London, Apr. 25 : Chelsea mid-fielder Frank Lampard took the extraordinary step of calling a radio show to defend himself against suggestions that he had abandoned his two daughters by letting them live "in inferior circumstances" after he split with his Spanish fiancée Elen Rives.

In an emotional exchange, Lampard said he called James O''Brien''s phone-in programme on LBC to defend himself against "idiots like you" after the presenter said men who behaved in that way were "weak and scum".

Milan - Inter Milan Friday rescinded the contract of Adriano after the Brazil striker recently failed to return from international duty.

Inter said Adriano's contract with the Serie A team had been ended with effect from April 1.

"Inter's appreciation goes to Adriano for the eight years and 74 goals we lived through together," the club said on its website.

After the last international break, Adriano, 27, failed to board a scheduled flight for Italy on April 3 and did not communicate his decision to his agent and Inter.

Dusseldorf - German football authorities agreed Friday to go ahead with a Sunday afternoon Bundesliga game from next season despite opposition from the nation's amateur game.

The German Football Federation's assembly approved the 3.30 p. m. (1330 GMT) kick-off for one game, with another match beginning at 5.30 p. m.

At present usually two matches are held on Sunday at 5 p. m.

London - Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was charged on Friday with improper conduct, following accusations he spat at Hull City assistant manager Brian Horton.

There were angry scenes after the end of Hull's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-final on March 17.

Fabregas was not playing in the game as he recovered from a knee injury, but left the stand to celebrate with his team-mates.

"Fabregas has been charged for improper conduct on the night," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told journalists.

Barcelona - Russian Nikolay Davydenko checked in for another successful work day on the clay Friday while Rafael Nadal took advantage of a quarter-final walkover as the pair prepared for a Saturday semi-final clash at the Barcelona Open.

Top-seeded world number one Nadal put in some practise time after learning the day before that seventh-seeded Argentine opponent David Nalbandian would not be fronting up for their match due to hip problems which intensified during the previous round.

Madrid