Real Madrid President FLORENTINO PÉREZ will reportedly fire Dir General JOSÉ ÁNGEL SÁNCHEZ "at the end of the season." Pérez "needs to blame someone" for the club's struggles in recent months. Sánchez, who has been with the club for the last 15 years, "has been losing favor with the president over the past few seasons" (SPORT, 4/11). ... Ligue 2 side RC Lens President GERVAIS MARTEL is "heading back to court." Martel, acquitted on March 31 by the Arras court for bribery and concealment of public funds abuse, “will return to court after the prosecution appealed the court’s decision.” Martel’s lawyer DIDIER ROBIQUET "expressed his surprise" at the prosecution’s decision to appeal by saying, “I thought we had demonstrated that there was no infringement. I am surprised by this relentlessness” (20 MINUTES, 4/11). ... Former Chelsea doctor EVA CARNEIRO "has called for clubs to trust medical personnel following her controversial exit from Stamford Bridge." She spoke publicly "for the first time since leaving Chelsea under a cloud," highlighting the importance of a club "having trust in its medical personnel" (OMNISPORT, 4/10). ... Italian cyclist ELIA VIVIANI was "taken to a hospital for checks after his bike was hit by a race motorbike during the Paris-Roubaix classic on Sunday." A video taken by a spectator and posted on social media "showed the motorbike sliding on its side before hitting Viviani's back wheel after the peloton was slowed down by a crash on the cobbled sector of Arenberg." Safety has been a "hot topic in cycling since Belgian rider ANTOINE DEMOITIE died last month after being hit by a motorbike" (REUTERS, 4/10). ... A former high-ranking football official in the Americas pleaded guilty on Monday to "charges that he participated in bribery schemes uncovered in a U.S. investigation" of corruption in FIFA. Former FIFA VP ALFREDO HAWIT, who also led CONCACAF, "pleaded guilty in federal court" in Brooklyn, N.Y., to four conspiracy charges (REUTERS, 4/11). ... Indian cricketer VIRAT KOHLI has "joined the recently-announced Premier Futsal football league as its brand ambassador." Premier Futsal was launched "amid much fanfare last week and Kohli, who has been the face of Indian Cricket over the last few years, will now lend his name to Futsal," the newer, shorter 5-a-side variant of football. His announcement as brand ambassador follows the unveiling of footballer LUIS FIGO "as Premier Futsal’s president last week" (PTI, 4/11). ... The Board of Control for Cricket in India has pulled HARSHA BHOGLE "from the commentary panel of the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in a development that has left the seasoned cricket expert searching for answers." Bhogle said, "No one told me anything." The decision regarding the selection of commentators, according to a report published in the Indian Express, "is taken by the BCCI after considering certain factors" (DAWN, 4/11). ... Olympic Medal hopeful KENTO MOMOTA has been "kicked off Japan’s badminton team for the Olympics this summer for gambling at an illegal casino." The Nippon Badminton Association "threw the book at the 21-year-old world number two, banning him from competition indefinitely, after an emergency meeting to decide on the player’s fate." Teammate KENICHI TAGO, "also found guilty of placing illegal bets, was removed from the organisation’s official player list for an indefinite period" (AFP, 4/11). ... Florence, Italy "celebrated the lives and achievements of STEFANO BORGONOVO and ARMANDO SEGATO." Both men were former strikers for Fiorentina and Italy’s La Squadra Azzura, "who lost their battle with neurological disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease." Borgonovo and Segato’s contribution to Italian football "was honoured at a special ceremony celebrating their lives and achievements." At the event Florence Mayor DARIO NARDELLO "unveiled two monuments in their honour and announced that two streets in the city of Florence would be dedicated to them" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 4/11).
