Sports

SALERNO, Italy (AP) — Former France winger Franck Ribéry has ended his playing career because of insurmountable knee problems. The 39-year-old Ribéry played for France in the 2006 World Cup final and won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2013. He announced the decision in a video posted on social media where the Salernitana

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that Detroit Pistons assistant general manager Rob Murphy has been put on leave during an investigation. ESPN is reporting that Murphy is facing an allegation of workplace misconduct involving a former female employee. Murphy was promoted to assistant general

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Anti-Doping Agency will treat the Kamila Valieva doping case which shook figure skating at the Winter Olympics as confidential and won’t publish a verdict. Valieva won Olympic gold in the team competition before finding out she tested positive for a banned substance before the Beijing Games. She appealed a provisional

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency after failing a drug test during the U.S. Open in August. The ITIA announced the suspension Friday. Halep is a former No. 1 player who is currently No. 9 in the WTA rankings.

By The Associated Press The Carolina Panthers traded away their best offensive player in Christian McCaffrey, leaving a major hole in their backfield entering Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Second-year running back Chuba Hubbard and D’Onta Foreman are expected to get the bulk of carries for the Panthers, who come into the game

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press Qatar is a devoutly apolitical place, with speech and assembly heavily restricted and a large population of foreign workers who could lose their livelihoods if they cause a stir. But that could change next month, when an estimated 1.2 million soccer fans descend on the tiny Gulf Arab nation for

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ernesto Valverde will make his first return to Camp Nou on Sunday in charge of Athletic Bilbao for its Spanish league game against Barcelona. Valverde was fired by Barcelona in January 2020 despite having won two consecutive league titles and with the team top of the

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Former No. 1-ranked player Simona Halep has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency after failing a drug test during the U.S. Open last month. The ITIA announced the suspension Friday. Halep is a two-time Grand Slam champion who is currently No. 9 in the WTA rankings.

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays have rewarded John Schneider for his strong performance as their interim manager. The Blue Jays agreed to terms Friday on a new contract for Schneider to manage the team. Toronto says the deal is for three years with a team option for 2026.

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says fans’ chants related to the Hillsborough Stadium disaster do “not represent what we are as a team or as a club” amid continuing fallout from the bad-tempered match against Liverpool. City has yet to publicly apologize after some of its fans were heard singing songs

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry’s latest move is one for the books. The NBA superstar is launching a graphic novel series, “Stephen Curry Presents!: Sports Superheroes,” in partnership with Penguin Workshop. The first of four planned installments will focus on Curry’s career and is scheduled for fall 2024. The series will be created through

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — Ian Baraclough has been fired as coach of Northern Ireland after a poor Nations League campaign. The team had targeted promotion in the Nations League but barely avoided relegation from the third tier after collecting only five points from a possible 18. The 51-year-old Baraclough had replaced Michael O’Neill in

NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Newcastle has confirmed another midseason trip to Saudi Arabia days after playing a Premier League match in the kingdom’s green and white colors. The Saudi-owned club said Friday it will hold a training camp in the Middle Eastern country during the break for the World Cup in early December less than

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute in the 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League. Ronaldo headed to the locker room before the final whistle of Wednesday’s game at Old Trafford in a show of dissent and has since been

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer There’s been a bump in the road in Steven Gerrard’s seemingly natural managerial journey to the helm of his beloved Liverpool. Gerrard was fired as Aston Villa manager on Thursday night after less than a year in charge. It leaves his managerial reputation in a tough-to-judge spot given how