PSG Extend Lead with 3-1 Win over Lyon in Match Marred by Offensive Chants

 Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Olympique Lyonnais - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - December 15, 2024 Paris St Germain's Goncalo Ramos celebrates scoring their third goal. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Olympique Lyonnais - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - December 15, 2024 Paris St Germain's Goncalo Ramos celebrates scoring their third goal. (Reuters)
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PSG Extend Lead with 3-1 Win over Lyon in Match Marred by Offensive Chants

 Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Olympique Lyonnais - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - December 15, 2024 Paris St Germain's Goncalo Ramos celebrates scoring their third goal. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Olympique Lyonnais - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - December 15, 2024 Paris St Germain's Goncalo Ramos celebrates scoring their third goal. (Reuters)

Runaway Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain claimed a 3-1 home win over Olympique Lyonnais with early goals from Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha plus a late strike from Goncalo Ramos on Sunday in a match that was temporarily suspended due to offensive chanting by fans.

PSG have 37 points after 15 matches, seven ahead of Olympique de Marseille in second. Lyon are fifth with 25 points.

The capital club opened the scoring after eight minutes when Desire Doue made a brilliant run and cut the ball back to Dembele, who slotted home with a composed finish.

The hosts doubled the lead after 14 minutes when Corentin Tolisso fouled Doue and Vitinha converted the penalty.

However, Lyon's Georges Mikautadze pulled one back five minutes before the break, latching onto a brilliant pass and calmly chipping into the net from inside the box.

Doue thought he had scored in the 52nd minute, but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Moments later, the referee temporarily suspended play due to offensive chanting by PSG supporters in the stands, which led to a warning being displayed on the stadium's screen.

"The match could be stopped or even lost for the club," the message stated.

PSG captain Achraf Hakimi and Vitinha approached the fans to urge them to stop, prompting loud booing before play eventually resumed after some minutes.

Ramos put the finishing touch to PSG´s victory with their third two minutes from time soon after being brought on as a substitute.



US Open Doubles Champion Max Purcell Suspended for Anti-doping Breach

FILE - Max Purcell returns a shot to Tommy Paul, of the United States, during a second round match of the US Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE - Max Purcell returns a shot to Tommy Paul, of the United States, during a second round match of the US Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
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US Open Doubles Champion Max Purcell Suspended for Anti-doping Breach

FILE - Max Purcell returns a shot to Tommy Paul, of the United States, during a second round match of the US Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
FILE - Max Purcell returns a shot to Tommy Paul, of the United States, during a second round match of the US Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Two-time Grand Slam winning doubles player Max Purcell has entered a voluntary provisional suspension under tennis’ anti-doping rules.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced the sanction in a statement on Monday after the 26-year-old Australian admitted to violating Article 2.2 of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program “relating to the use of a Prohibited Method”.
Purcell posted a statement on Instagram saying he had “unknowingly received an IV infusion of vitamins above the allowable limit of 100 ml.”
Purcell said he had told the medical clinic that the infusion needed to be below 100 ml because he was a professional athlete, but that the medical records he received back showed that the IV had been above that level, The Associated Press said.
“This news was devastating to me because I pride myself on being an athlete who always makes sure that everything is WADA safe,” Purcell wrote. “I volunteered this information to the ITIA and have been as transparent as possible in trying to put this whole situation behind me.”
The ITIA said the suspension came into effect on 12 Dec., and time served under provisional suspension will be credited against any future sanction. The length of time of the voluntary suspension was not specified by the ITIA.
“During the provisional suspension, Purcell is prohibited from playing in, coaching at, or attending any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association," the ITIA statement read.
Purcell, with compatriot Jordan Thompson, won the U.S. Open in September and won Wimbledon with another Australian, Matthew Ebden, in 2022. He is currently ranked No. 12 in doubles.
He also finished as a runner-up in the Australian Open doubles final twice, in 2020 and 2022.
Purcell, ranked No. 105 in singles, was not listed on the Australian Open entry lists released earlier this month and did not receive a wildcard or feature on the qualifying entries.
The ITIA did not say whether Purcell's absence from the draw of the tournament starting Jan. 12. was due to the sanction.
The latest doping violation in tennis comes just weeks after five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.
Top-ranked men's player Jannik Sinner, winner of two Grand Slams this year, was exonerated by the ITIA after twice testing positive for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid in March with the World Anti-Doping Agency appealing the ruling.