The Iran judo federation's appeal against a four-year ban from international events for refusing to let its athletes face opponents from Israel was heard on Tuesday.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said the Iranian appeal against an International Judo Federation ruling was held by video link. A verdict is expected to take at least several weeks.

A video call between the head of the International Olympic Committee and Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, whose nearly three-week disappearance from public view sparked an outcry, was meant to reassure the world that she was safe — but instead has raised more questions.

Concern grew in the last week for the former No. 1-ranked doubles player — who hadn't been seen since accusing a senior Chinese official of sexual assault on Nov. 2. Tennis stars and fans alike demanded to know #WhereIsPengShuai, and the head of the Women's Tennis Association threatened to pull lucrative events from China.

Romelu Lukaku is set to return from a month out with an ankle injury in Chelsea's Champions League match against Juventus on Tuesday.

Lukaku has been in full training since Sunday and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said the Belgium striker could be selected in the squad if he is deemed fit after meeting with medical staff.

Barcelona may have some important players returning from injury for the team's decisive Champions League game against Benfica, including Ousmane Dembélé, coach Xavi Hernández said Monday.

Dembélé, Sergi Roberto and Sergiño Dest have been nursing injuries but could be available for the match in which Barcelona can clinch its spot in the knockout round and avoid its first group-stage elimination in the European competition in nearly two decades.

Chelsea won the Champions League and England reached the European Championship final, but no Englishmen are on the nomination lists for FIFA's annual awards published on Monday.

Jorginho, a double European champion with Chelsea and Italy, was joined by club teammate N'Golo Kanté among 11 candidates to be voted FIFA's best player in the 2020-21 season.

The tiny Arab nation of Qatar has for years employed a former CIA officer to help spy on soccer officials as part of a no-expense-spared effort to win and hold on to the 2022 World Cup tournament, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

It's part of a trend of former U.S. intelligence officers going to work for foreign governments with questionable human rights records that is worrying officials in Washington and prompting calls from some members of Congress for greater scrutiny of an opaque and lucrative market.

Chelsea's striker crisis is starting to ease.

Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner are back in training and expected to return soon, though the English Premier League game at Leicester on Saturday is too soon.

Kevin De Bruyne contracted the coronavirus while on international duty with Belgium and is isolating, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Friday.

Guardiola said De Bruyne found out on Wednesday that he had tested positive. He is back in England and is vaccinated.

Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich is in quarantine again.

The German club said Friday that the unvaccinated Kimmich would miss the team's game at Augsburg. Although Bayern didn't give any more details, the 26-year-old Kimmich is also a doubt for the team's Champions League game at Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday.

The United Nations said Friday it wants proof of the whereabouts of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who went missing after making sexual assault allegations against a top Communist Party official.

"It would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and well-being and we would urge that there be an investigation with full transparency into her allegations of sexual assault," UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.