Diouf banned from all Senegalese football

El-Hadji Diouf's international career appears to be over after the Senegal Football Federation hit him with a five-year ban from all football-related activity in his home country.

The decision, announced in a short statement on the federation's website senegalfoot.sn, came after 30-year-old Diouf reacted angrily to the federation's claims that he had failed to appear for a disciplinary hearing last week. The committee wanted to ask Diouf about comments he had made on Radio France International, claiming that "the whole system of African football is corrupt". The federation claimed Diouf had been called to a hearing on 20 July, but the Blackburn forward insisted he had heard nothing of it, and then told French magazine Stade he would "go to war" with the FSF if they took further action.

The FSF last night said Diouf is banned "from performing any football-related activity for a period of five years with effect from the date of notification of this decision". It remains possible, according to the FSF, that the decision could be reversed if Diouf were to appear before the disciplinary committee.

The news comes as Diouf's club career hangs in the balance. On loan at Rangers last season, when he helped the Ibrox club win the SPL title, he has been fined by Blackburn for failing to report on time for pre-season training, and was left out for their pre-season tour to Hong Kong. Manager Steve Kean said in an interview with Sky Sports this week that he thought it was time for Diouf to move on, indicating that inquiries have been made by other clubs.

Blackburn, meanwhile, look to be closing in on Partizan Belgrade midfielder Radosav Petrovic after the player's agent said moving to Ewood Park is "the only option" for his client. Partizan confirmed over the weekend that the 22-year-old was likely to leave the club this summer, with speculation linking him with a switch to a host of clubs including Roma, Fiorentina, Vitesse Arnhem and Blackburn.

His representative, Jovica Radonjic, said: "Roma? I do not think there is something - at least I have not talked about anything. The same is true with regard to Fiorentina.

"Blackburn? In this case I can confirm, and it is something serious. Indeed, at the moment, this is the only option for my client. I'm almost sure the player will leave Partizan."

The 6ft 4in Serbia international joined Partizan in 2008 and has helped the club win the league for the past three seasons.