Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho courted controversy again on Tuesday when he returned fire on his Serie A rivals in a row over a contested penalty in Sunday's 3-3 draw with AS Roma. Polemics have been flying since 18-year-old striker Mario Balotelli, who scored twice, helped league leaders Inter come back from 3-1 down by converting a penalty after going down in the area.
Teenager Mario Balotelli struck twice and Hernan Crespo scored a late equaliser as Serie A leaders Inter Milan rallied to draw 3-3 with AS Roma in a thriller at the San Siro on Sunday.
With no clear sense of direction being set by Deschamps' selections, it may be up to the players to find their own way to deal with Messi.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Brazil advanced to the semi-finals of the football competition with a 2-0 win over Camerron after extra time.
Brazil playmaker Kaka scored his first goal, a delightful curling shot, since his return to AC Milan at the start of the season but his struggling team were held 1-1 at home by Lazio in Serie A on Wednesday.
German forward Mario Gomez has joined Besiktas on loan after two unhappy, injury-plagued seasons at Fiorentina, the clubs said on Thursday.
AS Roma moved to within four points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan with a 2-0 home win over Catania on Sunday but third-placed Juventus lost ground.
Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo clinched his first MotoGP win after a thrilling duel with compatriot Dani Pedrosa at the MotoGP of Portugal at the Estoril circuit on Sunday. Seven times world champion Valentino Rossi was third in the 28-lap, 117.096-km race. Lorenzo, on a Yamaha, clocked 45 minutes 53.089 seconds, 1.817 seconds faster than Pedrosa, on a Honda.
Italy midfielder Antonio Candreva gave a dazzling performance as he scored a penalty and set up a second goal in a 2-0 win over Finland in their fast-paced final Euro 2016 warm-up in Verona on Monday. The 29-year-old winger coolly converted a 27th-minute spot kick after being brought down and delivered an inch-perfect cross for Daniele De Rossi to head home midway through the second half. Thriving on the right flank in an adventurous 3-4-3 formation, Candreva was a handful for the visitors throughout the evening, showing blistering pace as well as neat footwork. With their coach Antonio Conte fielding a three-pronged attack of Stephan El Shaarawy, Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza, the Italians pressed high and hard to keep the Finns on the back foot from the start.
The Ducati rider's eighth victory of the season, his third consecutive win, gave him an 85-point lead over Italy's Valentino Rossi.
The 21-year-old Australian started third on the grid but he surged into the lead on the first lap and never lost it, easing to his ninth victory of the season.
Spaniard Toni Elias finished second for Honda, edging out Stoner's Ducati team mate Loris Capirossi of Italy.
A look at the big winners of the night.
There have been three dismissals in three previous World Cup finals matches -- 1938 Brazil v Czechoslovakia, 1954 Brazil v Hungary and 1998 Denmark v South Africa.
China beat Canada 4-2 in the play-off for seventh and eight places in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament.
Italian Loris Capirossi won the MotoGP Czech Grand Prix after leading from start to finish.
Lance Armstrong has been voted sports personality of the year, according to a poll published in the Spanish daily
Ferrari have parted company with chief designer Nikolas Tombazis and engineering director Pat Fry, two of the men responsible for designing this year's car as the team endured their first season without a win since 1993.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde's conservatism was cited by the Spanish media as the main reason for their 3-0 defeat at AS Roma on Tuesday that led to a shock Champions League quarter-final elimination being regarded as 'a historic debacle'.
Not even a lively performance from Lionel Messi - at least in the first half in St Petersburg - as they edged out Nigeria 2-1 to finish second in Group D will give their large travelling band of supporters in Russia much in the way of confidence.
Nigeria have no sympathy for the struggles of Argentina striker Lionel Messi at the World Cup and will do everything they can to bring his tournament to a premature end when the teams meet in St Petersburg on Tuesday.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski can finish Euro 2016 without a goal to his name as long as the team keep grinding out results starting with Saturday's last-16 clash against Switzerland, coach Adam Nawalka said on Friday. The Poles eked out 1-0 wins over Northern Ireland and Ukraine and a 0-0 draw against Germany in the group stage, with Lewandowski often dropping into a deeper role to create space for strike partner Arkadiusz Milik.
US goalkeeper Kasey Keller praised the courage of team mate Brian McBride after the big striker's battling and bloodied display against Italy.
Lance Armstrong and Roger Federer were nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.
Italy manager Antonio Conte named his provisional squad for the European Championship on Monday, and his selection was notable as much for the player he left off as for those he chose.
Manchester United crushed minor league Burton Albion 5-0 in their FA Cup third-round replay
The FIFA World Cup at Russia saw a variety of celebrations -- from the weird to some fancy dance moves -- Rediff.com has got it all covered here...
After the match between Argentina and Iceland, an Argentine journalist hands over to Messi a red ribbon at a post-match press briefing.
An extra-time goal by Pedro Ibarra carried Argentina to a 2-1 victory against Spain in the men's Junior World Cup hockey tournament.
Stand-in defender Vlad Chiriches atoned for an early blunder by scoring his first Serie A goal to help Napoli come from behind and beat Chievo 3-1 in Serie A on Saturday, putting them level at the top with Juventus.
Argentina start as hot favourites to beat Iceland in their opening World Cup Group D match on Saturday but the toughest opponent for the runners-up four years ago may be themselves rather than the tiny tournament debutants.
Italian racer Doriano Romboni died on Saturday after being struck by another rider's bike at an event in memory of late compatriot Marco Simoncelli, who was killed in a similar fashion two years ago.
Tennis stars Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova came in their finest best at the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California on Sunday.
Rediff.com's Norma Godinho captures classic moments from the planet's greatest sports competition: The FIFA World Cup.
An inexperienced Germany suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Slovakia in a storm-affected friendly ahead of Euro 2016.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Belgium make Wales wait after Hazard's strike, while Czechs beat Latvia to qualify
The beat Serbia & Montenegro 3-0 in the final to win the title for a fifth time in the past seven tournaments.
A look at some daredevil acts in recent years
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