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

SOCCER: FA charge Rio Ferdinand  with improper conduct

Rio Ferdinand has been charged by the Football Association over the comments he made on Twitter following the end of John Terry’s recent trial.

In the aftermath of the trial, when Terry was acquitted of racially abusing Ferdinand’s brother Anton, the Manchester United defender responded to a Tweet that characterised Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who was a defence witness in the trial, as a “choc-ice”.

The term is is commonly understood to mean “black on the outside, white on the inside”, and was a reference to Cole’s testimony in court, in which he said he never heard Terry make a racist remark to Ferdinand during the match in question at Loftus Road in October.

“The FA has today charged Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand with improper conduct in relation to comments posted on Twitter,” said an FA statement.

“The allegation is that the player acted in a way which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute by making comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race.”

SOCCER: United secure new sponsor

Manchester United yesterday announced a seven-year shirt sponsorship deal with General Motors.

Chevrolet, the club’s official car partner, will become only the fifth shirt sponsor in the club’s 134-year history from the 2014-15 season.

Announcing the agreement, which has been signed for an undisclosed amount, United's commercial director, Richard Arnold, told the club's official website, www.manutd.com: "This is a fantastic, long-term deal for the club.

“We have been partners with Chevrolet for only six weeks, but already they have produced some fantastic ideas that will benefit both the partnership and our 659 million followers around the world.” Chevrolet replace Aon, whose partnership with United began in the 2010/11 season.

SOCCER: Blackburn target Cox after Best suffers serious injury

Blackburn Rovers may step up their efforts to complete a deal for West Brom striker Simon Cox after it was confirmed yesterday they will be without Leon Best until the start of 2013.

Best faces surgery and a long rehabilitation after a scan yesterday showed that he had sustained serious damage to his anterior cruciate ligament in a friendly game against AEK Athens over the weekend.

The Republic of Ireland international had only signed for Rovers in a €3.5 million deal a matter of weeks ago.

Cox remains a target for the club but they are reported to face competition, with Leeds United said to be interested.

** Tommy Stewart has rejoined Shamrock Rovers from Partick Thistle, with the Northerner, who previously played under manager Stephen Kenny at Derry City, signing for the Dubliners until the end of next season.

Shelbourne’s young midfielder John Sullivan’s contract has been cancelled by mutual consent.

** Drogheda United have suggested that it will stand by defender Shane Grimes despite the eight-month ban handed down to the player by the Irish Sports Council (ISC) for testing positive for a banned substance contained in an energy drink.

The ban has been backdated to May, with the result that Grimes will be available for preseason training next January. While the club made it clear in a statement last night that it supports the ISC’s handling of the case, it said that: “Having learned this tough lesson, our hope is to see Shane return in a Claret and Blue jersey next season.”

– EMMET MALONE

CRICKET: Poynter and Delany guide Clontarf to 11th Cup success

Clontarf took just a little over an hour to wrap up their 11th RSA Leinster Senior Cup title at Claremont Road last night as they beat Pembroke by six wickets in a game carried over from Saturday night due to bad weather.

Clontarf resumed on 137 for three, needing 100 runs for victory and with 21 overs to get them. In the end they did it with ease, just losing the wicket of Alex Cusack for 17, with Andrew Leonard taking a fine caught and bowled.

Cusack’s international team-mate Andrew Poynter saw his side home, finishing on 56 not out and sharing an unbeaten 64-run stand with Eoghan Delany (27no) as Clontarf reached their target with 25 balls to spare.

– EMMET RIORDAN