Sporting briefs

Hoyzer: The former referee Robert Hoyzer, who was at the centre of a match-fixing scandal in 2005, has been given permission to return to the game, albeit not as an official. Hoyzer has been given the DFB blessing to join an amateur football club as a player after once again apologising for his conduct six years ago.

Bellion: Former Manchester United striker David Bellion was lightly hurt after being involved in a car accident late Tuesday. The 28-year-old was in a taxi with his daughter when the car was shunted from behind by another vehicle, leaving Bellion with whiplash. “I’ve got like a huge bar on my back,” said Bellion, who now plays for Nice.

St Pauli: St Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski is to leave the relegation-threatened Bundesliga side at the end of the season. The 41-year-old, who has been at St Pauli as player and coach for 18 years, is one of the favourites to take over at Hoffenheim, who announced on Tuesday that they will be parting company with coach Marco Pezzaiuoli at the end of the season.

Montpellier: Montpellier said they are appealing the seven-match suspension given to their centre-back Emir Spahic. Spahic was banned for elbowing opposition striker Issam Jemaa during Montpellier’s 4-1 defeat at home to Lens on March 19.

Real tour: Real Madrid an-nounced they will play two pre-season friendlies in China next August. Real revealed they will play Guang-zhou Evergrande on August 3 before tackling Tianjin Teda three days later. It will be Real’s first tour to Asia since 2005.

In Scotland: Premier League – Aberdeen vs Rangers 0-1. Played Tuesday – St Johnstone vs Celtic 0-1. Division One – Queen of the South vs Greenock Morton 1-4. Division Three – Arbroath vs Clyde 2-0.

Rugby Union: Ireland and Munster flanker Alan Quinlan is to retire from rugby. The 36-year-old loose forward, who won 27 caps for Ireland and helped Munster win two European Cups, will hang up his boots at the end of the season. Quinlan was also selected to play for the British and Irish Lions in 2009 but missed out on the tour to South Africa after being banned for gouging during a European Cup semi-final.

Cycling: World body UCI said that the 2011 indoor world championships will go ahead at southern Japan’s Kago-shima, despite a nuclear disaster in the north-east of the country. It said it made the decision after evaluating the situation, along with Japanese authorities. Kagoshima is situated about 1,150 kilometres south-west of Fukushima, the site of a nuclear disaster after the Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered serious damages during the recent deadly earthquake-tsunami.

Basket, NBA: Los Angeles Lakers beat San Antonio to snap a five-game losing streak but victory could prove costly as they lost centre Andrew Bynum with an injured right knee. Kobe Bryant finished with 27 points as the NBA champions rolled over the Spurs 102-93. Bynum dropped to the court after stepping on DeJuan Blair’s foot during the second period. Bynum is the latest in a string of Lakers players to get injured these past few weeks.

Rowing: A British rower who has paddled across some of the world’s biggest seas to raise environmental awareness left Australia yesterday hoping to cross the Indian Ocean and complete a hat-trick. Roz Savage, 42, set off from Fremantle bound for Mumbai’s Gates of India monument, an epic 6,500km journey that will take between five and six months. Savage has already crossed the Pacific and Atlantic oceans solo in her 23-foot rowboat, dodging storms and near-drownings.