Taiwo: Marseille defender Taye Taiwo could be facing a ban after joining fans in an anti-PSG chant following Saturday’s Coupe de la Ligue triumph over Montpellier. OM snatched a 1-0 victory in the cup final thanks to Taiwo’s goal 10 minutes from time. However, he then grabbed a microphone and sang along with supporters in a song aimed at rivals PSG and containing an expletive.
Fortunato: Juventus marked the anniversary of Andrea Fortunato’s death with a statement, reminding fans of the former left-back who died of leukaemia in 1995, aged 23. “Another year has passed, another year without Andrea Fortunato,” the Juve statement said. “He remains in the hearts of all Juventus fans who on this anniversary are closer than ever to his family.”
Doyle: Wolves striker Kevin Doyle is targeting a comeback in time for the final two games of the season. He has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury last month. It was initially feared the 27-year-old could be out of action for the remainder of the campaign. But he has resumed running and is now hopeful of being available to face Sunderland on May 14 and Black-burn eight days later.
Mbia: Marseille’s title-chasing aspirations were dealt a blow yesterday with news that Cameroon centre-back Stephane Mbia will likely be out until mid-May with a groin problem. Mbia was replaced in the seventh minute of the League Cup final on Saturday which Marseille won, defeating Montpellier 1-0.
Friendlies: Japan will host Peru and the Czech Republic in June in their first international friendlies since the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster. The Blue Samurai, who won a record fourth Asian Cup title in Qatar in January, will play Peru in Niigata on June 1 and the Czech Republic six days later in Yokohama.
Death threats: Supporters of strugglers Cologne made death threats to the players after their thumping 4-1 loss at Wolfsburg which left the once proud side just two places off relegation. Several fans burst into the club’s training complex yesterday and brandished a banner some 20 metres long bearing the words “if you go down we’ll kill you.” Cologne’s loss was their third in a row and left the club in 14th place.
Scottish Premier: Hamilton vs Aberdeen 1-1; St Johnstone vs Inverness 0-3.
Primera Liga: Real Zaragoza vs Almeria 1-0.
MFA Div. Three: Luqa vs Ghaxaq 4-1.
Cycling: Simon Spilak faces a tough challenge to keep his yellow jersey for Tour de Romandie, which starts today, with Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso and Denis Menchov among contenders. Evans missed this month’s Ardennes Classics while Giro champion Basso had pulled out of the Tour of the Basque Country. Nevertheless both are expected to participate in the six-day tour of western Switzerland.
Cricket: Sri Lanka’s new skipper Tilla-karatne Dilshan, one of the stars of the Indian Premier League, has said he wants to leave the event early to travel with the national team to England on tour. Dilshan is keen to join the Sri Lankan squad when they fly to England on May 10, which means he would have to abandon his Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL side three weeks before the tourna-ment ends. Sri Lanka are set to play three Tests during the tour.
Basket, NBA: Chicago star Derrick Rose, who has led the Bulls to within one victory of reaching the second round of the NBA play-offs, wore a protective walking boot on his sprained right ankle on Sunday. The Bulls host game five of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series against Indiana today, and will be hoping to finish off a Pacers team that fell behind 3-0 in the series but won the fourth game to prevent the sweep.
Badminton: The Badminton World Federation has deferred the implementation of new rules requiring female players to wear skirts after protests from some shuttlers. The new dresscode was set to be implemented on May 1, but it has been pushed back a month and will now come into force for the first time for the Singapore Open. The BWF said the skirt re-quirement does not “discriminate against any religious or other beliefs and respects women”.