Banned: Crawley defender Paul Connolly has been banned for five matches by the FA after confronting a supporter who threw the ball at him from the stands during an English League One match last week. The 30-year-old was charged with violent conduct after the incident involving a Brentford fan near the end of the third-tier match.

Hearts: Hearts are “effectively safe from liquidation” after Ukio Bankas agreed to transfer its shares in the adminstration-hit Edinburgh club. The Lithuanian bank is the largest creditor of Hearts and the company which holds security over Tynecastle Stadium and a 29.5 per cent shareholding, which will now be sold for £2.5 million to businesswoman Ann Budge following agreement at a meeting of Ukio Bankas’s creditors committee.

Villa Bans: Aston Villa have suspended assistant manager Ian Culverhouse and head of football operations Gary Karsa while an internal investigation is carried out, the club said. No further details about their situation were provided, but Gordon Cowans and Shay Given have been temporarily promoted to assist manager Paul Lambert.

Camoranesi: Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi has been dropped from Racing Club’s squad for criticising coach Reinaldo Merlo. Camoranesi, winding down his career towards retirement at the end of this season, said Racing were too defensive and depended entirely on goalkeeper Sebastian Saja for their results. “We officially communicate that Camoranesi was removed from the squad because of the public remarks he made,” Racing said.

French Cup SF: Guingamp vs Monaco 3-1 (aet; 90 mins: 1-1).