Alex out: Paris St Germain will be without the injured Alex when they travel to Olympiakos for their Champions League opening game tomorrow. The Brazilian picked up a thigh strain during training on Saturday, Paris SG said. Com-patriot Marquinhos is now ex-pected to deputise at centre-back for the Ligue 1 side.
Mass brawl: An FA Cup fixture between non-league sides Slea-ford Town and Huntingdon Town was abandoned last weekend following a mass brawl between players. Sleaford were leading 2-1 in the first qualifying round when a Huntingdon player was sent off in the 87th minute following an altercation with a member of the hosts’ management team. That led to players from both sides clashing on the pitch.
Dutt: Werder Bremen coach Robin Dutt is to read the riot act to his players after their third straight defeat of the season on Saturday. After starting the campaign with two wins, the 3-0 home reverse to Eintracht Frankfurt has set alarm bells ringing on the banks of the river Weser. “On the whole, I’m pretty angry about the per-formance,” Dutt said. “We did not play like a home team. I’m going to have to talk about this in the coming days with every single player.”
Ireland: Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland is willing to consider ending his international exile under the national team’s next manager. He is attempting to resurrect his career on loan at Stoke this season. Ireland, 27, has not played for his country since he lied about the death of both of his grandmothers after pulling out of the squad six years ago. He said: “I think I would like to get together and put across ideas and just have a good general chat. If nothing comes out of it, nothing comes out of it.”
Walker: Tottenham defender Kyle Walker admits he has fully learned his lesson after being pictured inhaling nitrous oxide. Last week pictures emerged of Walker inhaling the legal but dangerous gas from a balloon in a nightclub. Walker said: “It has been a steep learning curve. I think people forget that I am young. What’s done is done now and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. It’s onwards and upwards now.”