Rangers: Rangers ended a four-year exile from the Scottish Premiership when they beat Dumbarton 1-0 with a second-half goal by James Tavernier to clinch the Championship title and automatic promotion at Ibrox Stadium yesterday. The victory means they will be back among the elite next season after being demoted to the lowest, fourth-tier of the Scottish League for financial irregularities in 2012 which left the Glasgow club £134 million in debt.
Hearts: Hearts succeeded in a request to postpone last night’s Premiership clash at Inverness after a sickness bug ravaged their squad. Hearts travelled to the Highlands on Monday afternoon with only eight first-team players while the Scottish Professional Football League board considered their application. It is understood both first-team goalkeepers, Neil Alexander and Jack Hamilton, were among those floored by the virus, leaving the SPFL with little option but to agree.
Agbonlahor: Aston Villa will take no further action against striker Gabriel Agbonlahor following his conduct on a recent holiday in Dubai. Agbonlahor was pictured apparently smoking a shisha pipe and the 29-year-old was not considered for Saturday’s match against Chelsea as the club carried out an investigation. However, Villa tweeted yesterday: “Aston Villa FC has completed its investigation… Villa will be taking no further action.”
Didavi: Stuttgart midfielder Daniel Didavi turned down an offer to stay with the German club he has played since his youth and will join Wolfsburg next season. “The club has become part of my life and that is why this was a very difficult decision,” said the 26-year-old, who started at Stuttgart as a boy in the late 1990s and made his Bundesliga debut in 2010, yesterday. Didavi did not give details on the deal with Wolfsburg.
FIFA deadline: FIFA handed Greece’s government a 10-day deadline yesterday to reverse its decision to cancel the Greek Cup or face an international suspension from football’s world governing body. FIFA sent a two-page letter to Deputy Minister for Sport Stavros Kontonis and the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) demanding that Kontonis change his ruling. The global body also ordered further talks to make changes to sports legis-lation planned for May which contradicts FIFA’s statutes on self-governance of member associations.