Klopp: Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has been fined €10,000 by the DFB for an aggressive argument with an official during a Bundesliga match. The 43-year-old clashed angrily with fourth official Stefan Trautmann after a decision by the referee went against Klopp’s side during Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Hamburg last Friday.
Ronaldinho: Ronaldinho claims he is happy at Milan and has no intention of leaving the club despite not yet signing an extension to his contract that runs out at the end of the season. “My future? I reiterate one last time that I have no intention of leaving Milan,” Ronaldinho told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Lennon: Celtic manager Neil Lennon will face an additional Scottish FA charge following his dismissal in the 2-0 defeat by Hearts. Referee Craig Thomson has accused Lennon of “excessive misconduct” after he reacted angrily to fourth official Steven McLean amid protests over a denied penalty claim.
Mata: Juan Manuel Mata has withdrawn from the Spain squad for today’s friendly against Portugal because of injury. The Valencia forward, who was a member of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, is struggling with a knee problem.
Huth: Stoke have confirmed that defender Robert Huth did not pick up his fifth booking in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool. Reports had suggested Huth was shown a yellow card, which would have led to the German being suspended. However, the Potters confirmed that not to be the case, suggesting some confusion may have been caused by referee Mark Halsey dropping his cards.
Pires: Robert Pires is to return to the Premier League with Aston Villa later this week the Midlands club said. Former France midfielder Pires had been in talks with Villa as a free agent following his release by Spanish side Villarreal in pre-season.
Division Three: Mdina vs Xgħajra 4-0, Siġġiewi vs Swieqi 1-1.
Wrestling: Hungarian Imre Polyak, a 1964 Olympic gold medallist and three times world champion, has died at the age of 78 on Monday after a long illness. He won gold in the 1964 Olympics and also took silver in 1952, 1956 and 1960. He was world champion in 1955, 1958 and 1962 and a 14-time Hungarian champion. After retiring in 1965, Polyak worked as a coach at a Hungarian club.
Speed Skating: South Korea, the most medalled nation in Olympic short-track speed skating, will return to international competitions next month following a race-fixing scandal. The Korea Skating Union (KSU) said it would send five female and five male skaters to China for the third leg of the World Cup. The national short-track team was dissolved in March following allegations that skaters had fixed the results of competitions, including their try-out races for the national team.
Shooting: Zhai Yujia equalled the world record as China swept the men’s 10m Running Target event of the Asian Games yesterday. Zhai, 17, led from start to finish to take the individual title with 590, drawing level with German Manfred Kurzer’s world mark at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Zhai’s performance was two points clear of Asia’s previous best of 588 by compatriot Yang Ling.
Cycling: Mark Cavendish will make his Tour Down Under debut in January, boosting a strong field which already includes Lance Armstrong, organisers said. The HTC-Highroad rider, a 15-time Tour de France stage-winner, will be considered a major rival to fellow sprint specialist Andre Greipel, who romped to his second Australian title this year. Cavendish, nicknamed the “Manx Missile”, is also a five-time Giro d’Italia stage-winner and won four stages at this year’s Tour of Spain.