Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio revealed on Sunday that he offered to leave the club during the media storm over his political views that followed his appointment. Di Canio's arrival at the Stadium of Light provoked a maelstrom of controversy due to political statements he had made in the past, and forced him to release a statement in which he said he does "not support the ideology of fascism". The Italian met with Sunderland owner Ellis Short to discuss the matter and says he would have been prepared to walk away from the club.

Edinson Cavani stretched his tally to a league-leading 27 goals as Napoli secured Serie A's runner-up spot and Champions League football next season with a 3-0 win over Bologna on Wednesday. Napoli are 11 points behind Juventus, who secured their 29th league title last weekend, but cannot now be caught by AC Milan who are seven points adrift. Earlier Wednesday a Mario Balotelli brace and one apiece from Sulley Muntari and Mathieu Flamini put Milan within sight of the Champions League thanks to a 4-0 rout of already-relegated Pescara.

Serie A disciplinary officials said Wednesday Torino midfielder Riccardo Meggiorini would face no sanctions after being accused of racially abusing Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. The officials said discrepancies in the various accounts of what Meggiorini actually said to Pogba meant they could not be sure any racial abuse had taken place. Pogba claimed he was subjected to a racial insult during the Bianconeri's recent 2-0 win over their city rivals and although Meggiorini later confirmed he had abused the 20-year-old Frenchman, he denied his invective was racist in nature.

Juventus cemented a 29th title triumph on Sunday after another near flawless campaign, but for coach Antonio Conte hoisting the club back among the giants of European football will continue to be hampered by a cash-strapped Serie A. It was following Juve's quarter-final humbling by Bayern Munich in Europe's premier club competition last month that Conte lashed out. "In Italy, people are more interested in following futile stories than looking at how we can go about improving the state of our football," he said.