Football

Suspended Sepp Blatter admitted his sadness at the nature of his departure from his job as FIFA president during a French radio interview on Thursday, saying he has been left defenceless.

Brazilian striker Jonas, Benfica's and the Portuguese league's top scorer, netted for the 26th time this season with a glancing header from a free kick in 91st minute.

The India women's team won gold at the 12th South Asian Games, beating Nepal 4-0 in the final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday.

Brazilian centre back David Luiz is open to the idea of representing the national team in this year's Olympic Games at the Rio de Janeiro.

Sunderland's England international winger Adam Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of grooming at his under-age sex trial on Wednesday.

Real Madrid full back Marcelo looks set to miss the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie away to AS Roma next week after dislocating his shoulder.

Nigerian Ranti Martins scored a hat-trick as East Bengal thrashed Shillong Lajong 4-0 in an I-League encounter on Tuesday.

The English Premier League (EPL) will have a new logo which will be used from the 2016/2017 season, the league's managing director Richard Masters announced on Tuesday.

Citing the examples of Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo, former England captain and Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday said Indian football need a stand-out player to catch the country's fancy.

"Barcelona striker Lionel Messi will undergo several tests on Monday and Tuesday to assess the evolution of the kidney problems he suffered last December," Barcelona said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.com).

A goal in added time by Diego Costa earned Chelsea a point against United and preserved Guus Hiddink's unbeaten record since returning to the London club as interim manager in December while denying Louis van Gaal victory.

India attacked right from the beginning but missed several scoring chances and had to settle for the draw.

Presently East Bengal are at the fourth spot on the league table with eight points while the visitors are seventh with four points.

Barkley should no longer be considered a young prospect but regarded as a player who can marshal and inspire his team, manager Roberto Martinez said.

Suarez scored four and Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona piled more misery on Gary Neville's ill-fated reign.

Chelsea did not really get out of second gear until after the restart and only started to dominate when Eden Hazard was summoned off the bench.