Schalke have been awarded a 2-0 victory in their Bundesliga match with St Pauli which was abandoned last Friday when an assistant referee was hit by a plastic beer cup at the Millerntor-Stadion, the German Football Association have announced.

Ralf Rangnick has returned to Schalke to become their new coach following Felix Magath’s departure yesterday.

Louis van Gaal insisted he would not resign following Bayern Munich’s 3-1 defeat at Hannover this afternoon.

Borussia Dortmund got back to winning ways after two consecutive draws to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to 13 points thanks to a 2-0 win in a one-sided game against St Pauli.

Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways this afternoon with an impressive 3-0 victory at Wolfsburg.

Bayer Leverkusen moved up to third in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win at basement boys Borussia Monchengladbach this afternoon.

Ryan Babel’s agent has claimed that Babel's moving to Hoffenheim would only appeal to the player if he is unable to secure a return to former club Ajax.

Ryan Babel is reported to be undergoing a medical in Hoffenheim ahead of a transfer to the Bundesliga club from Liverpool.

BARCELONA star Lionel Messi is set to spend up to three weeks on the sidelines with an ankle sprain.

Celtic have announced that Paddy McCourt has signed a new three-year contract.

Aiden McGeady has assured interim Celtic boss Neil Lennon he will be fit for the start of pre-season.

Paul McGowan insists he has no intention of simply making up the numbers at Celtic next season.

Celtic’s contingent of former Derry City wingers enjoyed contrasting fortunes last night as Niall McGinn faced up to a two-month absence while Paddy McCourt added another wonder goal to his collection.

Celtic midfielder Niall McGinn will miss the start of pre-season training after breaking a metatarsal bone in his right foot.

Celtic are still searching for a permanent manager but they are keen not to lose ground in the transfer market after reportedly holding talks with Republic of Ireland midfielder Steven Reid.

Celtic 0 Hamburg 0

Bolton have completed the signing of Croatia international striker Ivan Klasnic.

Stoke 1 St Pauli 3

Republic of Ireland 1-3 Poland

AS Don Givens pointed out afterwards, the scoreboard reads badly but even so, he will be wondering this morning how Ireland did not manage to eke out a point from an entertaining opening salvo in Group Two of the European Championship qualifying campaign.

DON GIVENS yesterday branded Eamon Dunphy a “clown” for the pundit’s charge that his period in charge of the Irish U-21s has been “disastrous and he should be shown the door”.

More than a month after the Euro 2008 final, Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has renewed his attack on referee Roberto Rosetti.

Republic of Ireland U-16 manager, Vincent Butler has announced a 19-man squad for the upcoming double international friendly against Germany which will be played in Blarney in Cork and Listowel in Kerry.

THE referee at the centre of the German match-fixing scandal has confessed to successfully fixing four fixtures, according to the German Football Association.

Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne is not on the wanted list of German second division club St Pauli, according to vice-president Stephan Beutel.

German Second Division side FC St Pauli are the latest club to offer a trial to Paul Gascoigne.