SOCCER
Most of Spain’s World Cup-winning players ended their boycott of the women’s national team Wednesday, but only after the government intervened to help shape an agreement to make immediate changes at the country’s beleaguered soccer federation.
Two players, Barcelona teammates Patri Guijarro and Mapi León, opted to leave the training camp in the eastern city of Valencia after receiving guarantees from the government that they would not be sanctioned, with the rest staying after being told that some of their demands for reform would be met.
The players reported to camp on Tuesday after being picked by new coach Montse Tomé against their will, in the latest twist in the crisis that has engulfed Spanish soccer since former federation president Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony following Spain’s Women’s World Cup title in Australia last month.
The players had been in open rebellion for more than three weeks, ever since the players said on Aug. 25 that they would not play again for their country until the federation had new leadership. After Rubiales stepped down, the players still refused to come back until the federation underwent thorough reform.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Mathys Tel’s stoppage-time goal proved enough for Bayern Munich to beat Manchester United 4-3 in their opening game in Munich.
Tel scored with a spectacular finish in the second minute of injury time, restoring Bayern’s two-goal lead after Casemiro scored in the 88th for the visitors.
• Jude Bellingham helped extend Real Madrid’s perfect start to the season by scoring a stoppage-time goal in a 1-0 win at home against Union Berlin in the Champions League.
Bellingham scored his sixth goal in as many matches with Madrid by picking up a loose ball inside the area and firing it into the open net four minutes into stoppage time at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
It was Madrid’s sixth consecutive victory, with the other five coming in the Spanish league.
• Arsenal made a stylish return to the Champions League by sweeping aside PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in London after a six-year absence from the competition.
ENGLAND: Tottenham wing back Ivan Perisic will undergo surgery to repair a “complex” injury to the ACL in his right knee, the Premier League club said.
Perisic, 34, from Croatia, sustained the injury in non-contact training.
COLLEGES
BOSTON COLLEGE: Boston College says its men’s and women’s swimming and diving program has been placed on indefinite suspension after university administrators determined hazing had taken place within the program.
The school released a one-paragraph statement and didn’t provide any further information.
FOOTBALL: LSU safety Greg Brooks had surgery to remove “a large brain tumor,” his family announced.
“Doctors successfully performed the procedure Friday to remove the mass,” the family said in a social media post that was verified by LSU athletics spokesman Michael Bonnette. “We are awaiting biopsy results.”
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: McLaren signed Oscar Piastri to a multi-year contract extension, just 15 races into his rookie season.
Piastri has a season-best finish of fourth, and with 42 points scored is ranked 11th in the Formula One standings. He signed with McLaren last year after turning down a promotion with Alpine that led to a contractual fight over the 22-year-old Australian.
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