SHORT CORNER

World Cup final drew global audience of 1.12 billion

AFP

A combined global audience of 1.12 billion watched the World Cup final between France and Croatia in July, FIFA, the governing body of world football, said on Friday.

In total, FIFA said, a "combined 3.572 billion viewers - more than half of the global population aged four and over - tuned in to world football's ultimate competition" for at least a minute, over the course of the World Cup's from June 14 to July 15.

A survey it had commissioned by FIFA found that 3.04 billion viewers caught at least three minutes, a 10.9 per cent increase on Brazil 2014, and 2.49 billion watched at least 30 minutes, or one third of one match, up on 2014's 1.95 billion.                 

Asensio to miss Club WC final

Reuters

Real Madrid forward Marco Asensio has been ruled out of Saturday's FIFA Club World Cup final against Al Ain after the European champions confirmed he had sustained a thigh injury.

The Spain international, who has underperformed this season and has not scored in La Liga since September, picked up the injury in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Kashima Antlers in the semifinals.

He came on as a substitute and then had to be replaced 14 minutes later.

"After tests carried out on our player Marco Asensio by the medical staff, he has been diagnosed with a grade two injury in the quadriceps in his right leg," said a medical report from Real on Friday.             

Greek top-flight halted after referees protest assault

Reuters

This weekend's Super League Greece fixtures have been called off after referees opted to go on strike to protest against a "cowardly attack" on one of their colleagues.

Thanasis Tzilos was set upon by masked men near his home in Larissa on Wednesday, with the FIFA-level referee needing treatment at a local hospital for head and leg injuries before he was released a day later.

"We express our indignation of the cowardly attack against our colleague Thanasis Tzilos and the repeated attacks on referees," the association of referees said in a statement.

"We will not allow those people to continue trying to terrorise us."