Chelsea were fined 600,000 Swiss francs (453,404.9 pounds) and sanctioned in February in relation to 29 cases where regulations relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18 were breached. But FIFA’s Appeal Committee decided the club can still sign players under the age of 16 as they concluded imposing a ban on registering each and every minor “would not be proportionate to the offence committed”.
* Newcastle United right back DeAndre Yedlin has undergone surgery in the United States for a groin problem, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Yedlin, 25, suffered the injury before Newcastle's 3-2 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday and the US international last featured in their 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace in April where he conceded a penalty.
* Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante will miss the second leg of their Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday and faces a further two weeks out with a hamstring problem, manager Maurizio Sarri said on Wednesday. France international Kante left the field early in the first half of last Sunday's 3-0 Premier League win over Watford and Sarri said after the game that the decision not to rest the World Cup winner was a mistake.
* Arsenal coach Unai Emery would rather focus on winning the Europa League than worry about securing a place in next season's Champions League, the Spaniard said on Wednesday ahead of his side's semi-final second leg against Valencia on Thursday. The Londoners have practically blown their chances of finishing in the Premier League's top four after Sunday's 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion, meaning winning Europe's second prize is their only realistic route back into the Champions League.
* Adidas will extend its sponsorship of Spanish soccer side Real Madrid until 2028, the German sportswear firm said on Wednesday, as it battles fierce competition in Europe from Nike and a resurgent Puma. Adidas has seen its leadership in soccer eroded in recent years by the advance of its bigger US competitor Nike, which sponsors Real Madrid's arch rivals Barcelona and is reportedly in talks with Liverpool, second in the English Premier League.
* The Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix will return to Rio de Janeiro for the first time in three decades next year, President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday. Bolsonaro said a new track in the western neighbourhood of Deodoro will be built for the race, adding that a tender process would be launched in the coming weeks.
* A trademark Marouane Fellaini header propelled Shandong Luneng into the Asian Champions League knockouts on Wednesday as the former Manchester United midfielder earned the Chinese Super League side a 2-1 win over Korea Republic's Gyeongnam FC. Fellaini headed home from close range three minutes from fulltime to guarantee Shandong top spot in Group E after defending champions Kashima Antlers slipped to a shock 1-0 loss at the hands of Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta’zim. The win takes Shandong on to 11 points from their first five games in the game phase, four more than Kashima with Gyeongnam a further two points adrift.
* Spanish building and infrastructure company FCC has been awarded a contract to overhaul Read Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium, the club said on Wednesday. Majority owned by Mexican Carlos Slim, FCC will begin work immediately and avoid disrupting games, with the project due to be completed by August 2022, the club said in a statement. The contract is worth around 475 million euros (£408.67 million), Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias reported.
* All-conquering Lyon overcame Lille 3-1 in the Women's French Cup final to claim their eighth title of the tournament on Wednesday after having stayed unbeaten to become the French top-flight league champions for the 13th year in a row.
