FOOTBALL: Three Crimean teams will play in the Russian third tier next season, the Russian Football Union announced yesterday.

Crimeans declared independence from Ukraine and voted to join the Russian Federation after fascist-backed protesters toppled Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in February.

FC Tavriya Simferopol, SKChF Sevastopol and Zhemchuzhina Yalta will immediately move into the southern zone of the second division, while the RFU will propose that the Sevastopol Football Federation and the Republican Federation of Crimean Football be brought under the Russian umbrella at its next congress.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Sierra Leon road cyclist Moses Sesay tested negative for the ebola virus yesterday after becoming unwell last week.

The athlete was admitted to a Glasgow hospital for four days and doctors tested him for various conditions, including ebola — the virus which is blamed for 729 deaths in an outbreak in four west African countries.

A Glasgow 2014 spokesman for Glasgow 2014 said he was “dismayed” at the sensation reporting of the alleged outbreak.

Health Protection Scotland insisted it was an isolated incident and no other athletes were tested.

FOOTBALL: Home-bound striker Luis Suarez’s four-month ban appeal will be heard on August 8.

The Uruguayan picked up a ban across all football-related activity after biting Italian Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.

New club Barcelona, who bought the striker from Liverpool for £75 million shortly after his third competitive bite, joined the striker and his country in appealing the sentence.