The leader of Spain's soccer federation marred the country's Women's World Cup victory after kissing a player on the lips during the medal ceremony, drawing criticism for inappropriate conduct in a sport that has struggled to overcome sexism.

The Spanish government and the world players' union condemned the behavior of Luis Rubiales on Monday, a day after Spain's 1-0 win over England. The soccer federation led by Rubiales sought to downplay the incident through a statement it attributed to the player he kissed, then later released a video in which Rubiales apologized.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has undergone "emergency surgery" on a back problem and isn't expected to take charge of the team for around another month, the club said on Tuesday.

City said Guardiola has been suffering with severe back pain for some time and decided to have an operation in Barcelona, where he will spend time recovering. The surgery was successful, the club said.

Salma Paralluelo could have been preparing for next year's Olympics if she'd decided to stick with track and not make the switch to football.

But she did pick football and the 19-year-old winger has been a super-sub in Spain's run to the Women's World Cup final. Spain plays England on Sunday in the first all-European final since 2003.

Men and women will use the same tennis ball this year at the U.S. Open, satisfying some women who complained last year they were hitting an inferior product.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek — who eventually won the tournament — was among the women who felt their lighter ball didn't hold its strength as long as the one that was used by men. The U.S. Open had been the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments that used a different ball for men and women.

Fans line up outside Inter Miami's practice facility to watch Lionel Messi's car drive away after training sessions. Players from opposing teams wait after matches to get his signature or just a simple handshake. His No. 10 jersey is everywhere in South Florida.

For Messi, these are reminders that he made the right choice. He could have continued his acclaimed career with another stint in Barcelona, where he rose to stardom. He could have signed a lucrative deal to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. He chose the unfamiliar — to travel stateside and play soccer in the United States, and he's glad about it.

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is joining Neymar's new club in Saudi Arabia after Sevilla announced his transfer to Al Hilal.

The 32-year-old Bounou helped Morocco become the biggest surprise of last year's World Cup when it reached the semifinals after beating both Spain and Portugal in the knockout rounds.

There is no real history of world-class, elite basketball success in the United Arab Emirates. The nation has never qualified for the Basketball World Cup, never reached the courts at the Olympics, never sent a player to the NBA.

Doesn't matter. The game is coming to the oil-rich nation that considers itself a big-time sports playground, and it's easy to see why: other sports like soccer, golf, auto racing, tennis and UFC have long held competitions there, despite concerns about its human-rights record.

Manchester City marked its first appearance in the UEFA Super Cup by beating Sevilla 5-4 in a penalty shootout on Wednesday to add another piece of silverware to its vast haul under manager Pep Guardiola.

After a 1-1 draw in regulation time and then nine successful spot kicks in the shootout, Nemanja Gudelj struck his attempt against the crossbar to hand City victory inside Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis.

Napoli fans are getting ready to start where they left off three months ago.

The southern city of Naples has barely stopped celebrating since the team ended a 33-year wait for the Italian league title and the streets are still festooned with the club's colors.

After having both its coach and best winger sent off last week, Barcelona will try to jump start its Spanish season on Sunday at home.

Except home isn't what it used to be.