* Giulio Ciccone reached his season’s goal when he won the Maglia Azzurra (blue) for the mountains classification at the Giro d’Italia of the Tour de France on Thursday.
* Barcelona have beaten Paris St Germain to the signing of one of England’s brightest talents, 16-year-old striker Louie Barry from Championship side West Bromwich Albion. British media had reported that Barry had undergone a medical with French Ligue 1 champions PSG before Barcelona stepped in at the last minute and convinced him to join the ranks at La Masia, the club’s famed academy.
* Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny has refused to travel with the squad for their pre-season tour to the United States, the Premier League club said on Thursday. The 33-year-old French centre back has one more year on his contract and British media reported that Ligue 1 clubs Girondins Bordeaux and Olympique Lyonnais were interested in signing him.
* Aston Villa have signed defender Ezri Konsa from Championship side Brentford for an undisclosed fee, the promoted Premier League club said on Thursday. British media reported that the deal for the 21-year-old Konsa was worth 12 million pounds.
* The Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned a decision by the International Olympic Committee to exclude former Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko from taking part in the Olympic Games, court documents published on Thursday showed.
* Football Federation Australia Chief Executive David Gallop said on Thursday he will step down from the role on Dec. 31 as the country prepares to implement far-reaching changes to the professional game.
* FIFA is doubling its minimum ban for racist incidents to 10 games and will allow players to make victim statements and participate in the proceedings, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.
