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■ CRICKET

Rafique quits internationals

Bangladesh's most successful spinner, Mohammad Rafique, will quit international cricket after the second and final Test against South Africa, which started in Chittagong yesterday. Rafique announced earlier this month he would retire from Test cricket after the series against South Africa, which also includes three one-day internationals. "I have decided to quit the cricket as mark of protest against a group [of] people in the Bangladesh Cricket Board, who do not like to see me in squads," Rafique told a news conference on Thursday. "These officials who did not allow me to play Test cricket for nearly three years, are now back in the board. So I have decided to quit." Rafique is two shy of becoming the first Bangladeshi to take 100 Test wickets. Already established as a one-day player, the left-armer played in Bangladesh's inaugural Test in November 2000 against India. However, he was reported to the International Cricket Council for a suspect action soon after and was not recalled to the team until 2002. He was the first Bangladesh player to complete the double of 100 wickets and 1,000 runs in one-day internationals.



■ SOCCER

Betis fan fined and banned

A Real Betis fan was found guilty on Thursday of throwing a bottle at former Sevilla coach Juande Ramos and knocking him unconscious during a Copa del Rey match last season. The 31-year-old perpetrator was fined 4,680 euros (US$7,066) and was ordered to pay Ramos -- who is now coach at Tottenham Hotspur -- 360 euros in compensation. The man, who was not identified, also received a two-year ban from all public sporting events. Ramos was hit by the bottle at Real Betis' Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium exactly a year ago on Thursday after Sevilla had taken a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute of a Copa del Rey match. The coach, who stumbled before falling to the ground, was carried off on a stretcher but regained consciousness later.



■ FORMULA ONE

Schumacher gets own tower

His Formula One career may be over, but seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is showing no signs of slowing down his off-track activities as he is set to put his name to a skyscraper. The 39-year-old quit full-time racing 16 months ago, but apart from a few stints as a test driver for his old team Ferrari, Schumacher is showing he is just as quick in business as he is on the track. A report in German tabloid Bild says Schumacher is set to make 5 million euros (US$7.5 million) as a property developer on the 29-floor office complex which will carry his name in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Schumacher's manager Willi Weber confirmed the deal to Bild and added all the office space had sold out within three days as the complex has views of Dubai's premier hotel -- the Burj Al Arab.



■ SOCCER

Plestan facing road rage fine

Nicolas Plestan, a player with French first division team Lille, is facing a two-month suspended sentence and 2,500 euro fine after pointing a fake gun at a driver in a road rage incident last year. The defender stands accused of aiming the imitation pistol at a 65-year-old Parisian who was in a car with his wife and teenage daughter on a motorway close to the Belgian border last April. Plestan allegedly tailgated the other car while overtaking a truck, pointed the gun at its occupants and then cut it up. He is accused of brandishing the gun a second time at a motorway exit.
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