Anzhi Makhachkala defender Christopher Samba has claimed he was the victim of an apparent racial attack after a rival fan threw a banana at him at a Russian league match.
Media reports said that Samba was on his way to the dressing room after the final whistle of Sunday’s game at Lokomotiv Moscow which his side lost 1-0 when a banana came flying from the VIP box, landing nearby.
The 27-year-old Congo inter-national defender picked it up and threw it back.
“I hope this incident will be-come an example of how not to behave for those children who saw it at the arena,” Samba said.
Mou stays calm
Real Madrid’s lead at the top of La Liga was cut to eight points late Sunday when a dramatic injury time goal from Santi Cazorla earned Malaga a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu.
The home side had been heading for their 12th successive win following a Karim Benzema header after 35 minutes until a Cazorla free-kick flew into the corner in the 92nd minute.
The result left Real eight points clear of Barcelona.
“What happened here isn’t unusual and you can ask the same way what happened for us to win so many consecutive matches,” said Real coach Jose Mourinho.
“There are now 11 games to go so clearly the title race is open but our games are the only important thing for us.”
Tragedy mars Killie cup win
Kilmarnock’s League Cup final joy turned to tragedy within moments of the final whistle on Sunday when the father of midfielder Liam Kelly suffered a suspected heart attack in the Hampden stand and died.
Jack Kelly, 59, received emergency treatment yards from the Kilmarnock dugout after his son had helped his team to a 1-0 win over Celtic.
Liam Kelly, 22, was pulled aside as his team-mates celebrated on the pitch. The rest of the players were told the news of the death as they toured the Ayrshire town on an open-top bus.
Klinsmann rules out Spurs return
Former Tottenham striker Jurgen Klinsmann has ruled out returning to White Hart Lane as a replacement for Harry Redknapp.
With Redknapp favourite to be named England manager, United States boss Klinsmann has been linked with taking his place.
But the 47-year-old was quoted as saying: “It’s just a wonderful club. But I am extremely proud and privileged to be US national team coach.”
He added: “Hopefully we will have a great World Cup in Brazil.
“Then, in soccer, just like in any other environment, you never know what will happen.”
Hazard shines in front of Mancini
French champions Lille beat Valenciennes on Sunday to maintain their quest for a European place, with Eden Hazard featuring prominently in the 4-0 win.
The young Belgian scored the opening goal and was involved in Lille’s three other goals, doing his potential transfer prospects no harm with Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini watching from the stands.
Hazard said he knew Mancini was there but was concentrating on the task in hand.
“I was aware that Roberto Mancini was there. My coach told me... I wasn’t thinking about it. I was trying to play to the best of my abilities,” he said.
Forlan did not refuse sub role
Inter boss Claudio Ranieri has denied that Diego Forlan refused to come on as a substitute during his side’s goalless home draw with Atalanta.
Diego Milito missed a first-half penalty as Inter failed to break down their mid-table rivals but afterwards the focus centred on Forlan’s apparent refusal to step off the bench.
While under-fire boss Ranieri confirmed he had asked the Uruguay striker to play out of position on the left wing, he denied Forlan refused to come on.
“I asked Forlan whether he was ready to feature on the left, and he said that he would prefer playing in another role if he were to come on,” Ranieri said.
Berbatov to leave Man. United
Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov will leave the club at the end of this season to play elsewhere in Europe, his agent Emil Danchev said.
“I had three meetings with manager Alex Ferguson. We accept that he is trying to build a new team, change the playing style, introduce more speed,” Danchev said.
“Manchester United’s future does not include Berbatov,” he added.
Danchev said that the 31-year-old striker will most probably leave England for another top European team but added “there will be no cosmic transfer fees.”