Sports Digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Perpignan to take Toulon to Spain

RUGBY: Perpignan have decided to play April’s Heineken Cup quarter-final with fellow French side Toulon over the Spanish border in Barcelona.

The club, based in the minority Catalan-speaking area of south western France, will use the Olympic Stadium in Catalan capital Barcelona for the April 9th clash and 50,000 fans are expected.

“It’s been 15 years that we’ve heard talk around the club about wanting to play a match in Barcelona,” Perpignan president Paul Goze said.

“Now it’s happening.”

Barcelona soccer team president Sandro Rosell, whose club are helping with the marketing of the game, said: “We want to transform the event into a great party of rugby.”

Rugby union is not well known in Spain but the national side did qualify for the 1999 World Cup.

Ennis out of European Indoors 

ATHLETICS: Britain’s world and European heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis has withdrawn from the European Indoors because of a persistent ankle injury.

Ennis has ended her indoor season because of inflammation to her left ankle, having initially made the squad.

“I’ve thought long and hard about whether to compete,” said Ennis, 25.

“If I’m honest I don’t want to risk any further damage to my ankle and calf. I cannot take this risk – the World Championships has to be my priority.”

An MRI scan, her third since the injury occurred in mid-February, has shown improvement over the past two weeks but not enough to risk participating in Friday’s pentathlon in Paris.

Roche and Brammeier show form

CYCLING: Building early-season form in single day events in Italy and Belgium, Irish riders Nicolas Roche and Matt Brammeier performed solidly in the GP di Lugano and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on Sunday, writes Shane Stokes.

Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso was first to the line in Lugano, outsprinting breakaway companion Fabio Duarte (Geox-TMC). Roche finished two seconds behind a large chase group in 17th.

Meanwhile Brammeier was 22nd in the bunch sprint which decided Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Team Sky’s Chris Sutton was quickest, while Brammeier’s fellow Irishman Mark Cassidy (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) also finished in the main bunch. In Spain, Dan Martin competed in the Clasica de Almeria, rolling in 59th.

Mulhare added to Ireland ticket

ATHLETICS: Dan Mulhare is the final addition to the Ireland team for this weekend’s European Indoor Championships in Paris, selected to run in the 3,000 metres.

The Laois athlete won the Scottish Indoor title on Sunday in a personal best 8:01.00, and having won the Irish Indoor title in Belfast the previous week, was deemed worthy of selection for Paris.

Iran threaten 2012 Olympic boycott over logo

OLYMPIC GAMES: Iran have threatened to boycott the London Olympics unless the organisers replace the official logo, which Tehran claims spells the word “Zion”. The logo, a jagged representation of the year 2012, has been said by its critics to resemble many things, from a swastika to a sexual act, but the Iranian government argues it represents a veiled pro-Israeli conspiracy.

In a complaint to the International Olympic Committee, Tehran has called for the graphic to be replaced and its designers “confronted”, warning Iranian athletes might otherwise be ordered to stay away from the London Games. An IOC official confirmed the Iranian letter had been received but said: “The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012, nothing else.”

GuardianService