20-point penalty: Argentine club Nueva Chicago will have 20 points deducted next season in addition to suffering a 20-match home ban following a riot at a relegation play-off which left one fan dead. The Argentina FA announced the latest sanction against the club yesterday. Trouble erupted during Chicago's match at home to Tigre on June 25 when the visitors, already leading 2-1, were awarded a penalty. Chicago fans invaded the pitch, the match was called off and the trouble continued outside the stadium.
Van Bommel: Bayern Munich midfielder Mark van Bommel will miss today's League Cup final against Schalke 04 for unsportsmanlike conduct during the semi-final against VfB Stuttgart. Television footage showed the Dutchman grabbing Stuttgart captain Fernando Meira in the crotch area in the 53rd minute of the match, which Bayern won 2-0. The DFB said it based its ruling on the television footage because the referee had not noticed the incident. Van Bommel had accepted the penalty.
Terry deal: Chelsea skipper John Terry signed a new five-year contract with the club yesterday, ending months of speculation about his future. Terry, who has spent all his career at Chelsea and played more than 300 matches for the club, said: "I'm really happy this has now been concluded. There has been a lot of speculation but these things take time and I never had any doubts that I wanted to stay at Chelsea and that the club wanted me to stay." Terry had just over two years on his old contract, which has now been superseded by the new one.
Healthy earnings: Barcelona yesterday reported earnings of 290.1 million euros for the 2006-7 season, despite having failed to win any major trophies. The Catalan club said their income had grown 31 million euros on the previous year's figure, to give a net profit of 6.8 million, in figures published on their website www.fcbarcelona.com.
Thailand's Zico quits: After 15 years in international soccer, South East Asia's most famous player Kiatisak "Zico" Senamuang has decided to call it a day - at least for now. Thailand's soccer president, national coach, fans and even a government minister have urged the charismatic Thai striker not to hang up his boots, but the 34-year-old insists his mind is made up. "I always dreamt of playing at the World Cup, but that never happened," Kiatisak told Reuters. Kiatisak has notched up 129 national team appearances and scored 65 goals.
Friendly matches: South China vs Fulham 1-4; Guangzhou vs Manchester United 0-3; Portsmouth vs Liverpool 0-0 (Portsmouth win 4-2 on penalties); Hansa Rostock vs Malmo 1-0; Admira vs OFK Belgrade 2-3; Stoke City vs Real Madrid 0-2; Sparta Rotterdam vs FC Volendam 2-1; Wolfsburg vs Auxerre 2-0.