FOOTBALL: World players’ union Fifpro called for an urgent inquiry yesterday into Fifa’s concussion protocol after Uruguay’s Alvaro Pereira was allowed to play on despite taking a blow to the head against England at the World Cup on Thursday.

Pereira demanded to play on against the team doctor’s advice after Raheem Sterling’s knee accidentally whacked his head.

The union said players needed better protection against making “rash” decisions.

MOTOR RACING: Lewis Hamilton emerged as top dog in practice on his first visit to Austria’s Spielberg Ring yesterday.

The circuit has remained unaltered since its last F1 use 11 years ago, though the facility has gone through a £60 million revamp.

FOOTBALL: Hull fans reacted with fury yesterday after the club unveiled a new crest without the team name on it.

City Till We Die, who successfully fought against meddling owner Assem Allam changing the team name to Hull Tigers, said it was “hugely disappointed” that the name had been removed without consultation, pointing to a broken August 2013 agreement that fans would be asked about changes to the badge.

The fans’ group accused the board of dropping the name “because the FA refused them leave to change it.”

FOOTBALL: Manchester City led the tributes yesterday to Ibrahim Toure, younger brother of Kolo and Yaya Toure, who has died aged 28.

His death was announced by the Ivorian Football Federation, who said he had died shortly after Ivory Coast's 2-1 World Cup loss to Colombia on Thursday.

No official reason was given for the death, though the Manchester Evening News reported that he had been receiving cancer treatment in the city.