Racist? The French? Hardly, if a popular annual poll of the most admired celebrities in France is to be believed.

England manager told French counterpart he was dreading being drawn together

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has strengthened his position at the Bernabeu by becoming head of football operations.

Zinedine Zidane will start working as Real Madrid's Director of Football from next week, the former France great said yesterday. The 39-year-old, who was voted World Player of the Year on three occasions, has been working at the Spanish club as president Florentino Perez's special adviser.

Villa winger agrees £17m deal as Zidane persuades promising defender to head for the Bernabeu

Paul Scholes has rejected the theory there was any malice behind his infamous tackling technique.

Aaron Ramsey returned to his first club Cardiff City on loan last night to continue his recovery from injury.

It is 25 years since Michel Platini scored the winning goal, a penalty, in the European Cup final. And yet the memory is a deeply unhappy one, for the goal was for Juventus against Liverpool, and the stadium was Heysel, where prior to the match 39 Juve fans had died.

Laurent Blanc, the coach of France and a former Manchester United player, believes that promising teenagers should think twice before joining a big club in the Premier League, as it may just lead to years on the bench.

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini says that even a bid of 60million euros would not be enough to persuade him to sell Argentinian playmaker Javier Pastore.

Unwanted he may – or may not – be on the field for England by Fabio Capello, but there is no doubt that the oft-maligned David Beckham does his bit for his country off it. He was influential in securing London's bid for the 2012 Olympics, may well win a few votes from equally star-struck Fifa members when the 2018 World Cup destination is decided in December, and this weekend he is cheering on British competitors as the Special Olympics European Games open in Warsaw. What's special about these Games is that they cater for those with learning disabilities, which includes Down's Syndrome and autism, who are not eligible for the Paralympics. Having watched last year's UK event in Leicester I can testify it is the most understated event in the sporting calendar. Watched by Beckham and France's Zinedine Zidane, who like him is a Special Olympics global ambassador, around 1,500 athletes from 57 countries will compete in half a dozen sports, and for some just completing a lap of the track could be the highlight of their lives. "There are 1.2m people in this country with learning disabilities, so it is good they can be recognised through sport in this way," says the Special Olympics GB chair Lawrie McMenemy. Backed by the National Grid, Britain have a team of 48 who were given a send-off at No 10 by David Cameron, whose own son Ivan, a cerebral palsy sufferer, died last year aged six. He told them: "The whole country will be cheering you on." So we should be.