Sporting briefs

Riether: Fulham right-back Sascha Riether has accepted a charge of violent conduct for stamping on Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj. The incident occurred towards the end of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at home to United, but was not seen by referee Lee Probert or his assistants. However, Riether has not escaped punishment, becoming the first player to be charged by the FA under a new pilot scheme where a panel of three former referees reviews video evidence of incidents not seen by match officials.

O’Neill: Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has agreed a two-year contract extension, the Irish Football Association said yesterday. O’Neill, who took charge in December 2011, will remain in charge through qualifying for Euro 2016. The new deal comes despite an inconsistent World Cup qualifying campaign when they beat group winners Russia at home but lost on their travels to Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. They finished fifth in the six-team group, with one win, four draws and five defeats.

Fined: Norwich City were fined £20,000 yesterday after admitting an FA charge relating to a melee involving several players in last month’s 0-0 draw with Cardiff City in the Premier League. “The charge was that the club failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion in or around the 94th minute of this fixture,” the FA said. Leroy Fer’s disallowed goal for Norwich in stoppage time sparked the scuffle at Carrow Road.

Ajax: Frank De Boer hopes the tiny percentage of Ajax fans he describes as “crazy” do not disrupt tonight’s Champions League clash with Celtic at the Amsterdam Arena. UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against the Dutch club after some of their supporters clashed with police and stewards during the Group H game at Parkhead last month which the home side won 2-1. “There is always some crazy people (who) try to disturb something but hopefully it will not happen,” the Ajax manager said.

Ayhan: Schalke’s teenage defender Kaan Ayhan has signed an extended contract to keep him at the club until 2017. The 18-year-old, who turns 19 on Sunday, made his Bundesliga debut as a late substitute against Augsburg in October. He was contracted to the end of June 2015 but has agreed to a further two years in Gelsenkirchen.

League One: Bristol City vs Crawley 2-0; Carlisle vs Wolves 2-2.