Germany’s Klose wins fair play prize

Germany striker Miroslav Klose on Tuesday received a fair play prize from the German Football Federation (DFB) after admitting a goal he had scored last month in the Italian league was a handball. The 34-year-old, who has scored 65 times for Germany in 125 appearances, won the award after informing the referee a goal he had scored for Lazio against Napoli in Serie A at the end of September had hit his hand first. After Klose’s confession, the referee cancelled the goal as Lazio went on to lose the match 3-0 at Napoli. The German was praised by his opponents on the pitch and later by the Italian media for his honesty. “The referee asked me if the ball had hit my hand,” said Klose, who will play in Germany’s World Cup qualifier against Sweden at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Tuesday. “I admitted it had and, for me, that was the obvious thing to do. “There are so many young people who sit in front of the television, that we should set a good example.” Klose also won a similar award in 2005 when playing for Werder Bremen in a Bundesliga match against Bielefeld. After Bremen were awarded a penalty, Klose told the referee that the Bielefeld goalkeeper had the ball first before the striker fell in the area. The referee reversed his penalty decision and also cancelled the yellow card shown to the goalkeeper.
Injured Buffon out of Italy v Denmark: Italy goalkeeper and skipper Gianluigi Buffon has been ruled out of the Azzurri’s World Cup qualifier against Denmark after failing a late fitness test, the Italian football federation (FIGC) announced. Buffon had been hopeful of shaking off an adductor muscle injury in time for Tuesday’s match at the San Siro in Milan but will play no part in the match after tests showed he had not recovered sufficiently. “Gianluigi Buffon will not play tonight against Denmark,” read a statement by the FIGC. “The Italy captain has been struggling with a left adductor muscle strain and did not pass the fitness test this morning.” Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis is expected to step in for Buffon to make what would be only his sixth appearance, having been under the Juventus keeper’s shadow since making his debut in 2005. Speculation about Buffon’s role in the match has been rife since he picked up the injury in the 3-1 away win over Armenia on Friday — mainly because of Juventus’s upcoming Serie A fixture. The Old Lady of Turin play host to Napoli on Saturday, with the chance to go clear at the top of the table at stake for either side.