Sports Shorts: Internacional hero Fernandao dies in helicopter crash

Fernandao, the swashbuckling striker who led Internacional to Copa Libertadores and World Club Cup triumphs in 2006, has died in a helicopter crash in central Brazil, his former club said on Saturday. He was 36.

The helicopter crashed with five people on board and none survived, according to news reports.

"I am saddened by the death of #Fernandão, a hero to all Internacional fans and all lovers of football," Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, herself an Inter fan, said on Twitter.

"On the field he was world champion, off the field he was an example of a man of character."

Fernando Lucio da Costa played 190 times for the Porto Alegre club and scored 77 goals. He also managed the side in 2012.

Jeev Milkha Singh and Gaganjeet Bhullar made the cut narrowly, while SSP Chowrasia bogeyed two of his last three holes to miss the cut at the Lyoness Open in Aztenbrugg, Austria, on Friday.

Jeev was tied 62nd and Bhullar 66th respectively. On a course, which has not been easy, Jeev double bogeyed the ninth and then had four bogeys between 10th and 14th, but a birdie on 18th ensured he was in by two shots.

Bhullar too struggled after a 70 in first round. He had just two birdies against six bogeys and a double bogey but still got inside on the line.

Chowrasia seemed on course to make the cut after being one-under through 10 holes. But bogeys on second, third, seventh and ninth ended his hopes.

Sweden's Mikael Lundberg made the most of ideal morning conditions to set the pace at the midway stage of the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity, where he is chasing a first European Tour victory in six years.

Lundberg added a round of 68 to his opening 67 at Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, Austria, to finish day two on nine under par, one shot ahead of playing partner Lee Slattery.

Despite a shoulder injury Slattery carded an eagle, five birdies and one bogey to return a course record round of 66, with Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti on seven under par following his 68, a round which was matched by Korea's Sihwan Kim for a six under par aggregate total.

Joost Luiten is in with a chance of becoming the first player to mount a successful title defence in the €1 million tournament after a flawless round of 67 moved the Dutchman to five under par alongside Wales' Rhys Davies.

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UEFA has banned Serbia's former European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade from next season's Champions League because of unpaid bills, European soccer's governing body said on Friday.

The ban is a tougher punishment than the one imposed on ManchesterCity and Paris St Germain after they were sanctioned for running up excessive losses.

Red Star won the Serbian league title last month for the first time since 2007, finishing ahead of city rivals Partizan. They were scheduled to start in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.

UEFA ruled that Red Star were in breach of a number of its club licensing and Financial Fair Play rules after looking into a complaint that it was behind on payments. European champions in 1991, Red Star have 10 days to appeal against the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

City and PSG were given fines of up to 60 million euros and will face caps on their squad sizes in next season's Champions League.

Spanish club Malaga were banned from the Europa League in 2013-14 after they failed to pay all their creditors.

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AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi said that coach Clarence Seedorf is part of the club's 'past' on Friday, though he stopped short of confirming that the Dutchman had been sacked.

Italian media have been reporting for nearly two weeks that Seedorf is set to be fired and be replaced by youth team coach Filippo Inzaghi and that confirmation of the move is imminent.

The delay has been blamed on negotiations over a severance deal for Seedorf who was appointed in January and has two more years of his contract to run.

"We'll see at the next board meeting what solution we find for Clarence Seedorf, but that's enough talking about the past, we are looking to the future," Berlusconi told reporters during a visit to the club's new headquarters.

"I've seen that Inzaghi is very determined, hungry for victory and absolutely in line with everything we want Milan to be. We want a team which wins, plays convincingly and entertains the fans," added the former Italian Prime Minister.

"I hope that next season we can field a team which can start a new cycle," he added. "We have to become among the top competitors again like we have been for the past 30 years, at the moment we are between one cycle and another," he added.

"I told my daughter (board member Barbara Berlusconi) that the trophy room seemed a bit small and we need to build a new one for when we win cups in the future," he added.

Seedorf, who spent 10 seasons of his playing career at Milan, has quickly fallen out of favour despite overseeing a significant improvement in results.

Milan won 11 out of 19 Serie A matches under his charge compared to only five of the previous 19 under predecessor Massimiliano Allegri on their way to finishing eighth.

Inzaghi, who has never coached at senior level, is currently in charge of Milan's under-19 team.

He spent 11 seasons playing for Milan, where he won two Serie A titles and two Champions League titles, and also won 57 caps for Italy.