Messi: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and his father will appear in court to answer charges of tax evasion on Sept. 27 after a hearing scheduled for next week was postponed. Messi and his father Jorge, who deny wrongdoing, allegedly hid more than four million euros by filing incomplete returns for the years 2006 to 2009. They have already made a “corrective payment” to Spanish authorities of just over five million euros.

Petric: West Ham have signed Croatia striker Mladen Petric on a one-year deal. Petric, 32, had been without a club since leaving Fulham on a free transfer at the end of last season.

Caceres: Juventus defender Martin Caceres will undergo surgery on his right knee. The 26-year-old tore his meniscus during Uruguay’s World Cup qualifier against Peru at the weekend. Caceres is set to be out of action for five weeks.

Toni: Verona forward Luca Toni is likely to skip this weekend’s Serie A match against Sassuolo as he is struggling with a tendon problem in his ankle. Toni scored twice in the league opener against Milan last month. He has been training alone in the gym in his bid to recover but coach Andrea Mandorlini may opt not to risk the veteran striker.

Barcelona: Barcelona have agreed a three-year sponsorship deal with the United Arab Bank (UAB), which the La Liga champions said was the first lender in the United Arab Emirates to partner a soccer club. Barca did not disclose financial details of the agreement, which runs to July 2016, but said some UAB customers would be rewarded with “top-end hospitality seats” to watch the club’s matches.

Shevchenko: Former European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko will swap his boots for golf spikes tomorrow when he makes his debut on the continent’s second-tier Challenge Tour. The former Milan and Chelsea striker will compete alongside ex-Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson and former Euro Tour winner Nick Dou-gherty at the Kharkov Superior Cup in his native Ukraine.

Racism: UEFA is ready to step up the fight against racism with tough measures including long bans on players and closure of stadiums, its president Michel Platini said yesterday. “We must do everything to clear racism so that there are no such incidents at any game,” Platini told reporters in Budapest.

Friendlies: South Korea vs Croatia 1-2; Spain vs Chile 2-2.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.