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Grant back at Portsmouth

Author: Rose Young
Date: 08/10/2009
Football betting

Portsmouth have named former Chelsea manager Avram Grant as their new director of football.

Grant had a spell at Fratton Park as technical director in 2006 during Harry Redknapp's time as manager before taking over in the Chelsea hot-seat when Jose Mourinho left the club in September 2007.

The Israeli joins a club that lost their opening seven Premier League games of the season before beating Wolves 1-0 at Molineux on Saturday.

Saudi tycoon Ali Al-Faraj assumed control of the club earlier this week, replacing Sulaiman Al Fahim, whose own takeover was only finalised in August.

Can Portsmouth avoid relegation from the Premier League? - Latest Football Betting

Manchester United's Darren Fletcher and Alan Hutton of Tottenham are the latest players to withdraw from an injury-hit Scotland squad for Saturday's friendly in Japan.

Fletcher and Hutton pulled out of the controversial friendly with undisclosed injury problems just hours before the team flew out of Glasgow airport on Wednesday morning.

Scott Brown, Shaun Maloney, Steven Naismith, Scott Robertson, Robert Snodgrass, Kevin Thomson, Garry O'Connor and Danny Fox have also not made the trip.

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has revealed that he regrets his stamp on former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie.

The Togo striker was banned for three games after being charged with violent conduct following the incident with his ex-colleague during City's stormy 4-2 victory over the Gunners at Eastlands last month.

Kevin Pietersen is expected to be fit for England's winter tour to South Africa, according to captain Andrew Strauss.

The flamboyant batsman has been sidelined since the second Ashes Test in July following surgery to cure a long-running Achilles problem.

South Africa have been installed as slight favourites to win the Test series in the online betting markets.

In rugby union, Gloucester hooker Olivier Azam has been banned until December 29 after pleading guilty to a charge of kicking England captain Steve Borthwick in the head.

Saracens' Borthwick needed five stitches in an eye wound after being kicked in the face during his side's 19-16 Guinness Premiership win over Gloucester last month.

Azam, who had only just returned from a nine-week eye-gouging ban, will now miss Gloucester's next ten games - four in the Heineken Cup and six in the Premiership.

Meanwhile, Munster and Ireland prop John Hayes has been handed a six-week ban for stamping.

Hayes was cited for a stamp on Cian Healy during Saturday's Magners League defeat by Leinster in which he was red-carded.

The 94-times capped prop will now miss Munster's Heineken Cup opener against Northampton this weekend and the following encounter with Treviso.

Robert Kubica has agreed a deal to race for Renault in the 2010 Formula One season.

The 24-year-old Pole will replace Ferrari-bound Fernando Alonso at the French team.

Meanwhile, Felipe Massa has revealed that he could make his return from injury at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver has been out of action since fracturing his skull during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in July after a freak accident involving a piece of debris from Rubens Barrichello's car.

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