METSU: Well-travelled French coach Bruno Metsu was sacked by Qatari club Al Gharafa yesterday, with Brazilian Paulo Silas appointed as his replacement. The Doha-based club released a statement confirming that Metsu, 58, had been dismissed in the wake of a 5-1 defeat by Al Rayyan last week. Metsu was coach of the Qatari national team before being appointed at the helm of Al Gharafa on a three-year deal in 2010.
TRAORE: Ivory Coast defender Adama Traore has left troubled Australian A-League club Gold Coast United to sign a two-year deal with Melbourne Victory, the player said yesterday. Traore, 22, has made 56 appearances for Gold Coast, scoring three goals, and has developed into one of the most exciting young players in the competition since his arrival in Australia ahead of the 2009/10 season.
PIQUE: Spanish football authorities announced yesterday they had cleared Barcelona defender Gerard Pique on a charge of accusing a referee of “premeditation” in handing him a red card. The federation had already banned Pique for one match and fined him €600 euros after he made the accusation against the referee of a match against Sporting Gijon on March 3.
PIZARRO: Peru striker Claudio Pizarro will miss Werder Bremen’s visit to German league leaders Borussia Dortmund tomorrow after being banned for two games for slapping an opponent during a Bundesliga game. The German Football Federation (DFB) imposed the ban after their disciplinary committee investigated Pizarro’s slap on Hanover defender Emanuel Pogatetz during Bremen’s 3-0 victory last Sunday.
COLOGNE: Cologne have banned a group of supporters indefinitely after they were identified in a police investigation into what appeared to be a planned attack on a bus carrying Borussia M’gladbach fans home from a recent Bundesliga match. Eleven people belonging to the same official supporters’ club, which has consequently lost its affiliation with the Bundesliga outfit, were named by the police after a raid on the supporters’ club’s premises uncovered a wide range of weapons.