Balotelli: Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has lost his appeal against a three-game ban after being sent off against West Brom. The FA yesterday upheld the straight red card Balotelli, who scored both goals in a 2-0 win, received for violent conduct.
Koscielny: Laurent Koscielny will miss Arsenal’s Premier League match away to Wolves today after his appeal against his sending-off against Newcastle was dismissed. The 25-year-old French defender was red-carded late on in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Newcastle after he brought down Nile Ranger on the edge of the penalty area.
Drogba: Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said Didier Drogba would be fit to face Fulham tonight after revealing the striker had been suffering from malaria. “We found out last Monday when blood tests showed he had malaria but he had treatment and now he’s OK,” Ancelotti said.
Gervinho: Lille’s Ivorian international striker Gervinho received a 15-month suspended jail term and was fined €20,000 for the repeat offence of driving without a licence. The court was told how the 23-year-old footballer struck a young motorcyclist after running a stop sign last year.
Baxter: Finland coach Stuart Baxter confirmed yesterday he has been replaced by his assistant Olli Huttunen following a poor Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. “Olli is a good choice for head coach for the next European Cup qualifying match,” said the 57-year-old Scot.
Villa: Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier and striker John Carew appear to have called a truce after their war of words. The pair held talks after Carew’s initial outburst against Houllier via an interview prompted an angry response. Villa said “the matter has been dealt with internally and is now resolved.”
Gago: Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago is set to remain sidelined for the rest of the month due to injury. The Argentine is struggling with a knee problem and, having undergone an MRI scan, it is anticipated he will be missing for between two to three weeks.
Queudrue: Franck Queudrue’s troubled start to life at Lens has taken another turn for the worse with the news that he will miss a month through injury. Having missed the start of the season, Queudrue only made his debut on Sunday as a late substitute against Montpellier, but still found time to suffer a gash to his left thigh that will keep him out for a month.
Table Tennis: China have dropped three-time world champion Wang Liqin from their Asian Games squad, with officials keen to blood young talent ahead of the 2012 Olympics. The 32-year-old Wang will be replaced in the Guangzhou line-up by Xu Xin who is 12 years his junior, Liu Guoliang, head coach of the Chinese men’s team, told the Xinhua news agency. The tournament begins on Saturday, a day after the official opening of the Games.
Volleyball: Defending champions Russia, Brazil and Japan reached the semi-finals of the world women’s championship after securing top-two places in their groups. Top scorer Ekaterina Gamova scored 18 points to lead Russia to a 25-19, 25-8, 25-12 victory over Serbia to remain unbeaten with six straight wins in Tokyo. The last spot will go to either the United States or Italy, with the Americans edging closer to taking it when they defeated the Netherlands 25-17, 25-22, 25-18.
Cricket: The cricket World Cup trophy was displayed by South African players Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn in the Dubai aquarium as the 100-day countdown to the event began yesterday. Morkel and Steyn were later joined by members of the South African and Pakistani teams. The opening ceremony of the World Cup will be held in Dhaka, Bang-ladesh on February 17. India, Bang-ladesh and Sri Lanka jointly host the World Cup.
Tennis: Taylor Dent, the son of Australian tennis legend Phil Dent, announced that he is retiring from professional tennis to pursue other opportunities. The 29-year-old American finished with an ATP record of 151-140 and more than 2.5 million dollars in prize money. Dent won four career titles, three of them in 2003. He went 12-19 in 2010 and was ranked 85th after reaching a career high of 21st in 2005. Dent, a serve and volleyer, underwent back surgery three times in 2006 and 2007.