Record fine: Rafinha's decision to play for Brazil in the Olympic Games last month will cost him a record €700,000 fine handed to him by his club Schalke yesterday. The Brazilian defender travelled to Beijing against the expressed wishes of the Schalke management team and spent a total of 35 days away from the Bundesliga club. Reports said Rafinha will take his case to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport in the hope that the Brazilian Football Federation will be made to pay his fine.
Fossati goes: Qatar, who lead their qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup, have terminated the contract of their Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati. Qatar's soccer chiefs decided Fossati's recovery from recent stomach surgery would take too long and that a new coach was needed for the rest of the campaign. A senior federation official said Frenchman Bruno Metsu, who quit as coach of United Arab Emirates on Sunday, was favourite to succeed him.
Andrade: Juventus fear Portugal defender Jorge Andrade may never be able to play professional football again. Andrade had surgery in the close season after seriously injuring his left knee for a second time. The 30-year-old, who signed from Deportivo in 2007, missed almost all of last season after having two operations on the same knee. Juve have requested the termination of his contract pending a medical examination by the Italian league, the club said.
Primera Liga: Barcelona vs Real Betis 3-2; Osasuna vs Deportivo 0-0; Villarreal vs Racing Santander 2-0; Getafe vs Atl. Madrid 1-2; Real Madrid vs Sporting Gijon 7-1; Sevilla vs Espanyol 2-0.
French Cup: Last 32 - Monaco vs Paris SG 0-1; Montpellier vs Lille 2-2 (4-2 pens); Metz vs Troyes 3-1; Grenoble vs Nancy 2-3; Guingamp vs St Etienne 4-1; Le Havre vs Caen 3-1; Lorient vs Lens 0-3; Rennes vs Le Mans 2-2 (4-3 pens); Sochaux vs Marseille 1-0.
2018 Winter Olympics: France will bid to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics, the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) said yesterday. Three towns - Annecy, Nice and Grenoble, which hosted the Games in 1968 - had already said they were interested. France's official candidate should be named in March 2009. One rival will be Munich which declared itself a candidate last December.
Doping: A Belgian court delayed the doping trial of former world champion Johan Museeuw and 10 others for three weeks at the request of the ex-cyclist's lawyer. Presiding judge Baudouin Devrient said the court, which had been due to deliver a verdict on Tuesday, would seek to complete the case on Oct. 13, although a judgment may not come before November.
Basket, NBA: The Washington Wizards have extended the contract of head coach Eddie Jordan, keeping him with the team through the 2009-10 season. Jordan has a record of 196-214 in five seasons in Washington and is the NBA's third-longest tenured head coach behind Utah's Jerry Sloan and San Antonio's Gregg Popovich. He has led the team to the play-offs in each of the last four seasons.