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Copa Libertadores Game in Colombia Abandoned Due to Crowd Trouble

Carlos Bacca (R) of Junior reacts during a Copa Libertadores group stage soccer match between Junior and Cerro Porteno at Romelio Martinez Stadium in Cartagena, Colombia, 07 May 2026. EPA/Ricardo Maldonado Rozo
Carlos Bacca (R) of Junior reacts during a Copa Libertadores group stage soccer match between Junior and Cerro Porteno at Romelio Martinez Stadium in Cartagena, Colombia, 07 May 2026. EPA/Ricardo Maldonado Rozo
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Copa Libertadores Game in Colombia Abandoned Due to Crowd Trouble

Carlos Bacca (R) of Junior reacts during a Copa Libertadores group stage soccer match between Junior and Cerro Porteno at Romelio Martinez Stadium in Cartagena, Colombia, 07 May 2026. EPA/Ricardo Maldonado Rozo
Carlos Bacca (R) of Junior reacts during a Copa Libertadores group stage soccer match between Junior and Cerro Porteno at Romelio Martinez Stadium in Cartagena, Colombia, 07 May 2026. EPA/Ricardo Maldonado Rozo

A Copa Libertadores match between Colombia's Independiente Medellin and Brazilian side Flamengo in Medellin was abandoned on Thursday after home fans lit flares and threw objects onto the pitch shortly after kick-off.

The teams were sent back to the dressing rooms and the stadium was evacuated before ⁠the game was ⁠called off by South American football governing body CONMEBOL.

Independiente Medellin and CONMEBOL did not immediately respond to an emailed request by Reuters for comment.

Reports in ⁠Colombian media said Independiente Medellin fans were protesting against the club’s management amid a run of poor results.

Flamengo's director of football Jose Boto said the club, who are the defending Copa Libertadores champions, expected to be awarded a victory and three ⁠points ⁠under CONMEBOL regulations.

"The responsibility is not ours, the regulations are clear. The home team failed to guarantee security," Boto said in a video posted on Flamengo's social media.

Flamengo are top of Copa Libertadores Group A, with Independiente Medellin third behind Argentina's Estudiantes.

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History-chasing Barca Eye Title Party in Liga Clasico

Barcelona are on the brink of the title and can claim it with a point in the Clasico on Sunday at Camp Nou. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP/File
Barcelona are on the brink of the title and can claim it with a point in the Clasico on Sunday at Camp Nou. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP/File
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History-chasing Barca Eye Title Party in Liga Clasico

Barcelona are on the brink of the title and can claim it with a point in the Clasico on Sunday at Camp Nou. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP/File
Barcelona are on the brink of the title and can claim it with a point in the Clasico on Sunday at Camp Nou. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP/File

With the sting of Champions League disappointment fading but not forgotten, Barcelona are aiming to clinch back-to-back La Liga titles on Sunday when they host bitter rivals Real Madrid.

Leading by 11 points, Hansi Flick's side only need a draw in the Clasico to be crowned champions again, although a victory against a Los Blancos team in crisis would keep them on course to make history -- and celebrate in style, said AFP.

If Barcelona win their last four league games this season, starting with the battle against Alvaro Arbeloa's fracturing Madrid, they will match the all-time league record of 100 points.

That was first achieved by Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid in 2011-12 and followed the season after by Tito Vilanova's Barca.

Barca's 29 wins so far this season are the most of any side at this point, and if they win their last four games they will break the record of 32 victories in a season, shared by the Mourinho and Vilanova sides.

Should Barca beat Madrid and also Real Betis the following weekend, they will become the first team to win all their home matches in a 38-game La Liga season.

However, they are without teenage star Lamine Yamal, who is out for the next few weeks with a hamstring injury.

Brazilian winger Raphinha returned to the bench last weekend after injury but did not appear in the win at Osasuna which moved Barca to the brink of the title.

"I see the team in great shape, very focused -- we're all really looking forward to playing the Clasico," said Barca defender Jules Kounde this week.

"We can win La Liga with a draw, but a win would be the best."

This is the first Clasico at the partially-rebuilt Camp Nou in over three years.

In March 2023, Xavi Hernandez's Barca snatched a late victory with Franck Kessie's goal which helped them open up a 12-point lead on Madrid and made them virtually assured of the title.

Only once before in Clasico history has the title actually been decided by the result of the game, as could happen again this Sunday.

Real Madrid won the first of their record 36 leagues by drawing 2-2 against Barcelona in the 1931-32 season to clinch the title.

Barca are aiming to seal their 29th this weekend, with Madrid keen to postpone those celebrations by scoring a second victory over Flick's team this season.

They are waiting to see if top goalscorer Kylian Mbappe can be involved after a thigh injury, while Vinicius Junior is expected to lead the line for Los Blancos.

"He's the player who has given me the most problems," said Kounde of the Brazil international.

"He's a great player, very fast, and he changes direction constantly."

Madrid face the Clasico in the midst of internal chaos, with Federico Valverde reportedly needing stitches after a training ground bust-up with Aurelien Tchouameni, one of a spate of such incidents.

There is great tension around Arbeloa's side, about to finish a second consecutive season without a major trophy.

Still, for Flick's young side, wounded in Europe but dominant domestically, beating Los Blancos to claim the title would help them finish the season on a high note.

Player to watch: Vinicius Junior

With Mbappe sidelined the Brazilian winger has been at his best. His match-winning brace at Espanyol last week prevented Barcelona clinching the title and saved Madrid having to give the champions a guard of honor on Sunday.

Sports

International Olympic Committee Lifts Restrictions on Belarusian Athletes

The International Olympic Committee on Thursday lifted restrictions imposed on Belarusian athletes (Reuters)
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday lifted restrictions imposed on Belarusian athletes (Reuters)
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International Olympic Committee Lifts Restrictions on Belarusian Athletes

The International Olympic Committee on Thursday lifted restrictions imposed on Belarusian athletes (Reuters)
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday lifted restrictions imposed on Belarusian athletes (Reuters)

The International Olympic Committee on Thursday lifted all restrictions on Belarusian athletes, clearing the way for their return to international competitions, including at qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, it said in a statement.

The IOC had recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials be banned from events since 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus was used as a staging ground for ⁠the Russian invasion.

"The ⁠IOC Executive Board no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions governed by International Federations and international sports event organizers," Reuters quoted the Olympic body as saying.

Athletes from Belarus can now freely compete under their own flag and anthem, including in team ⁠sports. They can also take part in all qualifying events starting later this year for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

At both the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, only a handful of Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete, in individual events only and as neutral athletes without their flag.

The IOC said the lifting of restrictions would not apply to Russian athletes.

There has been increased speculation a similar decision ⁠could be ⁠made for Russia in the coming months.

"The situation relating to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is different from that relating to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus. The NOC of Belarus is in good standing and complies with the Olympic Charter," the IOC said.

Russia's Olympic committee was suspended in October 2023 for recognizing regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine - Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - following Russia's invasion.

The IOC said at the time this had violated the Olympic Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine’s Olympic Committee.

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Italy's Tennis Chief Wants to Break Grand Slam 'Monopoly' with New Major

(FILES) Italy's Jasmine Paolini (L) and Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation, celebrate after victory in her women's singles final match against US's Coco Gauff during the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
(FILES) Italy's Jasmine Paolini (L) and Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation, celebrate after victory in her women's singles final match against US's Coco Gauff during the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
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Italy's Tennis Chief Wants to Break Grand Slam 'Monopoly' with New Major

(FILES) Italy's Jasmine Paolini (L) and Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation, celebrate after victory in her women's singles final match against US's Coco Gauff during the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
(FILES) Italy's Jasmine Paolini (L) and Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation, celebrate after victory in her women's singles final match against US's Coco Gauff during the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at Foro Italico in Rome on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Angelo Binaghi has dragged Italian tennis from the doldrums to a golden age since taking charge of the country's federation (FITP) a quarter of a century ago, with Jannik Sinner just the very best of some of the world's top players.

But the organizer of the Italian Open, which runs in Rome until May 17, has an even bigger goal -- breaking what he calls the Grand Slam monopoly and hosting a fifth major tournament in his home nation.

"The monopoly is scandalous and is a big handicap for tennis," Binaghi said in an interview with AFP and the Associated Press.

"It's a scandal that there is no meritocratic system, instead the system protects those who don't do as much as they could for tennis.

"There are four countries in the world that have a mountain of money to invest in tennis that other nations don't have. I'm trying to break that monopoly."

Binaghi insists that Italy is the place to host a fifth Slam given the explosion in popularity of the sport in recent years, pushed by the likes of Sinner and Jasmine Paolini, reigning women's champion here in Rome.

The 65-year-old said he was willing to organize the eventual tournament "anywhere in Italy and on any surface", but he was vague on the practicalities of creating a new Slam.

"Tennis is experiencing the sort of boom that will be difficult to replicate in the future, right at the time when our national football team is going through a disastrous period," he said.

"That makes our successes all the more important for our country."

- Fifth Slam? -

Binaghi suggested that his proposed tournament wouldn't be held at the Foro Italico where the Italian Open has blossomed into one of the tennis calendar's most prestigious events.

The center court in the Italian capital is set to have a retractable roof and an increased capacity of 12,500 by 2028.

But Binaghi said that the area around the grounds, which also houses the Stadio Olimpico where football clubs Roma and Lazio play their home matches, presents challenges for a Grand Slam.

"The existing site poses a number of problems: there is no metro stop, barely any buses, and it's difficult to find taxis," said Binaghi

"It's the most beautiful place to play tennis in the world, but it generates a mountain of extra costs. Every single structure apart from the center court, has to be put up and then dismantled, and that weighs on the budget.

"When I took over the FITP, the Italian Open was dead (...) tennis was the tenth or twelfth sport in Italy, we had no money, we had no players, we had nothing.

"It has been a hundred times more difficult to make the Italian Open what it is today than it would be to complete the final step needed to get a Grand Slam. As long as I am in charge, I will try to achieve it... And if we don't succeed, tennis will miss a unique opportunity that no-one else will have for the next 100 years."