Borussia Dortmund will be without central defender Neven Subotic for the rest of their treble-chasing season after the Serbian was diagnosed with thrombosis in his arm, the club said.
Subotic will not be allowed to take part in any form of contact sport for the remaining seven league matches and will undergo individual training.
The 27-year-old, who has dropped down the pecking order and lost his automatic starting spot under coach Thomas Tuchel, is likely to leave at the end of the season.
Ribery keen to end career with Bayern
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery would like to coach the club’s youth team after hanging up his boots.
The 32-year-old said he would like nothing more than to extend his contract with the Bavarians, which expires in 2017, before guiding the club’s youngsters.
“Ribery and Bayern together is like a heart,” he said.
“It would be nice if I could become coach of a youth team when I end my career – we’ll see.”
He reiterated he was not motivated by finances, saying: “Money isn’t important to me.
“I’ve been here for nine years now and won a lot with Bayern, and had lots of smiles here.”
KNVB investigation
The Dutch FA (KNVB) has confirmed it will provide assistance to the country’s central bank in their investigation into the risks of money laundering within the sport.
Holland’s De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) announced its ongoing probe into banks and trusts over the threat of “money laundering in football” had revealed elements of risk present.
DNB spokesperson Tobias Oudejans told reporters the investigation was not in view of a specific club, player or official.
The methods of money laundering being investigated include match-fixing, tax evasion, club ownership, royalty payments and finances related to player transfers and broadcasting.
Diego Costa handed extra one-match ban
Chelsea striker Diego Costa must serve an extra one-match ban after being sent off in last month’s FA Cup tie at Everton, the English FA said yesterday.
“Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Thursday, Chelsea’s Diego Costa has been given a one-match suspension, fined £20,000 and warned as to his future conduct,” the ruling body said.
Costa admitted a charge of im-proper conduct in relation to his behaviour after he was shown a second yellow card in the FA Cup quarter-final at Goodison Park.
“This suspension will follow immediately on the conclusion of the player’s current ban,” the FA added.
Montolivo to sign new Milan deal
Riccardo Montolivo will extend his contract with Milan in May, reports in the Italian media said yesterday.
Montolivo, 31, is adapting to his new role as defensive midfielder having been the side’s playmaker before.
The total number of balls he recovered during the season is 246, which puts him in third place in that ranking after Sassuolo’s Francesco Magnanelli and Napoli’s Jorginho.
Gazzetta dello Sport said the Milan captain will sign a new deal that will bind him to the club for another three years.
Milan are reported to be confident that the deal would go ahead without a hitch.
Aston Villa drop striker Agbonlahor
Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor has been dropped from the first team pending an investigation after pictures were published by British media of him apparently smoking a shisha pipe.
Villa, who are bottom of the Premier League, announced that Agbonlahor would not be included in the squad for today’s Premier League game against Chelsea as the club looks into his behaviour while on holiday in the United Arab Emirates.
Villa parted company with manager Remi Garde on Tuesday. First-team coach Eric Black has taken over as acting manager until the club find a full-time replacement.
Deinster ‘black up’ against racism
A German team have turned their faces black in protest against what they claim was a racist attack on two of their players.
Deinster SV, who play in the low-level Kreisliga Stade division, digitally altered a team photo to make their players have black faces and posted it on the club’s Facebook page.
Head coach Sonke Kreibich said two of his players, Emad Babiker and Amar Alnoor, were subjected to verbal and physical abuse while the team were out celebrating a victory on Saturday.
Babiker and Alnoor are both Sudanese refugees.
The posted photo had more than 18,000 likes on Facebook and comments underneath showed a largely positive response.