permanent deal having signed a two-and-a-half-year contract after an undisclosed fee was agreed with the Championship side.

Gray axed: Andy Gray was sacked from his highly-paid role as a television pundit for Sky Sports yesterday after his sexist comments about a female assistant referee. Gray’s contract, reported to be worth £1.7 million, was terminated with immediate effect following his involvement in two separate incidents.

Motor Racing: The battle over the Lotus naming rights has been scheduled for a full trial in just two months’ time. At a summary judgment hearing in the High Court this week, Mr Justice Peter Smith urged both parties – Group Lotus and 1Malaysia Racing Team, otherwise known as Team Lotus – to attempt to settle the matter out of court. If no resolution is reached a case will then be heard on March 21, sandwiched between the opening two grands prix of the season in Bahrain and Australia, and will last 10 days.

Federation Cup: Australian Open quarter-finalist Petra Kvitova will lead the Czech Republic in the Fed Cup first round against Slovakia in Bratislava on February 5 and 6. Kvitova, the world number 28, will team up with Lucie Safarova (35), Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova (63) and Kveta Peschke, number five in the WTA doubles ranking. The Czechs were thrashed 0-5 by Italy in the Fed Cup semi-finals last year.

Cricket: England are confident spinner Graeme Swann will be fit for next month’s World Cup, despite being ruled out of the rest of the Australian tour with a back injury. England coach Andy Flower said Swann would not play in any of the final four matches of the seven-game one-day international series against Australia, which the home side lead 3-0. Swann, who had been expected to miss today’s match at the Adelaide Oval due to a bruised knee, is heading back to England to prepare himself for the World Cup.