La Liga - Real warned over Ribery

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has threatened to take action against Real Madrid if they do not drop their interest in Franck Ribery immediately.

The French midfielder has been told by the Bavarian club's bosses that he will not be leaving Bayern this summer, but Real have persisted in their pursuit of him, enraging Rummenigge in the process.

"Real have been breaking FIFA regulations for weeks since they have never received our permission to speak with Franck nor his agent," said Rummenigge. "Now the time has come when we require peace and quiet."

He added: "I will be sending Florentino Perez, the president of Real, a letter recommending that they drop their attempts to tempt Franck away from us right now.

"If this disturbance does not end right away, we will report Real to FIFA."

The future of Ribery as a Bayern player has been occupying the sports headlines in Germany since the end of last season and Rummenigge is not happy that rumours persist linking the Frenchman with a transfer before the deadline on August 31.

Last week, Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness revealed that a deadline had passed for any club to make an acceptable offer for Ribery.

And Rummenigge insists the "final word has now been spoken" on the issue.

"Our coach now wants to make plans and he wants to do so with Franck as a firm constellation," he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"At FC Bayern, we always play seriously and clean. We have made our final decision and that now stands. Franck Ribery is staying with us."

PA Sport

Premier League - Hughes still keen on Terry

The Premier League have confirmed they had received no official complaint from Chelsea over Manchester City's pursuit of John Terry, as Mark Hughes continued his public courtship of the England captain.

With Emmanuel Adebayor on Saturday joining a summer influx of talent to Eastlands which already includes Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry, City boss Hughes must now focus on his defence. Terry, the Chelsea skipper, has been identified as his number one target and an offer of around £30million was recently turned down.

"It's well documented that we put in a bid and that was rejected," Hughes told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme. "He's a player I know, I played alongside him at Chelsea and I admire him as a person and captain from afar."

He added: "He's obviously the type and calibre of player we need if we are going to progress and compete at the top level.

"Chelsea have come out very strongly, in no uncertain terms, saying that he's not available, so we have to reflect that position because John is very much a Chelsea player.

"But we need to address the defensive strength of our side and we'll look at all options."

Hughes' latest public outpouring of admiration for Terry is unlikely to go down well at Stamford Bridge, with reports this morning suggesting the Londoners were ready to lodge an official complaint with the Premier League for alleged 'tapping up'.

Under Section K of the Premier League Handbook, club officials are not permitted to express interest in a player unless they have been given written consent by their current employers to open negotiations.

If that has not been forthcoming, the player's current club could claim an indirect - and illegal - approach.

If Chelsea choose to go down that route, however, they would need to submit an official complaint, supported by a dossier of evidence, to the Premier League, and they have not yet taken that course of action.

PA Sport

Ashes - England establish convincing lead

England reached 311 for six in their second innings on the third day of the second test to put themselves in a splendid position to win their first Ashes test at Lord's for 75 years.

When rain ended play, England held an overall lead of 521 after captain Andrew Strauss had decided against enforcing the follow-on. Australia were dismissed for 215 in the morning session in reply to the hosts' 425.

Strauss and Alastair Cook moved purposefully to 61 in 56 minutes when off-spinner Nathan Hauritz struck with his first delivery after lunch. The ball hustled through low, Cook missed and was given out lbw for 32.

Eight balls later Strauss was out for the same score, deceived by a flighted delivery which spun away from the left-hander and caught the edge to give Michael Clarke a simple catch at first slip.

Kevin Pietersen drove Hauritz handsomely for four but then became increasingly introspective.

Ravi Bopara was also becalmed against accurate swing bowling from Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle.

He survived a dropped catch at second slip by Ricky Ponting on 11 off Siddle but had played only 13 scoring shots from 93 balls when he was caught for 27 off Hauritz at short-leg.

After tea, Pietersen smacked two deliveries off Siddle through the covers but a somewhat tortured innings came to end at 44 when Brad Haddin took a smart catch behind the stumps off a thick inside edge from Siddle.

Following the torpid afternoon session, Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior injected some overdue enterprise into the innings.

Collingwood gratefully smacked his ball, a low full toss from Hauritz, to leg for four. Prior played the shot of the day, an emphatic off-drive to the boundary, and unveiled a fluent array of shots around the wicket.

Prior was particularly effective with the sweep shot off Hauritz, reaching his half-century from only 37 balls.

Sixteen runs came from a Hauritz over then Prior steered Hilfenhaus to third man for yet another boundary. But off the next ball he tried for a risky second run and Marcus North threw down the stumps from deep backward point with Prior on 61.

Andrew Flintoff, greeted by a huge cheer for his final test innings at Lord's, got off the mark with a massive pull for four. He upper-cut Mitchell Johnson for four and had reached 30 not out when play ended.

Collingwood hustled busily between the wickets to reach his third fifty of the series in four innings before he was caught behind off Siddle for 54.

Siddle and Hauritz batted without undue fuss when Australia started the day at 156 for eight needing 70 to avoid the follow-on.

Hauritz advanced to 24 when he was caught by Paul Collingwood at third slip off Graham Onions's third delivery of the morning.

Siddle struck five boundaries to reach his highest test score of 35 when he was caught at first slip by Strauss off the same bowler.

The ease with which Siddle and Hauritz handled the bowling may have persuaded Strauss against asking Australia to follow on. He would also be aware Sri Lanka and South Africa have saved tests at Lord's in recent years after being asked to follow on.

Hatton hospitalised

Hatton hospitalised

Eurosport - Thu, 16 Jul 13:58:00 2009

Ricky Hatton has been admitted to hospital suffering from stomach cramps and vomiting.

The 30-year-old former light-welterweight world champion complained of feeling unwell on Monday and was taken to Tameside General Hospital on Wednesday morning.

"He has been feeling unwell for a couple of days and overnight he could not sleep," his agent Paul Speak told the Daily Express.

"His girlfriend Jennifer took him to hospital at about 8am as he was vomiting and suffering stomach cramps.

"Initially we thought it was just a bug and he would get over it, but it was definitely getting worse.

"He will be in for tests for a few days to determine exactly what Ricky has caught, but we can confirm it is definitely not swine flu."

AFP

Sacked Bourdais could sue Toro Rosso

Sebastien Bourdais has revealed his shock, disappointment and frustration at Toro Rosso for having released him midway through the 2009 world championship campaign.

The Frenchman has threatened to initiate legal action against the Red Bull 'junior' concern for what he believes to be a breach of contract and has vowed to return to F1 racing.

The former multiple Champ Car champion has struggled to get to grips with the Toro Rosso car over the first half of the season and has been outperformed by rookie team-mate Sebastien Buemi.

"I am very disappointed and shocked by the decision taken by Toro Rosso in not allowing me to drive for the team until the end of the current season," the 30-year-old said in an official statement.

"I consider that, in doing so, Scuderia Toro Rosso has breached its contractual duties towards me; also I believe that nothing in my behaviour would legitimate a decision of the team to terminate the contract.

"I think that the team's decision is in clear violation of Scuderia Toro Rosso's obligations under the agreement. I have instructed my lawyers to review the situation, including the possibility of issuing legal proceedings.

"I am even more frustrated by the team's decision considering that it has been taken immediately before the Hungarian Grand Prix, where a new, highly-competitive racing package will be introduced by the team in order to try and overcome its current difficulties.

"I am convinced that if I had been given the chance to race with such a new package, I would have had the opportunity to achieve satisfactory results."

The driver expected to benefit from that opportunity, by contrast, is reigning British F3 Champion and current RBR and STR reserve driver Jaime Alguersuari.

Some are tipping Bourdais to return to Champ Car but the man himself is adamant that those rumours are untrue.

"My motivation remains," he said. "I will continue to be strongly committed to my Formula 1 project, for which I have renounced my career in the United States."

Crash.net / Eurosport

Guinness Prem - Club Watch: Bath

Eurosport-Yahoo! opens its pre-season preview of the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs with a look at troubled West Country giants Bath.

Bath

Bath will look to put a difficult few months behind them and redirect attention to matters on the pitch when the new Guinness Premiership season kicks off in early September.

The West Country giants still have issues to resolve surrounding the 'resignation' and legal action of former players Michael Lipman, Alex Crockett and Andrew Higgins, who left the club at the end of last season under a cloud of drug allegations and misbehaviour at an end-of-season party.

Bath had already lost former Wallabies lock Justin Harrison, who terminated his contract early and returned to Australia amid similar controversy, so will have their hands full filling the gaps left by the influential quartet.

But director of rugby Steve Meehan looks to have recruited well over the summer and in particular the arrival of Luke Watson, Ben Skirving and Matt Carraro, along with the return of Olly Barkley (pictured), should bolster the squad.

Meehan will also be without World Cup winning fly-half and knee-injury victim Butch James until the New Year, while midfielder Shaun Berne has moved on to Leinster.

James, a match-winner one week and way off target the next, struggled with his shots on goal last season so Barkley's arrival to take over kicking duties will be crucial to Bath's efforts to improve on their semi-final spot in the league and Heineken Cup quarter-final place.

Bath played some of the most attractive and effective rugby for long periods of last term but were found wanting when it came to the business end of the season - when they lost twice to Leicester - and Meehan will be determined to address that trait this campaign.

But just as important will be Bath's efforts to rid themselves of their 'party club' reputation. Early reports from The Rec suggest Meehan is putting his players through a brutal pre-season in order to develop a close bond in his squad as well as the required fitness levels.

"The feeling within the squad is strong. It is very important for us to come out of this and to be seen as the best club that can reach their potential," Meehan said during pre-season training.

"We are asking the players 'what do you want to be known for' and 'how do you want to be seen' and that allows us to look at our standards and what we must do. We can then look at our discipline and policies with regard to our off-field activities as well."

South Africa international Watson should also add some much needed leadership to their ranks, while former stalwart Martin Haag is back to take charge of the forwards.

2008/9 season

Premiership: 4th

Heineken Cup: Quarter-finalists

Anglo-Welsh Cup: Failed to qualify for knock-out stages

Players in:

Olly Barkley (Gloucester), Matt Carraro (Waratahs), Julian Salvi (Brumbies), Ben Skirving (Saracens), Luke Watson (Western Province), David Wilson (Newcastle).

Players out:

Shaun Berne (Leinster), Alex Crockett (Resigned), Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu (Gloucester), Chris Goodman (Bedford), Justin Harrison (Retired), Andrew Higgins (Resigned), Paulica Ion (London Irish), Robbie Kydd (Released), Michael Lipman (Resigned), Laurence Ovens (Newcastle), James Scaysbrook (Exeter).

First six fixtures:

Sept 5 - Gloucester (A)

Sept 12 - Wasps (H)

Sept 18 - Sale (A)

Sept 26 - Leicester (H)

Oct 3 - Harlequins (A)

Oct 24 - Newcastle (H)

2009/10 Prediction: Top four

Premier League - City new boy Tevez slams Ferguson

New Manchester City signing Carlos Tevez has fired a parting shot at Sir Alex Ferguson, accusing the Manchester United manager of not communicating with him.

The Argentine completed his move to City for £25 million on a five-year deal after undergoing a medical on Tuesday morning, having left United at the end of last season.

During his presentation at the City of Manchester Stadium, Tevez denied Ferguson's claim that he had ignored two text messages relating to the offer of a new contract by United, and said the manager only spoke to him once in two years at Old Trafford.

Tevez said: "I was there for two years, and Sir Alex never called me or sent a text message.

"The only time he talked was after the match against Roma (in 2007/08) because we needed to talk about me playing for Argentina, and I don't think this is the way to treat a player who is at the club for two years.

"There was no line of communication."

Tevez also denied the suggestion, mooted by Ferguson, that a deal was done with City in January.

The 25-year-old said he had moved to Eastlands because he wanted to work in a more supportive atmosphere, and had not been motivated by money.

He said: "I want a club and a manager that wants me, and a good environment around me. Money was not a factor."

Tevez added that "a part of my heart" would always belong to the United fans who campaigned vocally for him to stay at Old Trafford throughout last season.

The forward will wear the same number 32 shirt he had at West Ham and Manchester United, and will travel to South Africa with his new team-mates for a pre-season on Wednesday.

Manager Mark Hughes confirmed that City were in talks with Arsenal over the transfer of striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

"There's been discussions between ourselves and Arsenal," said Hughes. "There is a deal to be done, but it has not been concluded."

However, Hughes played down rumours of a £32m bid for Chelsea captain John Terry.

City have already spent close to £60m this summer, with England midfielder Gareth Barry and Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz arriving from Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers respectively.