Italy

The heads of FIFA, president Sepp Blatter and secretary general Michel Zen-Ruffinen, have exchanged views and information with representatives from G-14, including Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, at a meeting in Zurich.

The Giro d’Italia cycling tour was marred by a new doping scandal yesterday after two competitors were pulled from the race after failing drug tests.

Nobody can accuse Dick Pound, the 59-year-old Canadian lawyer and former Olympic swimmer, of not keeping up with the times as he campaigns for the most powerful job in world sport - the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency.

Shares in AS Roma fell 11 percent on Monday after the club won its first Italian league title for 18 years. Roma’s 3-1 victory over Parma at the Stadio Olympico on Sunday handed them the title by two points from Juventus.

ergio Cragnotti, president of Italian soccer team Lazio is looking for a partner to invest in the Serie A club and says he would prefer a media company.

Canal Plus, the pay-TV unit of media giant Vivendi Universal and Dutch cable network United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC) have confirmed that a merger of their Polish satellite television platforms has taken place.

The Italian government is to give police new powers to combat soccer hooliganism at and other sporting events, the Interior Ministry said.

European soccer giants Juventus have reported a net profit of 5.8 million euros in the year to June 30, 2001, up five percent from the year-earlier period, with turnover up 24 percent to B

Organisers of the Indianapolis Championships want to bump the men's tournament up to Masters Series level - just one below Grand Slam status.

Media group Kirch has given into increasing protests and agreed to change its scheduling of the soccer highlights programme to the German Bundesliga after ratings for the show dropped remarkably in its newly allotted later time slot.

European internet sports network Sportal has finalised a new round of funding for its operations, which the company envisages will see it through to profitability in early 2002.

Negotiations over the French TV rights to the 2002 World Cup have stalled because rights holders the Kirch Group have set the price too high, a French newspaper has reported.

Joan Gaspart, president of Spanish soccer side Barcelona, has today vetoed efforts by the G-14 group of top European soccer clubs to expand the group’s club representation.

English soccer club Chelsea is in talks with Italian club Lazio about setting up a rival to the G14 group of top European clubs.