Sporting briefs

KEAN: Steve Kean quit as Blackburn Rovers manager last night, saying he’d been “forced to resign” with immediate effect due to his position becoming “untenable”. The Scot had faced constant criticism from Rovers fans throughout his two-year spell in charge at Ewood Park after the club’s owners Venky’s brought him in to replace Sam Allardyce.

KERZHAKOV: Zenit SP said their striker Alexander Kerzhakov was back in the squad after rebelling over the big money signing of Brazilian Hulk from Porto. Kerzhakov had backed a revolt led by team-mate Igor Denisov demanding new wage conditions after the signing of Hulk on a salary of $6.5 m a year.

ONO: Australian A-League newcomers Western Sydney Wanderers have signed Japanese star Shinji Ono as the club’s inaugural marquee player. Ono, 33, joins the Wanderers from Shimizu S-Pulse.

HAMSIK: Napoli’s Marek Hamsik will have to skip the Europa League matches against PSV and Dnipro after a two-match UEFA ban. The Slovak was sent off in the 4-0 victory over Sweden’s AIK last week.

BRANDAO: A French judge has ruled that there are no grounds to prosecute Brazilian Brandao, who was investigated for alleged rape. St Etienne’s Brandao had been accused by a 23-year old women of raping her at Aix-en-Provence in 2011.

ARGENTINA: Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta have been called up by Argentina boss Alejandro Sabella for next month’s World Cup qualifiers but there was no place for Carlos Tevez. Aguero is named to play Uruguay at home on October 12 and Chile away four days later.

LEAGUE TWO: Cheltenham vs Morecambe 2-0.

MFA DIV. THREE: Siġġiewi vs Żebbuġ 1-2.