Sporting briefs

Arshavin: Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin said he would miss tomorrow's Champions League game at Porto with a hamstring strain. Arshavin picked up the injury in last week's Premier League win over Liverpool. Alex Song is also struggling to make the Porto match after injuring a knee in the same game.

Vidic: Man. United centre-back Vidic will miss today's Champions League last-16 first leg at Milan. United travelled to Milan yesterday without Vidic, who is still struggling with a nerve problem in his leg that has kept him out of action all year.

Abusive chants: Referee Tom van Sichem stole the limelight in an otherwise forgettable Eredivisie goalless draw between Utrecht and Feyenoord last weekend. The official called a temporary halt to proceedings 10 minutes from the end because of abusive chants aimed at him from the home crowd.

Quevilly: French minnows Quevilly will fancy their chance of pulling off another upset in the Coupe de France after they were handed a quarter-final tie against Ligue 1 strugglers Boulogne. The fourth division side will host Boulogne as, according to regulations, the match is always staged at the amateur side's ground.

Friendly: Algeria will attend a pre-World Cup training camp in Italy and have organised a friendly against Ireland before heading to South Africa in June. The Algerian Football Federation said it had arranged a friendly international in Dublin on May 29.

Barca: Barcelona midfielder Xavi will be out of action for around 15 days with a thigh-muscle injury. The 30-year-old playmaker had to be substituted towards the end of the leaders' first La Liga defeat of the season on Sunday, when they lost 2-1 away to Atletico Madrid.

Vivas out: Racing Club's Claudio Vivas became the first coaching casualty of the year in the Argentine first division when he was sacked after three consecutive defeats. Vivas had been in charge for 11 matches since November.

Europa League: Playing today 18.45 (last 32, first leg) - Everton vs Sporting Lisbon.

The Championship: Bristol Rovers vs Charlton 2-1.

Serie B: Salernitana-Triestina 1-2.

Primera Liga: Tenerife vs Mallorca 1-0.

Division Three: Luqa vs Pembroke 1-2; Mtarfa vs Siġġiewi 1-3.

Cycling: A French judge has issued an international arrest warrant against American rider Floyd Landis for suspected hacking into an anti-doping laboratory computer, French anti-doping agency head Pierre Bordry said yesterday. Bordy said judge Thomas Cassuto believed Landis, whose 2006 Tour de France title was stripped after he failed a dope test, wanted to prove the laboratory where his samples were tested was wrong.

Golf: Dustin Johnson defended his Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title on Sunday, sinking a birdie on the last hole to win by a stroke from fellow Americans David Duval and J.B. Holmes. The victory gave the 25-year-old Johnson his third tour title and a $1.116 million winner's cheque. He has now won once every year since joining the PGA Tour in 2008.

Horse racing: Best-selling crime writer Dick Francis, who drew on his experience as a successful steeplechase jockey for his racing thrillers, died on Sunday aged 89 at his home in the Caribbean. Francis rode more than 350 winners and was champion jockey before injury forced him to take up the pen.

Motor racing: Jamie McMurray won the Daytona 500 when he held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a drama-filled NASCAR season-opener, twice delayed by track repairs. The race was halted for over an hour with 78 laps remaining while workers repaired a pothole that developed in the track. The hole reappeared 39 laps later, forcing another 45-minute delay before racing resumed.

Tennis: Fernando Verdasco upset top seed Andy Roddick 3-6 6-4 6-4 to win the San Jose Open on Sunday and snap a 15-match losing streak against top 10-ranked players. "I know the top 10 guys are tough and last year I was really close in a lot of matches," the Spaniard told reporters after clinching his fourth title and second on American soil.