Darcheville: Bordeaux striker Jean Claude Darcheville will move to Rangers at the end of the season on a two-year deal, the Scottish Premier League club said. "With Dado Prso leaving we said that we were looking to bring in some players to strengthen the front area," Rangers manager Walter Smith said. "There were a number of other clubs interested and Bordeaux wanted him to sign a new deal so we're pleased we will have his talents for the next two seasons." Darcheville, 31, has previously played in Britain, for Nottingham Forest from 1998-99.
Sevilla underdogs: Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido believes his side go into next week's UEFA Cup final against Espanyol as underdogs, even though they are defending champions. "All we wanted to avoid was playing the best team of the 2007 UEFA Cup competition, which is Espanyol," Del Nido said. "We have a tremendous amount of respect for them and I think they are favourites." Barcelona-based Espanyol are unbeaten in the tournament, and are its top scorers with 32 goals.
Strachan: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has been cleared to sit in the dugout during the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline Athletic on May 26. Strachan lodged an appeal against a four-match touchline suspension due to start on May 13. The Scottish FA's disciplinary committee is not due to meet again until late July at the earliest. So, even if Strachan loses his appeal, any suspension will not come into play until next season.
Four-match ban: Hertha Berlin's Josip Simunic has been banned for four matches after he was sent off in Sunday's game against Werder Bremen when he caught Christian Schulz in the face with a high kick, inflicting cuts around the eye. The Croatian defender, who later apologised to Schulz by telephone, will miss the remaining two matches of this Bundesliga season and the first two of the next, the German soccer federation (DFB) said in a statement.
Russian Cup final: Lokomotiv Moscow beat city rivals Spartak 2-1 yesterday to advance to the Russian Cup final 5-1 on aggregate. Russia striker Dmitry Sychev scored the winner two minutes from time for the railway side, who will meet FK Moscow in the May 27 final. FK Moscow reached their first major final after beating second division Dynamo Bryansk 1-0 in the second leg of their semi-final on Tuesday for a 2-1 win on aggregate. Lokomotiv, on the other hand, will be playing in their ninth final, having won six including the inaugural Soviet Cup final back in 1936. The cup winners will represent Russia in the UEFA Cup next season.
Arsenal: Arsenal are closing in on a deal for Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. The Legia Warsaw keeper has undergone a medical at the North London club after Arsenal agreed an undisclosed deal with the Polish club for the shot-stopper. Arsene Wenger has been trailing Fabianski for some time and is thought to see him as an understudy for Jens Lehmann. The Polish international has flown back to his homeland and is expected to return to London later this week to put the finishing touches to his move to the Emirates Stadium.