Sporting briefs

CSKA flops: CSKA Sofia, Bulgaria’s best-performing club in European competitions, have sacked six players after being thrown out of the Europa League in the second qualifying round. “Heads must roll!” CSKA coach Stoycho Mladenov said after Slovenia’s Mura kicked his team out of the tournament following a 1-1 draw in Sofia on Thursday thanks to the away-goal rule.

Harding: Southampton defender Dan Harding yesterday be-came the fourth signing in a week as Championship side Nottingham Forest continued to build for the new season. The 28-year-old left-back signed a three-year deal and joins Adlene Guedioura, Danny Collins and Greg Halford, who all completed moves this week. Harding made 25 appearances for Southampton last season as they secured promotion to the Premier League.

Serie A: The Italian League announced that the first two matchdays of the 2012-13 Serie A will be played in the evening. Matches on August 25-26 and September 1-2 will be played at late afternoon and early evening time slots. In the opening day, champions Juventus play against Parma in Turin.

Turner: Michael Turner has completed his move to Norwich from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee. Turner has signed a two-year deal and becomes the Canaries’ fourth summer signing following the arrivals of Jacob Butterfield, Steven Whittaker and Robert Snodgrass at Carrow Road. The 28-year-old defender moved to Sunderland in 2009.

Simplicio: Former Roma, Parma and Palermo midfielder Fabio Simplicio will be playing in the Japanese league this season after signing for Cerezo Osaka. The 32-year-old left Roma in May and has joined Osaka on a free transfer.

Clyne: Southampton have completed the signing of defender Nathaniel Clyne from Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee. England U-21 international Clyne agreed a four-year deal last Thursday but the clubs continued to negotiate a compensation fee, reported to be £2.5 million.

Roma win: Roma beat the El Salvador national side 2-1 in another friendly in New York late Friday. The Italian team, who beat Liverpool in midweek, had Panagiotis Tachtsidis sent off but goals from Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Alessandro Florenzi saw the team through.

Friendly: Celtic 1 (Commons) Inter 1 (Palacio).