BASEL FINED: Basel have been fined €30,000 by UEFA after Green-peace activists interrupted their Champions League match against Schalke with a protest against tournament sponsors Gazprom. UEFA said Basel had been fined for “insufficient organisation” at the Group E game on Oct. 1, a tie they lost 1-0. Play was halted when four protesters descended on ropes that they had dropped from the St-Jakob Park stadium roof early in the match.

BROWN: Celtic will appeal against Scott Brown’s three-match Cham-pions League ban after describing the punishment for his red card against Barcelona as “excessive”. UEFA had decided to give Brown an additional two-match ban on top of the automatic ban he received for kicking Neymar in Celtic’s 1-0 loss.

SANTANDER: Racing Santander’s future looked bleak yesterday after the Spanish club said a capital increase designed to save them from financial ruin raised a mere €33,664 and had to be abandoned. Mired in bankruptcy proceedings, Santander were looking to raise €3 million in the first phase of the operation. They hoped eventually to reap a total of €25m to prevent them from folding but would now have to rethink their strategy.

FRIENDLY: Scotland will play Norway in an away friendly next month. The Scottish Football Association has confirmed Gordon Strachan’s side will meet the Scandinavians on November 19 with the venue still to be confirmed. Strachan’s men host the United States at Hampden four days earlier.