Sanchez: Barcelona striker Alexis Sanchez yesterday reite-rated his stance that he will not be leaving Spain in summer to return to the Serie A. Sanchez, who joined Barca from Udinese last year, said: “Other teams might be interested but I intend to stay at Barcelona. The club have told me that I will stay and I’m happy to play in this shirt.”

Collum: Referee Willie Collum will fulfil a lifetime’s ambition when he officiates at the Scottish Cup final for the first time today. The 34-year-old is one of Scottish football’s most experienced match officials and has taken charge of a number of high-profile matches at international level, including the Champions League and the Europa League.

Coventry: Any group interested in taking over Coventry have until May 31 to make an offer, according to joint-administrator Paul Ap-pleton. Reports said eight parties have voiced an interest in the League One club, who went into administration in March and were deducted 10 points in the process which ended any hopes of promotion. Appleton said: “A sale process has begun and I have set a deadline of May 31 for indicative offers from those interested parties.”

Ba dropped: Senegal have dropped Chelsea striker Demba Ba for next month’s World Cup qualifiers, with coach Alain Giresse calling the decision “purely a sporting one”. “I’ve decided to go without him for these two games,” Giresse told reporters of the upcoming Group J matches in Angola on June 8 and Liberia one week later. Ba missed a penalty in the home draw against Angola in March.

Townsend: Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend pulled out of the England Under-21 squad for this summer’s European Championship in Israel after being charged by the English FA with betting offences. The 21-year-old, who spent time on loan at Queens Park Rangers during their relegation campaign, was re-placed in Stuart Pearce’s party by Birmingham City’s midfielder Nathan Redmond. It is under-stood Townsend has not been accused of betting on any matches he played in.