Pesoli: Former Siena defender Emanuele Pesoli has ended his four-day protest against the Italian Football Association (FIGC). The defender chained himself to the gates of the FIGC headquarters in Rome on Saturday after being banned from football for three years for alleged involvement in match fixing. But after four days of hunger strike, sitting on a chair under an umbrella, the 32-year-old ate for the first time yesterday morning before ending his protest last night after a phonecall from FIGC vice president Demetrio Albertini.

Garrido: Spanish left-back Javier Garrido is set to leave Lazio to join Norwich . The 27-year-old joined Lazio in July 2010 from Manchester City as a replacement for Aleksandar Kolarov. However, he only managed 21 Serie A appearances and was often used as a substitute.

Bircham: Marc Bircham has been named as head coach of QPR’s elite development squad. The 34-year-old former midfielder had been youth development assistant manager at Loftus Road. However, Bichman will now oversee the reserves and under-21s under the guidance of Glyn Hodges, who was appointed QPR’s head of coaching last month.

Bardsley: Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley is set to miss the start of the season after having surgery on an injured ankle. Bardsley sustained the injury early in pre-season and is set to miss “a number of weeks”.

Paloschi: Chievo’s Alberto Paloschi will be out for three months after another ankle injury during training. The U-21 international striker has had numerous fitness problems over the years. Paloschi had been in fine form in pre-season, scoring seven goals in summer friendlies.

Machadoto: Greek Super League champions Olympiakos announced that they have signed Portuguese international midfielder Paulo Machadoto on a three-year contract. The team did not reveal financial details of the deal but press reports said the 26-year-old player would receive €1.4 million a year.

Sneijder: Fenerbahce have denied making a bid for Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder. The front page of today's Aksam reported that the Dutch playmaker was on his way to the Sukru Saracoglu. “In relation to what appeared in Aksam, we must point out it is not completely true that Fenerbahce are interested in Sneijder,” the club said.

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