Chelsea may take ban ruling to CAS
LONDON • English Premier League club Chelsea hinted they may take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as they look to overturn a ban on signing new players.
On Friday, the Fifa Appeal Committee denied the football club's request to have the ban - stopping them from acquiring players until January 2020 - frozen until their appeal is heard.
Chelsea were alleged to have broken rules over the signing of 29 Under-18 players from overseas, accusations they have denied.
DPA
Ranieri back at Roma as coach
MILAN • Former Roma boss Claudio Ranieri was on Friday reappointed head coach of the Italian Serie A football club until the end of the season, after Eusebio di Francesco was sacked in the wake of their Champions League last-16 defeat by Porto.
Ranieri, who was himself dismissed as Fulham manager just last month, returns to his hometown club which he coached from September 2009 to February 2011.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Singles top seeds in All England finals
BIRMINGHAM • Both singles top seeds last night reached the finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships.
Japan's Kento Momota took out Hong Kong's Angus Ng 21-19, 21-11 and will play defending champion Shi Yuqi or 2017 world champion Viktor Axelsen today.
Two-time defending women's champion Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 10-21, 21-8 and will face second seed Nozomi Okuhara or third seed Chen Yufei.
XINHUA
Serena wins battle of former No. 1s
INDIAN WELLS • Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-3 in an electrifying clash of former world No. 1s on Friday to reach the third round at Indian Wells.
The two raised the temperature on a cold, windy night in the California desert, trading shots from every corner of the tennis court before Williams wrapped things up after 2hr 17min.
In an earlier match, Swiss qualifier Stefanie Vogele stunned world No. 4 Sloane Stephens of the United States 6-3, 6-0.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
