Sunderland, England - Everton striker Victor Anichebe criticized police on Thursday after an incident outside a jeweller's shop in Knutsford, Cheshire.

Anichebe, who was wearing a cast on a leg injury, was looking in the window with a friend, when police swooped.

A heated dialogue ensued, during which his friend was handcuffed.

"Victor was deeply upset and very distressed by the incident," Everton spokesman Ian Ross told reporters.

Rome  - A retired Serie B footballer has said he contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a nervous-system disease with an unusually high incidence among former Italian players.

Italian media reported Thursday that Stefano Turchi, 40, a forward with Ancona between 1990 and 1992 has suffered from ALS since 2005.

Turchi, in an interview with the Ancona-based newspaper Corriere Adriatico, said he considers himself lucky to have been hit by a less aggressive form of the illness that still allows him to talk and walk.

London  - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his side had been stretched by Inter Milan in their Champions League meeting on Wednesday.

United won 2-0, but never achieved the sort of fluency or domination they had in the first leg - a goalless draw - in Milan a fortnight ago.

"It was a toughish kind of match," Ferguson said. "Inter played a different kind of football.

"They're a side with fantastic experience - very difficult to break down.

Hamburg  - Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored as Manchester United booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan Wednesday, while a brace from Thierry Henry helped Barcelona past Olympique Lyon.

Arsenal needed penalties to make to the next round at the expense of Roma and Porto progressed via the away goals rule after their scoreless draw with Atletico Madrid left the tie level at 2-2 on aggregate.

London  - Blackburn Rovers climbed out of the relegation zone on Wednesday with a 2-1 win away to Fulham.

Clint Dempsey gave Fulham an early lead, but El-Hadji Diouf levelled in the second half before Jason Roberts fired a late equalizer.

Blackburn climb to sixth bottom, with Portsmouth slipping into the drop zone.

Fulham in 10th are themselves only six points above the drop zone.

Rome  - Roma hooligans Wednesday hurled stones at a motor coach carrying Arsenal fans ahead of the Champions League match between the two sides, the ANSA news agency reported.