Former Uruguay striker Forlan retires

London, August 7

Former Uruguay striker Diego Forlan has announced his retirement, bringing to an end a 21-year career in which he played club soccer on three different continents. Forlan played for major European teams such as Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan before ending his career in Asia. 

Forlan, 40, was also instrumental in Uruguay’s run to the 2010 World Cup semifinals, where he was awarded the Golden Ball for best player at the tournament and finished as one of the tournament’s top scorers with five goals.  “After 21 years I made the decision to end my career as a professional footballer,” Forlan said in a statement.

Schalke boss steps down 

Berlin: Clemens Toennies has stepped down for three months as chairman of German Bundesliga club Schalke following widespread condemnation of alleged ‘racist’ comments he made last week.

The club’s five-strong ethics committee, in a statement late Tuesday, said Toennies had “violated the ban on discrimination contained in the club’s statutes” after a lengthy meeting in which Toennies had to explain himself. The club said Toennies had decided to step down  as a member and chair of the supervisory board for three months. — AFP