Cleared: Porto president Jorge Pinto da Costa was cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation into bribery accusations concerning a game in the 2003-04 season. Pinto da Costa, who has presided over the club since 1982, was accused of having paid the referee prior to Porto's drawn match with SC Beira-Mar on April 18, 2004. Two days before the match, the referee, Augusto Duarte, and a businessman, Antonio Araujo, were entertained by the Porto chief at his home.
Fuentes: Villarreal's Argentine defender Fabricio Fuentes has agreed a one-year contract extension which will tie him until 2010, the Primera Liga club said on their website (www.villarrealcf.es) yesterday. The 32-year-old joined Villarreal in 2006.
Hamudi no. 1: Retired goalkeeper Raad Hamudi, who led Iraq to its only World Cup appearance, was elected to head the country's National Olympic Committee yesterday. Hamudi, a member of the Iraq squad for 12 years and who captained them at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, was elected in a vote supervised by international observers.
Arrested: A court on Friday ordered the owner of Romania's Steaua Bucharest club be detained for up to 29 days, while prosecutors investigate allegations he illegally detained three people he said stole one of his cars. Police said they were called to a scuffle in the early hours of Jan. 27 when witnesses saw a group of people shove three people into the trunk of a car after blocking traffic.
Cricket: England ended their ragged tour of the West Indies on a high on Friday when an Andrew Flintoff hat-trick helped them beat the hosts by 26 runs in a rain-shortened match to win the one-day series 3-2. Flintoff took five for 19 in his five overs, including the hat-trick in his final over, as England claimed their first one-day series victory in the Caribbean.
Rugby Union: Nick Mallett was given a vote of confidence to continue as Italy coach despite a winless 2009 Six Nations campaign. Mallett, whose team were whitewashed in the tournament for the first time since 2005, was also given the freedom to revamp his backroom staff. He must now decide whether to replace assistant coaches Carlo Orlandi (forwards), Jean-Philippe Cariat (backs), Alex Marco (fitness) and Alessandro Troncon, the Azzurri's former scrumhalf and all-time most capped player. The federation confirmed that Italy will play New Zealand at the San Siro in a test on Nov. 14.
Basketball, NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers returned home for a 93-81 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Friday, their 60th win of the season helping them sweep the season series for the first time since 2001-02. Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds while Kobe Bryant added 20 and seven assists to pull the Lakers (60-16) within one game of Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA's top record. Houston fell to fifth place in the bunched up West with six games remaining.
Golf: Spectators will be allowed free entry to next month's European Open at the London Golf Club in Kent. After almost 24,000 fans took advantage of free admission on the opening day of the 2008 edition, organisers have decided to extend the offer to all four days of the May 28-31 tournament. The event is also set to announce one of the strongest fields in the inaugural Race to Dubai season, the European Tour said.