Lee: South Korea’s star defender Lee Young-Pyo is likely to join Major League Soccer club the Vancouver Whitecaps. “We still disagree on one or two details and we need a bit more time but the Whitecaps seem to be very interested in signing Lee,” Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted the player’s agent as saying. If the deal goes ahead, the North American League club would be the 34-year-old Lee’s sixth team.

Marcelinho: Brazilian footballer Marcelo dos Santos, better known as Marcelinho Paraiba or simply “Marcelinho,” was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of attempted rape, police said. Paraiba, 36, was arrested with three friends after a young woman accused them of trying to rape her at a party at the player’s Rio residence.

Dortmund: German champions Borussia Dortmund yesterday signed promising teenaged midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt from second division side Energie Cottbus. Bittencourt, who will turn 18 later this month, has signed for Dortmund for the 2012/13 season.

Poland: A majority of Poles want the Euro 2012 co-host nation’s embattled football association to be dissolved – even if means their team is barred from the tournament, a survey showed yesterday. The Millward Brown SMG/KRC public institute said 52 per cent of those polled wanted the association, or PZPN, to be rebuilt from scratch despite the risk of a ban from next year’s championships which Poland will host with neighbouring Ukraine.

Lucas: Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. The Brazil international had a scan yesterday that confirmed an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. A statement on Liverpool’s website said Lucas “will undergo surgery and unfortunately be ruled out for the remainder of the current campaign”.

Ronaldo: Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined the squad for Spanish league action this weekend after recovering from an ankle strain. He had skipped training earlier this week after suffering a left ankle sprain during the 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid.

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