Havelange: Former FIFA president Joao Havelange has undergone an operation to have a pacemaker inserted, a hospital statement said yesterday. The 89-year-old was admitted to the Samaritano hospital on Monday where he was diagnosed as having an irregular heartbeat. The hospital said Havelange was responding well to treatment but it did not say when he would be discharged. Havelange was president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998.

Gaza Stadium: FIFA will pay for the refurbishment of the main soccer stadium in the Gaza Strip after Israel bombed the pitch last week, the game's world governing body said in a statement yesterday. The pitch of the Palestine Stadium was hit by a warhead and rendered unplayable in a bombardment of areas Israel says are used by militants to fire rockets across the border into the Jewish state.

Conceicao: Standard Liege captain Sergio Conceicao has been banned until August 11 after he was sent off for spitting and thrust his shirt into the referee's face in a Belgian Cup semi-final match last month. The Belgian football association's sport committee ruled that the ex-Portuguese international should also receive a suspended three-year ban, Liege said yesterday.

Heinze: Manchester United's Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze, sidelined since suffering a cruciate ligament injury in September, is close to making a first team comeback. United manager Alex Ferguson said the left back could play against Sunderland at Old Trafford on Friday.

In England: League One - Colchester vs Hartlepool 2-0; Swansea vs Swindon 2-1; Walsall vs Bournemouth 0-1.

German Cup: Semi-final - E. Frankfurt vs A. Bielefeld 1-0. Playing today - St Pauli vs Bayern Munich.

In France: French Cup QFs - Paris SG vs Lille 2-1; Lyon vs Marseille 1-2. Playing today - Rennes vs Montpellier; Calais vs Nantes.

In Scotland: Division One - Dundee vs Brechin 0-1. Division Three - Gretna vs Stirling 6-0.

In Italy: Serie C1(B) - Foggia vs Napoli 1-1.