Timo Konietzka, a former Germany international and the first footballer to score a goal in the country’s Bundesliga, died on Monday by assisted suicide.
The 73-year-old Konietzka had been suffering in recent years from cancer.
“Timo decided it was time to die,” his wife Claudia Konietzka told Bild yesterday.
Konietzka scored the first ever goal in the Bundesliga on August 24, 1963 when he opened his account for Borussia Dortmund in the first minute of a match against Werder Bremen, which Dortmund finally lost.
Cologne appeal Podolski decision
Cologne have appealed against the red card shown to Lukas Podolski during Saturday’s match against Hertha Berlin.
The striker was dismissed in Cologne’s fiery 1-0 victory following a confrontation with Hertha’s Levan Kobiashvili.
Cologne confirmed their appeal in a statement on their website, with club spokesman Claus Horstmann adding: “The television pictures clearly show that there is no crime.”
Cologne said they would not be appealing the three-match ban handed to Mato Jajalo after he saw red for a heavy challenge on Kobiashvili.
Holman for Villa
Australia midfielder Brett Holman has agreed to join Aston Villa at the end of his contract with AZ Alkmaar this summer, the Premier League club said.
The 27-year-old winger, who joined the current Eredivisie leaders in 2008, will head to England after a decade in Holland, having initially signed for Feyenoord.
“I am delighted to have agreed terms with Aston Villa and I am looking forward to joining up with the team in the summer,” Holman said.
“Villa have a long and prestigious history in English football and a fantastic set of fans.”
Villa boss Alex McLeish said: “Brett is a very intelligent player, a great team player and a man who is recognised in the game as a non-stop, committed wide midfield player.”
Grygera lay-off
Fulham defender Zdenek Grygera has confirmed he will not play again this season after knee surgery.
Grygera has undergone two operations after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament rupture during November’s Premier League game against Tottenham.
“I’m feeling really positive about my knee and my recovery from injury,” the 31-year-old told his club’s official website.
“With how I feel right now, I think the maximum will be five months but we will see later on when I start to run.”
Redknapp reveals punditry problems
Harry Redknapp, the favourite for the England manager’s job, has revealed how he “got the needle” from former national team boss Fabio Capello after criticising his tactics on TV.
Speaking in an interview for the Radio Times , Redknapp talked about the pressures of management but also how easy it can be to upset people even while working as a pundit.
“I did an England game at Wembley about two years ago and I said: ‘I can’t believe we’re playing Steven Gerrard on the left wing’,” Redknapp said.
“Fabio got the needle with me because he thought I had criticised him and he didn’t like it, but I was only just giving him my opinion.”
Wenger could face FA rap – Dalglish
Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has suggested the Football Association (FA) could charge his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger for accusing Luis Suarez of diving.
Wenger felt the Uruguay striker dived to win a penalty when the two sides met earlier this month, saying: “Nobody touched him.”
But, after it emerged the FA had told managers they were not to talk publicly about potential candidates for the England manager’s job, Dalglish feels they could take a dim view of Wenger’s criticism of another team’s player.
He was quoted as saying: “I’m sure the FA will look into it and take him (Wenger) to task.”
Fan passport scheme scrapped
The fan passport scheme is set to be scrapped in the Serie A as the FIGC have announced plans to replace it with a club-centric system.
Under the tessera del tifoso, fans were issued with a ‘pass card’ to enter the stadium on matchdays. Those known to the authorities for acts of violence were not given cards as part of a crackdown on hooliganism.
However, several groups of fans protested its implementa-tion while a December ruling found that the payment method put in place to have the card was illegal.
“Next year we will introduce a loyalty card instead,” FIGC official Antonello Valentini said.
He described the fan passport scheme as having “given great results” this year.