Champions League

By Graham Wood

Vangelis Marinakis, owner of Greek champions Olympiakos Piraeus, has been banned from soccer as an investigation continues into allegations that a criminal organisation is controlling the domestic game.

According to judicial sources, the shipping magnate has also been ordered to report to police every 15 days on strict bail terms.

The Portuguese Bruno Ribeiro became on Wednesday the new head coach of Bulgaria's reigning football champion Ludogorets.

Ribeiro signed a contract after lengthy negotiations with the president of the club Alexander Alexandrov and sports director Metodi Tomanov, the club's website informs.

Bulgarian football player Valeri Bojinov signed on Sunday a two-year contract with Serbian club Partizan Belgrade.

Bojinov became the second Bulgarian player in the current squad after defender Ivan Bandalovski had joined the team in the beginning of the year.

The Bulgarian striker was officially presented and posed with the jersey of his new team, daily Dnevnik reports.

Nearly a week has passed since the director of the Champions League final devoted several closeups to the stunning companion of Juventus forward Alessandro Matri, who was sitting in the stands.

France's prime minister said June 11 that he regretted a controversial trip to the Champions League final last weekend and announced he would pay back part of the cost amid howls of protest.      

By George Georgakopoulos

A Matias Iglesias long-distance shot on the 77th minute gave Asteras Tripolis a ticket straight for the Europa League group stage next season as it sealed the Peloponnesians? 1-0 win over PAOK on Sunday at the end of the Super League play-offs.

Barcelona won the Champions League for the fourth time in a decade on June 6, with Luis Suarez grabbing the crucial goal in a 3-1 victory over Juventus at the end of a season that began with the Uruguay striker serving a ban for biting.

Turkish Spor Toto Super League champion Galatasaray has completed a domestic double after beating Bursaspor 3-2 on June 3 to win the Ziraat Turkish Cup final.

The Istanbul club's striker Burak Y?lmaz scored a hat-trick as Galatasaray sealed its first domestic double since the 1999-2000 season, winning the game 3-2.

Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov is departing AS Monaco after scoring 18 goals in 53 matches for this season's Champions League quarter-finalists, the club announced on Monday.

Georgi Dermendzhiev, the coach of Bulgaria's reigning football champion Ludogorets Razgrad, announced his withdrawal from the club on Sunday.

Dermendzhiev made the announcement seconds after the final whistle of his team's last game for the season, sportal.bg reports.