Europe

A day after Dutch soccer club Ajax Amsterdam clinched a place in next season's Champions League qualifying rounds, tax inspectors arrived at the club to investigate allegations of irregular payments.

A delegation from soccer's governing body FIFA have given a thumbs up to South Korea's preparations for the 2002 World Cup, including the daunting task of building 10 new stadiums.

The High Court has banned radio station talkSPORT from calling its Euro 2000 coverage 'live' after a complaint from the BBC, reports the soccer industry newsletter, The Soccer Investor Weekly Bulletin.

Horse racing returns to Italy today after a strike lasting nearly a month.

Italy's Antitrust competition regulator has told Telepiu it must stick to a law which limits any one pay-TV operator to a 60 percent slice of rights to broadcast Italian first division soccer matches.

An Italian court has suspended the planned sale of Rome's Foro Italico sports complex, which includes the Olympic Stadium.

The long-running split between the top European basketball clubs is at an end after an agreement to reunify the competing leagues.

Multipole has acquired exclusive television rights for Latin America and the US for Italy?s Copa Italia.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has reported finding eight first and second division soccer players guilty of match-fixing.

Brands Hatch is to host the final round of this season's world superbike championship on October 15 after the scheduled race was moved from Imola in Italy.

A sell-out crowd and record viewing figures have all but been ensured by the presence of the US team in next Saturday's Women's World Cup Final at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

The recent MotoGP in Italy broke new TV viewer records for the sport ? according to figures just released.

The English Football Association has apologised to Denmark for violence involving Arsenal fans at the UEFA Cup final but said it would not affect England's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup.

Italian first division soccer club AS Roma will float on the Milan bourse around April 7-10, Roma president Francesco Sensi has confirmed.

An Italian court will hear an appeal against the 1997 acquittal of Williams team technical director Patrick Head and former chief designer Adrian Newey who were charged with manslaughter over the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994.

Olympic Games organisers are confident of securing a deal on the Games' ticketing policy after offering a discount on top-level tickets for major sponsors.