World Cup before Blues deal for Hazard

LONDON • Eden Hazard said he will not think about signing a contract extension with Chelsea until the football World Cup has finished.

The attacker, who is contracted until 2020, indicated that he did not expect a swift resolution over his future when asked about it before Belgium's friendly against Saudi Arabia yesterday.

There have been suggestions that he wants to see whether Real Madrid will prioritise his signing this summer before he signs an extension with the Blues.

THE GUARDIAN

Greek games restart with new rules

ATHENS• Greece's top-flight football games will resume on Saturday after being suspended for nearly three weeks after a pistol-carrying club owner challenged a referee.

The league was put on hold on March 12 after the owner of the Paok team Ivan Savvidis marched onto the pitch during a match with a gun strapped to his belt. The ban was lifted after all 16 clubs agreed to a list of government demands, including point deductions and potential relegation for violence.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Rafa returns for Davis Cup q-finals

MADRID• Rafa Nadal was named in Spain's tennis squad for their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final against Germany in Valencia over the April 6-8 weekend.

The world No. 2 withdrew from the Australian Open in January after reaching the last eight owing to an upper quad problem. He was expected to return at the Mexican Open at the end of last month, but missed his fifth tournament in a row.

REUTERS

British ocean race sailor likely dead

LONDON • A British Volvo Ocean Race crew member who fell overboard in the Southern Ocean is presumed lost at sea, the organisers said yesterday.

John Fisher, 47, had been competing with Hong Kong entry, Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, on leg seven from Auckland to Itajai in Brazil and was reported missing in extremely rough seas on Monday.

REUTERS