England Tour: Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney will be left out of England's squad to tour the United States later this month. Central defender Ferdinand will be rested because of a knee problem while forward Rooney is tired. The Football Association will officially announce the squad for the tour today although Sky Sports were reporting Ferdinand and Rooney's omissions yesterday. The sports television channel said England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had left the pair out after a request from their club manager Alex Ferguson.
Anti-Immigration Banner: Spain's Anti-violence Commission has recommended that Real Madrid be fined for failing to prevent fans from displaying a large anti-immigration banner during Saturday's Primera Liga match at home to Racing Santander. In calling for a €3,001 fine the government-run body criticised the club's turnstile security for failing to prevent such a large banner from being brought into the Santiago Bernabeu stadium for the game, which Madrid won 5-0. The banner read: "They invade us, they kill us. Justice for Spain. Justice for Manu." Manu refers to a youth who was fatally stabbed in a Madrid suburb last week, reportedly by a Dominican.
Kickoff Match-Up: Real Mallorca have made a formal request for Real Madrid and Barcelona to play their league matches at the same time on Saturday so as not to prejudice 18th-placed Mallorca's chances of Primera Liga survival. Mallorca are worried that if second-placed Real lose in Sevilla (kick-off: 8 p.m.), Barcelona will ease up against 17th-placed Levante (kick-off: 10 p.m.) as they will already be champions. A statement said they had appealed to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Football League Association (LFP) for the games to kick off simultaneously, or for their own game against Athletic Bilbao to be brought forward from Sunday.
Sedan Upset Monaco: Second division Sedan upset a dull Monaco side 1-0 yesterday to reach the French Cup final. Midfielder Mickael Citony scored the winner from just inside the area 75 minutes into the game in Monaco. Easterners Sedan will play AJ Auxerre in the final on June 4 at the Stade de France. The team from Burgundy beat third division Nimes 2-1 in the other semi-final on Tuesday. Monaco lost their last chance of winning a trophy this season.
Hearts: Hearts have put captain Steven Pressley and coach John McGlynn in charge of the team for their last two games of the season following the departure of head coach John Robertson. Scotland international Pressley will continue to play in the matches against Celtic and Aberdeen with McGlynn, reserve and under-19 coach, in the dugout along with coach Stevie Frail.
Zagallo: Brazil's 1970 World Cup winning coach Mario Zagallo has undergone a four-hour operation for an intestinal problem, hospital officials said yesterday. "The doctors managed to unblock the patient's duodenum," said a statement issued by the Samaritano hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where Zagallo has been for a week. "The operation was considered a success." Zagallo currently has a role as Brazil's technical advisor. It was not known when the 73-year-old would be discharged.