Fast Goal: Kenyan forward Dennis Oliech scored the fastest goal of the French season to date when yesterday he netted for Auxerre after 57 seconds of their game against Nancy which finished 2-2. Caen’s Moroccan international striker Youssef El-Arabi had scored the previous fastest goal – a second-minute strike in his side’s 3-2 win at home to Lyon on the second weekend of the campaign.
Pastore: Javier Pastore’s superb showing against Juve on Thursday was watched by Manchester City scouts and reports are already saying the English club are lining up a mega-offer to lure him away from Palermo. Inter are piling pressure on Palermo to sign Pastore but Man. City are rumoured to be ready to offer up to £50m to sign the 21-year-old Argentine.
Dembele: Fulham coach Mark Hughes said Belgian international forward Moussa Dembele will be out for only two to three weeks, allaying fears of an extended lay-off. Dembele, a five-million-pound close-season signing from AZ Alkmaar, was hurt in a tackle by Andy Wilkinson in Fulham’s 2-0 League Cup defeat at Stoke on Tuesday.
Refs Rule: Referees have insisted the Nigeria League will not begin on October 2 unless they are paid outstanding allowances. The Nigeria Referees Association said referees will not be part of the competition until some issues are sorted out, among which are the payment of their outstanding allowances of $70,000.
Ultra-Marathon: Italy’s Ivan Cudin won the 245.3km ultra-marathon Spartathlon race yesterday in 23hr 3min 6sec. The 35-year-old mechanical engineer finished ahead of Dutchman Jan Albert Lantink, 23:31.22. Britain’s Emily Gelder was the first female to cross the finish line in 30:17.03. The Spartathlon started in Athens on Friday and ended in the southern Greek town of Sparta.
Cycling: Slovenian extreme cyclist and winner of this year’s Race Across America, Jure Robic, died on Friday in a traffic accident in northern Slovenia. Robic, a 45-year-old cyclist known for setting several endurance cycling records and five-time winner of the RAAM, collided with a car while descending a forest path near the northern town of Jesenice, reports said.
Alpine Skiing: Olympic champion Carlo Janka has been allowed to train fully again after being laid low by a virus since spring. The 23-year-old ‘Iceman’ claimed a hat-trick of global titles with the Winter Olympic giant slalom gold at the Vancouver Games and the World Championship in Val d’Isere last season.
Doping: Czech shot-putter Remigius Machura was handed a two-year doping ban after testing positive for a growth hormone, which will rule him out of the 2012 London Olympics. Machura, 24, was the European junior champion in 2005.
Winter Sport: Germany’s Sandra Kiriasis, a three-time world bobsleigh champion and 2006 Olympic title-holder, has launched an urgent call on her website (www.sandra-kiriasis.de) to find a team-mate, just two months before the start of the season. Her appeal was broadcast on private television channel Pro7 in midweek and of the 44 candidates who replied within six hours, 10 were described as “interesting”.