Delvecchio hits three for Roma

The Italian international forward Marco Delvecchio scored a hat-trick as Roma trounced NK Gorica 4-1 in their Uefa Cup first round, first leg game in Slovenia yesterday.

The Italian international forward Marco Delvecchio scored a hat-trick as Roma trounced NK Gorica 4-1 in their Uefa Cup first round, first leg game in Slovenia yesterday.

Delvecchio opened the scoring in the 17th minute and added Roma's second goal just two minutes later. Tonci Zlogar scored Gorica's only goal in the 28th minute after a solo run through Roma's defence.

The Brazilian midfielder Samuel made it 3-1 for Roma just before half-time and Delvecchio scored his final goal in the 48th minute on a shot from close range. Roma had a handful of other scoring chances but failed to convert any of them.

Udinese's Brazilian players Warley and Alberto were due to be expelled from Poland after their side's Uefa Cup first round tie against Polonia Warsaw yesterday.

The pair were accused of holding false Portuguese passports by Polish officials when they arrival with the squad on Wednesday and detained briefly, a customs official said. The players were eventually given temporary permission to enter the country for the match.

The Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schröder, yesterday renewed his criticism of the European Union's proposal to ban transfer fees. "The EU's proposal is worthy of criticism, and as it stands, can't become reality," said Schröder.

* Real Madrid announced yesterday that they had sold over 100,000 replica shirts during the summer, exhausting supplies at club shops. The striker Raul's No 7 shirt is the biggest seller, followed by their world-record signing Luis Figo, and more established manes such as Roberto Carlos and Fernando Hierro.