Albert Riera sacked by Udinese after playing poker

Former Liverpool winger Albert Riera has been sacked by Serie A side Udinese after going AWOL to play a game of poker.

The 32-year-old, who moved to Udine from Galatasaray earlier this year, was given his marching orders by the Italian club when he opted to miss his team's match with Chievo in order to take part in a poker tournament in Slovenia.

Riera, a former Spanish international, won £3,000 for a second-placed finish in that tournament and has also taken to Twitter to brand Udinese "the worst club I've ever played for".

This prompted the Zebrette took the decision to cancel Riera's contract.

Former Reds manager Rafael Benitez brought Riera to Anfield from Espanyol in the summer of 2008 for a fee of around £8m.