Getafe fined for Eto'o abuse

Getafe CF have been fined €3,000 after racist chants were directed at FC Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o during last Sunday's Primera División game at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez. The Spanish football authorities were relatively lenient with the Madrid club after it was noted that efforts had been made to restrain the racist elements of the crowd with pleas over the stadium's public address system.

Deportivo Alavés defender Lluis Carreras will be sidelined for at least three weeks after tearing a muscle in his left calf. The 33-year-old underwent tests yesterday which confirmed the gravity of the injury he sustained in the 38th minute of Sunday's 2-1 defeat at RC Celta de Vigo.

German international striker Gerald Asamoah is back in training with UEFA Champions League contenders FC Schalke 04 after two months out with a knee injury. "I am very happy and hope to be back on the pitch as soon as possible," said the 27-year-old, who needs to impress over the next six months in order to earn a place in Jürgen Klinsmann's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Bundesliga strugglers 1. FC Kaiserslautern will be without midfielder Christian Nerlinger for at least four weeks. The 32-year-old has partially torn ligaments in his left knee. The former German international has just returned from a one-year lay-off following two toe operations to establish himself in the Kaiserslautern team.

UEFA Champions League challengers Panathinaikos FC were knocked out of the Greek Cup by Ergotelis FC of the second division, Bela Kovac scoring the only goal from the spot in the 90th minute. Coach Alberto Malesani fielded a weakened team for this fourth-round tie, but would still would have expected his side to progress.

Petar Hubchev has paid the price for a cup loss to a lower-division team as he stood down as PFC Slavia Sofia coach today. Hubchev, who is also No2 to Bulgaria coach Hristo Stoitchkov, had his resignation accepted by the board of directors, with assistants Alyosha Andonov and Nikolai Donev taking charge until the winter break. Meanwhile, 39-year-old former PFC Levski Sofia defender Kiril Vangelov has replaced Georgi Bachev at the helm of another Bulgarian top-flight club, PFC Vihren Sandanski.

Rıza Çalımbay has replaced Samet Aybaba as coach of BB Ankaraspor, two weeks after stepping down at Beşiktaş JK. Ankaraspor are 14th in the Turkish Superleague with 12 points from 12 games. They have not won in five matches since defeating Çalımbay's Beşiktaş 2-0 in September.

GIF Sundsvall and Landskrona BoIS are both looking for new coaches following relegation in Sweden. Sundsvall's Anders Högman, who took over in mid-term, said: "It's better for the players to get a fresh face and new ideas." Landskrona, who were demoted after a play-off against GAIS Göteborg, have decided to let coach Mats Jingblad leave after two seasons.

Paul Zammit has been unveiled as coach of Valletta FC on a two-year contract, replacing Joseph John Aquilina who resigned last week. The 36-year-old, who played for a number of Maltese clubs and was most recently in charge of Mosta FC, said of the challenge ahead: "I'm really looking forward to it. Our main objective is to finish in the top six to qualify for the championship pool."

In Scotland, Motherwell FC goalkeeper Gordon Marshall is to leave the Fir Park side to replace Ian Westwater as goalkeeping coach at Hibernian FC. The 41-year-old former Celtic FC and Kilmarnock FC custodian has played almost 700 senior games. "After such a long and distinguished playing career, Gordon sees the movement into goalkeeper coaching as the next step in his career," said Hibs manager Tony Mowbray.

Meanwhile, Maurice Johnston has been confirmed as manager of US Major League Soccer side MetroStars. The 42-year-old former Scotland striker, who played for both Celtic FC and Rangers FC, was appointed caretaker boss last month but has now been given the job on a full-time basis. Johnston said: "I'm excited about getting to work to bring our great fans the championship they want."