Rooney: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson thinks it unlikely that striker Wayne Rooney will be able to play in the World Cup for England after breaking a bone in his right foot against Chelsea on Saturday. Rooney was carried off on a stretcher during the 3-0 defeat and is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks with fractured fourth metatarsal. England play their opening game against Paraguay on June 10. "I spoke to Wayne on Saturday evening and he was obviously a bit down, but I told him these things happen," Ferguson told United's website. "You never know but at the moment I doubt that he'll take part (in the World Cup) because of the recovery time."
Kaiserslautern: Kaiserslautern will field a youthful team in their relegation battle at Eintracht Frankfurt tomorrow with seven of their starting side aged 19 or younger, the club said yesterday. Kaiserslautern trainer Wolfgang Wolf has promoted two teenagers from the regional league team, Marcel Ziemer and Steffen Bohl, to fill in for the suspended Mihael Mikic and Balazs Borbely. Jan-Inge Hoiland and Ferydoon Zandi are also out with injuries.
Vasco: Vasco da Gama wore black armbands and fielded seven reserves against rivals Fluminense on Sunday after being banned from using their own stadium. Vasco were furious when the venue was moved by a court decision made late on Friday, less than 48 hours before the kick-off for the Brazilian championship match. The court accepted the arguments of the public attorney's office who claimed that Vasco's own Sao Januario stadium was not suitable for a derby match and switched the game to the Maracana. Despite their below-strength line-up, Vasco held out for a 1-1 draw.
Maloney: Celtic striker Shaun Maloney has made history by scooping the Scottish Players' Player of the Year and the Young Player of the Year awards. He received his unique double at the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association annual dinner on Sunday. Maloney, 23, has become the first player in the 28-year history of the awards to receive both prizes. He beat off strong competition from Bulgarian team-mate Stilian Petrov for the senior prize.
Peaceful Era: Paris SG and Marseille might have opened a new, more peaceful era in their relationship by offering a respectable show in the French Cup final. "It was a very honourable final," French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said with relief after watching PSG's 2-1 victory over their arch-rivals at the Stade de France on Saturday. "The two clubs served the cause of football and helped restore the image of our sport." There were a few incidents outside the stadium before kickoff but the game itself was virtually free of the ugly scenes that have marred previous encounters between the bitter foes.
Racism: A European Union lawmaker has accused FIFA president Sepp Blatter of making a u-turn on his promises to kick racism out of this year's World Cup. "Mr Blatter has failed to live up to his earlier promises," Dutch MEP Emine Bozkurt said. Last month FIFA announced draconian punishments to tackle racism ranging from match suspensions to points deductions and Blatter said the sanctions would be used against offending nations at the World Cup in Germany. However, FIFA said last week that teams at the World Cup will not be docked points for racism by fans and the sanctions would only apply to players, coaches or team officials.
Snooker: World Championship final - Dott leads Ebdon 15-11.