Serie A side AS Roma President JAMES PALLOTA said that FRANCESCO TOTTI has a six-year contract as a club director "ready to be signed, although he does not want to be drawn on whether the 40-year-old will play on for another season." Totti "earned a one-year contract extension last summer due to his performances" toward the end of the season, but his playing future "remains uncertain as he continues to be used in a backup role for Roma this term" (ESPN.com, 3/20). ... Russian Deputy PM VITALY MUTKO "brushed off media allegations that certain Russian footballers were mentioned in the now infamous McLaren report." The players mentioned were IGOR AKINFEYEV (CSKA Moscow), DENIS GLUSHAKOV (Spartak Moscow), YURY ZHIRKOV (Zenit St. Petersburg) and IGOR DENISOV (Lokomotiv Moscow) (IANS, 3/18). ... Three members of an anti-corruption tribunal set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board "submitted their respective consents" on March 17. The tribunal has been "tasked with adjudicating allegations of spot-fixing in the second edition of the Pakistan Super League." The tribunal will comprise retired justice ASGHAR HAIDER, who will chair the tribunal, TAUQIR ZIA and former Test player and team Manager WASIM BARI as members (DAWN, 3/20). ... Spain's District Attorney's Office requested more than 14 years in prison for former La Liga side Osasuna exec ÁNGEL VIZCAY and more than 12 years for former President MIGUEL ARCHANCO and former Dir TXUMA PERALTA for the so-called "Osasuna case," which involved irregularities in the club's financial accounts and suspected match-fixing at the end of the '14-15 season (EFE, 3/20). ... Juventus goalkeeper GIANLUIGI BUFFON insisted "an influx of foreign investors is 'bad for Serie A.'" Milan is the latest club "attempting to tie down a deal for the club with a Chinese consortium." Buffon said, "Foreign investors in Serie A? Roma with the Americans, the Milanese with the Chinese ... it’s bad for Italy. It is a setback for our football and our traditions" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 3/20).
NOTABLE DEATH: Derry City captain RYAN MCBRIDE "died at the age of 27." He died a day after "leading his side in a 4-0 victory over Drogheda United in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top league in the Republic of Ireland." The cause of his death is "not yet known" (BBC, 3/20).
