A senior official for the 2022 Qatar World Cup again downplayed suggestions that the tournament should be moved from the fierce heat of summer for player and fan safety.

Hassan al-Thawadi, general secretary of the Qatar 2022 supreme committee, told the Associated Press on Friday "we always knew about it ... we know there is an issue with the heat."

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby will be out for up to nine months because of a knee injury.

The Premier League club said the France international tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at a training session on Wednesday.

An inquest into the death of Piermario Morosini during a Serie B match last year has blamed four medics for their inadequate treatment of the footballer.

Morosini, who was on loan from Serie A team Udinese, collapsed and died during Livorno's match at Pescara on April 14 due to a heart attack.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has finally admitted that his team's defense of their Premier League title is over.

City's 2-0 defeat at Everton in the last game before the international break left neighbors and rivals Manchester United 15 points ahead at the top of the table with nine matches left to play.

Bayern Munich have ruled out the possibility of a major celebration this weekend, even if they wrap up the Bundesliga title in record time.

Should the Bavarian giants beat Hamburg at home, and reigning champions Borussia Dortmund fail to win at Stuttgart, then Bayern would become champions with seven matches still to play.

As Sebastian Vettel has established himself as the most dominant Formula One driver of his generation, racing fans have come to see him as the boyish, fun-loving face of the glamorous sport.

But after his victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, a more complex image of the German has emerged — that of a ruthless, cunning driver who will do whatever it takes to win a race and possibly his fourth consecutive drivers' championship.

The Miami Heat's bid for NBA history ended Wednesday when their 27-game winning streak was ended by the Chicago Bulls 101-97, setting off a raucous celebration inside United Center.

Miami finished six short of the 33-game record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

The grunts were long and loud in the final game, as if Maria Sharapova was pushing a couch across nearby Crandon Beach.

Trying to winning the Sony Open must feel that way to Sharapova, a four-time runner-up. She returned to the semifinals Wednesday despite a patchy performance, beating Sara Errani 7-5, 7-5.

Barcelona forward Pedro Rodriguez will be sidelined for 10 days and miss the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals after injuring his leg while playing for Spain in a World Cup qualifier.

The Catalan club said Wednesday that "tests have confirmed that the player has small muscle fiber tears" in his left leg.

Moments before the match, Tommy Haas sat in his courtside chair jiggling his legs, eager to face the world's No. 1-ranked player and old enough to know such chances don't often come along.

Haas took advantage, beating three-time champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Sony Open 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday. The upset snapped Djokovic's 14-match winning streak at Key Biscayne, where he won the tournament in the past two years.