Brazil v England
Brazil will host England in a friendly on Sunday in Maracana stadium after a court threw out a judge’s order cancelling the match over safety concerns. A court ruled that after an inspection, the recently renovated stadium did after all meet safety standards, a Rio court statement said. The O Estado de Sao Paulo daily on Thursday quoted court sources as saying the Rio judge who earlier cancelled the match had acted on a request from state prosecutors. They had said that there was no evidence Maracana met "the minimum necessary conditions to host games or events." But the authorities in Rio sent that ruling before a duty judge. They argued that because of a "bureaucratic mistake" the safety report had not been delivered to the relevant official.
They judge duly overturned the earlier ruling, clearing the way for the game to go ahead. An estimated 74,000 people are expected to watch Sunday’s match, which will be the second test for the stadium inaugurated on 27 April.
Catching Cavani
Reports in Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday claimed that Chelsea had offered Serie A side Napoli 30 million euros plus Fernando Torres in a bid to secure the services of Edinson Cavani. Napoli are reported to have offered the Uruguayan an improved salary worth 7 million euros a year in a bid to keep him at the club. Cavani was the top scorer in Serie A in the season just finished, scoring 29 goals. The 26-year-old is also believed to be a target for Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, with the latter having offered money plus Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko in an attempt to secure his signature, according to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis. Cavani is currently on international duty as Uruguay prepare to face Venezuela.
Title for India
The Indian team, consisting of Manan Chandra, Brijesh Damani and Alok Kumar, clinched the inaugural Asian Team Snooker Championships by defeating Iran 3-0 in the title clash in Doha, Qatar. The Indians were on top right from the beginning, heading their group with three wins in as many games. They beat Qatar and Afghanistan 3-1 each in the quarter-finals and  semi-finals, respectively.
Nine-month ban
Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo was on Thursday handed a nine-month suspension after being found guilty of pushing a referee. The ban, handed down by the disciplinary commission of the French football league (LFP), applies to all official duties as well as stopping him from being present on the touchline during PSG games.
Weightlifting
Ragala Venkat Rahul picked up all the three gold medals in the boys’ 77kg category as India continued to shine in the Asian Youth Weightlifting Championships on the event’s fourth day in Doha on Friday. India have so far secured 27 medals: 13 gold, seven silver and seven bronze ones.