ARRESTED: Four more footballers were arrested in Norway yesterday as part of a probe into alleged match-fixing involving two local third division games. Oslo police spokesman Kristian Ski told AFP that three of the arrests were players from Follo, a team from which another player was arrested on Wednesday.
BUZSAKY: QPR midfielder Akos Buzsaky will leave Loftus Road after failing to agree terms on a new contract. Buzsaky was offered a new deal at the end of last season but believes his future lies elsewhere, ending his four-year spell in west London. Buzsaky played only a limited role in QPR’s escape from relegation last season, scoring two goals in 21 appearances.
LUCCA: Roma have signed Brazilian midfielder Jonathan Lucca from Internacional, the Serie A club have confirmed. The 18-year-old has joined Roma in a €700,000 deal and has put pen to paper on a contract that will keep him at the Stadio Olimpico until June 2017.
AQUILANI: Alberto Aquilani’s agent insists his client will remain at Liverpool. The midfielder has two years remaining on his contract but has been strongly linked with a move away from Anfield. “Aquilani will remain at Liverpool,” his agent Franco Zavaglia said. “He has a contract and hence there is nothing new. I would say that at this point the chances that he could go back to Milan are impossible.”
NEW DEAL: The Premier League have agreed a new £120 million three-year deal with title sponsors Barclays. The agreement will run for three seasons from 2013/14 to the end of the 2015/16 season. The deal includes the global title sponsorship of the Premier League and exclusive marketing rights.
ST PATS: Substitute Stephen O’Flynn’s extra-time strike against IBV in Iceland earned St Patrick’s a place in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League on the away goals rule late Thursday. The Dublin side looked to be heading out of the competition when Eythor Birgisson put IBV 2-0 up in the 98th minute. But St Pat’s grabbed their crucial away goal through O’Flynn one minute later.
FRIENDLIES: Brazil will tackle China in a friendly international on September 10 in the north-east city of Recife, three days after facing South Africa in Sao Paulo. The game against China will be at the 62,000-capacity Arruda Stadium. Recife is one of the cities hosting the World Cup and matches in the 2013 Confederations Cup.