UEFA reject Drogba appeal

UEFA have rejected the protest lodged by Schalke over the eligibility of Galatasaray star Didier Drogba to play in their Champions League tie.



The German side had asked European football's governing body to investigate whether Drogba was allowed to play in the last-16, first-leg tie on 20 February, following his move from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.



However, in a statement on their website, UEFA said: "Having examined all the documents of the case, the Control and Disciplinary Body decided to reject the protest lodged by Schalke."



Former Chelsea player Drogba, 34, agreed to join Galatasaray on 28 January after ending his short stay with Shenhua amid claims he had not been paid his salary.



Shenhua countered that Drogba was in breach of his contract and it fell to FIFA to provisionally clear the way for the Ivorian to make his Galatasaray debut in the 2-1 win over Akhisar on 15 February.



Schalke earned a draw in Istanbul after Jermaine Jones's away goal cancelled out Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz's early opener.



The two sides meet in the second leg of the tie on 12 March in Gelsenkirchen.

Afellay set for Barca return

Ibrahim Afellay looks set to return to Barcelona after he completes his loan spell at Schalke at the end of the season.



The Netherlands international has been plagued by injury for much of his time with the Veltins-Arena outfit, and despite some impressive performances in his 10 appearances for the club, it seems that he will be back at Camp Nou in the close season.



Schalke's sporting director Horst Heldt explained that he did not know what the player's thoughts were due to him being away from the club during his recovery from a thigh injury, but admitted it was unlikely that Afellay would be staying in Gelsenkirchen.



"I assume he will be leaving us. Ibrahim is still having treatment in the Netherlands," Heldt told Sport Bild.



Reports in Germany have suggested that the 26-year-old has fallen out with Schalke's medical team and has not been seen at the training ground or home matches for some time, and Heldt expressed his regret at the player's insistence on returning to his native country.



"The rehabilitation is co-ordinated with us and we are informed about everything. Of course it is a great pity that he has not been around so far.



"We as a club are registered (with Afellay) for the season, for us the identification of a player with our club is very important.



"Injured players attending our home games is not mandatory, the initiative must come from the professionals themselves."