MONACO (AP) — European Championship steeplechase silver medalist Ahmed Abdelwahed has been suspended after testing positive for meldonium, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Monday.
The endurance-boosting heart medication has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2016.
PARIS (AP) — Already struggling with 11 players, Montpellier was undone by the sending off of Valere Germain just before half-time and slumped to a 3-1 home loss against Lille in the French league on Sunday.
PARIS (AP) — Was that really Neymar?
You had to blink and look again but, yes, it was him, sprinting down the left touchline deep into stoppage time desperately trying to keep the ball in play last weekend during the 1-1 home draw with Monaco at Parc des Princes.
PARIS (AP) — Neymar won and scored a penalty as Paris Saint-Germain rallied to draw 1-1 at home to Monaco and stay in first place in the French league on Sunday.
Neymar latched onto Lionel Messi's pass down the left and cut inside central defender Guillermo Maripan, who appeared to catch him with an outstretched leg.
PARIS (AP) — Alexis Sanchez made his first start in the French league as 10-man Marseille edged Nantes 2-1 on Saturday to remain unbeaten.
Marseille got the winner in the 82nd minute with an own-goal from Nicolas Pallois, who diverted a header from Luis Suarez into his net.
PARIS (AP) — Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain's high-powered attack put on another impressive display in a 5-2 win over Montpellier in the French league on Saturday as Kylian Mbappe opened his account but missed a penalty in his return from a groin injury.
COMO, Italy (AP) — Former world and European champion Cesc Fàbregas has joined Italian second-division club Como.
Fàbregas, who won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 as well as two European Championships, was unveiled as a Como player on Monday after signing a two-year contract.
MONACO (AP) — Olympic triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas cannot compete in long jump at the world championships in Oregon this month because her qualifying leap was done in unapproved shoes.
Track and field’s governing body World Athletics said Wednesday that a jump by Rojas in Spain in June — which was long enough to qualify for the worlds — “was not a valid result as she was wearing triple jump shoes which are not approved for long jump.”
MADRID (AP) — Aurélien Tchouaméni said nothing steered him away from fulfilling his dream of playing for Real Madrid. Not even a chat with Kylian Mbappé.
The promising France midfielder made his move to Madrid official on Tuesday, saying he had no doubts about where he wanted to play despite having offers from other clubs and discussing a possible transfer to Paris Saint-Germain with Mbappé, who recently decided to stay with the French club after showing interest in playing for Madrid.
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Charles Leclerc is back on pole. Now comes the tricky task of converting it into a win.
Leclerc won the pole for the fourth consecutive race with a blistering lap around the Baku street circuit in Azerbaijan on Saturday, but the Ferrari driver failed to convert any of his last three pole positions into victories.
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid is signing another young, highly rated French midfielder after reaching agreement with Monaco for the transfer of Aurélien Tchouaméni on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Tchouaméni will join for six seasons, Madrid said, and will be presented on Tuesday once he passes his medical examination.
PARIS (AP) — French champion Paris Saint-Germain continued its restructuring by hiring renowned talent scout Luis Campos as its football adviser on Friday.
The 57-year-old Campos was a former tactical advisor at Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho, but really made his name as Monaco's sporting director from 2013-16.
Red Bull Racing opened talks with Sergio Perez on a contract extension earlier this month as the Formula One team set a timeline to complete a deal sometime this year.
It didn't even take his win in the Monaco Grand Prix to complete a deal.
MONACO (AP) — Red Bull denied Sergio Perez a chance to race for the win in Spain with team orders that left the Mexican star unsettled.
Assured that he'd be allowed to race for wins this season, Perez moved on to the Monaco Grand Prix with Red Bull's disappointing decision in his rearview mirror.
MONACO (AP) — On his home track, where he cycles from his apartment to the course, Charles Leclerc hopes to finish for the first time and reclaim the Formula One points lead.
Leclerc was scheduled to lead the field from pole Sunday in the Monaco Grand Prix — the same position he was in a year ago.
MONACO (AP) — Sergio Perez showed Red Bull has the speed to compete with Ferrari by beating Charles Leclerc in the final practice of the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.
The third practice is usually not exciting, but fans swarming around the street circuit were treated to a fine duel in bright sunshine.
MONACO (AP) — Charles Leclerc topped both of Friday’s practice sessions at the Monaco Grand Prix, where the Ferrari driver could use a victory on his home track to return to the top of the Formula One standings.
MONACO (AP) — Charles Leclerc has a problem to solve this weekend at his home track.
After losing the Formula One championship lead last week, Leclerc is determined to claim it back from world champion Max Verstappen at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappé's decision to stay with Paris Saint-Germain was widely celebrated in the French league, even by coaches who still have to defend against the prolific forward next season.
PARIS (AP) — Three more years, three more goals.
Kylian Mbappe celebrated a new-three year deal to stay at Paris Saint-Germain with a hat trick for the French champions against struggling Metz on Saturday, taking his league-leading tally to 28 and his PSG total to 171.
PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappe may play his last game for Paris Saint-Germain when the French league season ends on Saturday.
The champions will host struggling Metz with Mbappe looking to add to his league-leading 25 goals and his overall tally of 168 since joining PSG from Monaco five years ago for 180 million euros ($190 million).
PARIS (AP) — Veteran forward Olivier Giroud was left out of the France squad and uncapped Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara summoned on Thursday for Nations League games.
AC Milan striker Giroud, who is on the verge of winning the Italian league, is only three behind Thierry Henry's national scoring record of 51 goals.
PARIS (AP) — Wissam Ben Yedder’s rapid hat trick helped Monaco rally from 2-0 down to beat Brest 4-2 for a ninth straight French league win on Saturday and move above Marseille into second place and the automatic Champions League place.
PARIS (AP) — While Monaco's decision to hire unheralded Belgian league coach Philippe Clement in January surprised many observers, it is now clearly paying off.
Monaco heads into the last two games of the French league on an eight-game winning streak and with a chance to secure Champions League soccer next season.
PARIS (AP) — French champion Paris Saint-Germain threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with 15th-place Troyes in another disappointing performance on Sunday.
PSG was in control of the league game after 25 minutes with goals from central defender Marquinhos, after Angel Di Maria's pinpoint cross, and forward Neymar, who scored from the penalty spot after Kylian Mbappe was fouled.
PARIS (AP) — Marseille is under pressure to hold onto second place in the French league and will need Dimitri Payet in his best form to secure automatic entry into next season's Champions League.
The 35-year-old Payet is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, and is on course to beat his career record for most goals in a season.
Hiring a relatively unknown coach with no experience of the French league didn't immediately pay off for Monaco.
It's paying off now.
The Principality club's winning form under Philippe Clement has seen it climb to fourth in the standings as the race for a place in next season's Champions League intensifies.
MONACO (AP) — Stefanos Tsitsipas appeared happy to hear fans “yelling and chanting” again at the Monte Carlo Masters as he beat unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 7-6 (3) to retain his title on Sunday.
MONACO (AP) — Defending champion Stefanos Tsitispas breezed into the Monte Carlo Masters final after dispatching second-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday.
Tsitsipas lined up the first big final of the clay-court season against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the Spaniard who knocked out Novak Djokovic in the second round.
PARIS (AP) — Rennes missed the chance to move into second place in the French league and the automatic Champions League spot after losing at home to Monaco 3-2 on Friday.
Third-placed Rennes would have been second on goal difference if it won.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced plans Friday for his second overseas business trip this spring.
Holcomb will travel with state Commerce Secretary Brad Chambers to Sweden, the United Kingdom and Monaco from April 24 to May 1 for meetings with business and government leaders in those countries, the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
MONACO (AP) — Novak Djokovic opened his clay-court season with a surprising loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.
Davidovich Fokina stunned the top-ranked Serb 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in the second round to hand Djokovic another setback as he tries to move on from the controversy surrounding his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19.