HAMSIK: Marek Hamsik signed a three-year contract extension with Napoli yesterday. The Slovak international, whose previous deal was due to run out at the end of next season, has signed on until 2016.
VARGAS: A cruciate knee ligament injury has ended Fiorentina wing-back Juan Vargas’s season, the club said yesterday. The 29-year-old Peru international is not expected to be fit again until the end of May, several weeks after the season finishes.
STOKES: Anthony Stokes has been handed a one-game ban following an incident at the end of Celtic’s 2-1 Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Hearts on Sunday. Referee Euan Norris included an ‘A5’ offence by the Hoops striker in his match report, which pertains to “offensive, insulting and/or abusive language and/or gestures”.
APPEAL: Indonesia’s football association is considering appealing a FIFA imposed four match ban on one of its coaches who accused a referee of bribery during a World Cup qualifier. Aji Santoso received the ban after he was sent to the stands during a 10-0 loss to Bahrain in February for claiming money was influencing the outcome of the match.
NEW MUM: England women’s captain Faye White will miss this summer’s Olympics after announcing she is pregnant with her first child. The 34-year-old Arsenal defender, who has 90 caps, admits her international career is now almost certainly over.
DEL NERI: Gigi Del Neri is being touted as the next Genoa coach once this campaign comes to an end. Club owner Enrico Preziosi is set to make another coaching change after replacing Alberto Malesani with Pasquale Marino this term.