Huth: Stoke defender Robert Huth has been handed a two-match suspension and 15,000-pound fine for comments he made on social media. Huth will be unavailable for the visit of QPR today and the trip to Newcastle on Feb. 8.

Carrick: Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick will be out for four weeks with a ruptured muscle. The 33-year-old Englishman will miss the visit of Leicester City in the Premier League today and could be absent for another six games during February.

Play-off: The UAE overcame a 10-man Iraq 3-2 in an action-packed Asian Cup third-placed play-off yesterday to complete an impressive tournament for Mahdi Ali’s side. Ahmed Khalil netted twice before Ali Mabkhout converted a second-half penalty for his fifth of the tournament to take him top of the scorers’ charts.

Windass: Former Hull forward Dean Windass is to become the club’s first official ambassador. Windass made his debut for his hometown club in 1991 and, after scoring 57 goals in four years, he was sold to Aberdeen in 1995 for £700,000 which helped offset Hull’s tax problems. Following spells at Oxford, Bradford, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, Windass returned to Hull in 2007, helping the Tigers to promotion to the Premier League.

King’s Cup: Aritz Aduriz’s second-half strike was enough to send Athletic Bilbao into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey as he notched the only goal against Malaga late Thursday. The 33-year-old stabbed home from close range shortly after the break and Athletic held on to claim a 1-0 win on the night and on aggregate. They now face Espanyol in the last four.

Championship: Bournemouth vs Watford 2-0.

Lega Pro: Group A – Venezia vs Mantova 1-0. Group C – Savoia vs Aversa 1-0.

Scottish Premier: Partick Thistle vs St Mirren 0-1.