Real deny Ramos flouted doping rules
MADRID • Real Madrid denied on Friday allegations their captain Sergio Ramos breached anti-doping regulations on the night of their 2017 Champions League final triumph.
According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, he failed to declare he had taken dexamethasone ahead of the football match at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, in which Real beat Juventus 4-1.
In a statement, Real, who lost 3-0 to Eibar in LaLiga yesterday in coach Santiago Solari's first defeat after four straight wins, said that Ramos "has never breached the anti-doping control regulations".
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Xavi to retire at the end of the season
BARCELONA• Former Spain and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has indicated he will retire from playing football at the end of the season.
The 38-year-old has played for Qatari club Al Sadd since 2015 but is best known for his glittering career at Barca, where he won eight LaLiga and four Champions League titles.
He was also instrumental in Spain's success between 2008 and 2012, when La Roja won the World Cup and the European Championship twice.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Belgium set to win maiden golf World Cup
MELBOURNE• Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry soared to a five-stroke lead after the third round of the World Cup of Golf yesterday, putting Belgium on track for a maiden title.
Having put on a wet weather clinic during the foursomes on Friday, the tall Belgian duo thrived in dry conditions to shoot a nine-under 63 in the four-ball round at Metropolitan Golf Club.
Belgium led with a 19-under total of 197, five ahead of Mexico (65), Italy (66) and South Korea (68) at the 28-nation event.
REUTERS
Kenyan runner Bett banned for doping
LOS ANGELES• Kenyan world 800 metres bronze medallist Kipyegon Bett has been handed a four-year ban for doping, the IAAF Athletics Integrity Unit said in a statement on Friday.
Bett, 20, refused to allow a urine sample to be taken in February and then in July, when a sample was taken, he tested positive for the prohibited substance Erythropoeitin (EPO), an endurance-boosting hormone.
Unless he appeals, Bett will be suspended until August 2022.
REUTERS
