Sporting briefs

Riots: Riot police used pepper spray and batons to drive back a group of 150 Eintracht Frankfurt fans who invaded the pitch after the 2-0 home defeat by Cologne, which threatens to relegate their team. After Lukas Podolski netted a 93rd-minute penalty to seal his team’s 2-0 win, angry home fans poured onto the pitch at the final whistle.

Mazzarri: Coach Walter Mazzarri admitted his future at Napoli is uncertain despite leading the team to their best season since the days of Diego Maradona. But all is not well behind closed doors at the San Paolo. “I’ve told the club, my future is uncertain, I’ve informed the club about this and about the things that perplex me about staying here,” he said.

Bari: The council of Bari came to the ailing Serie A club’s rescue on Friday by agreeing a deal over a debt of €1.12m and thus avoid the risk of bankruptcy. The club has been doomed to relegation from Serie A but also ran the real risk of disappearing off the football map. AS Bari have agreed to pay the debt over a five-year period to the local council. From October 31, they will hand over 60 instalments of €20,000 per month.

McDermott: Reading boss Brian McDermott has been named the Championship manager of the month for April. McDermott led the Royals to five straight wins at the start of last month, with two draws and a solitary defeat making it just one loss in eight as they secured a play-off place.

Azzurri: Italy’s friendly with Spain in August is likely to be played in Naples. “Italy will soon return to the Stadio San Paolo,” declared football federation director Antonello Valentini. “We have this friendly with Spain on August 10 and it’s a game that needs an important venue... Naples is one of the options.”

Blanc: French football chiefs denied a report that national coach Laurent Blanc had tendered his resignation amid a controversial race row. Blanc and suspended national technical director Francois Blaquart are under investigation after the Mediapart website released a transcript of a meeting in which French officials allegedly discussed introducing quotas on the number of dual-nationality players at youth training centres.

Snooker: John Higgins is World Snooker’s player of the season. The 35-year-old Scot was rewarded after a season in which he won the UK Championship, Welsh Open and World Championship. Higgins beat Mark Williams and Judd Trump to land the top prize late Friday.

Rugby Union: The All Blacks and Wallabies will contest the Bledisloe Cup over three Tests under a revamped format to take effect in 2012. The new arrangement replaces the present system where the Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman rugby supremacy, is contested as part of the Tri-Nations tournament which also involves South Africa.

Badminton: A new rule that orders female players to wear short skirts could be scrapped after objections from China and Indonesia. Women playing in the sport’s top tourna-ments are compelled to wear skirts or dresses, even if they are worn over the top of shorts or trousers. But wearing shorts and trousers alone is banned.

Basket, NBA: Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points to lead Dallas Mavericks past LA Lakers 98-92 and push the cham-pions to the brink of elimination. The Mavericks erased an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter and seized a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.