Sporting briefs...

Linesman attacked: Athens club Ionikos are likely to face disciplinary action after their home Super League match against Iraklis was abandoned yesterday when a supporter attacked the assistant referee. The incident occurred with the score tied at 2-2. A scuffle between the players had just seen Iraklis's Joel Epalle and Ionikos defender Giorgos Poulopoulos sent off deep into added time. The fan then attacked the assistant referee who had to be rescued by riot police and taken to hospital in a neck brace.

Referees protest: The Ligue 1 matches yesterday evening started 10 minutes late because of a protest led by the referees' union. The men in black held up the kick-off in all games of the programme to draw attention to their financial situation. They asked for an increase in wages and pleaded for better security conditions at French championship matches.

Pressley: Hearts captain Steven Pressley has left the club following an "amicable agreement" that takes immediate effect, the Scottish Premier League club said yesterday. Pressley had criticised the way Hearts was being run and had been suspended by the Edinburgh club. Lithuanian manager Valdas Ivanauskas said: "It has been a difficult few weeks for both the club and Steven."

Automatic berth: FIFA is considering granting an automatic berth to a representative from the host country in the Club World Cup and expanding the number of teams from six to eight. Viacheslav Koloskov, chairman of the organising committee, said a decision would be taken by the world governing body's executive committee. Speaking before the start of this year's event, Koloskov said it was important to maintain the tournament's prestige. He also said that any country planning to dislodge Japan as host of the tournament would have to meet the same standards as the Japanese.

Hunt appeal: German forward Aaron Hunt won his appeal against a two-match ban imposed by UEFA for "gross unsporting conduct" in October's U-21 play-off match against England. Hunt, a Werder Bremen striker, had denied accusations he made racist comments against England defenders Micah Richards and Anton Ferdinand and had appealed against the ban which he was given last month.