European football governing body UEFA blamed "fake tickets which did not work in the turnstiles" for a 35-minute delay to Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris, but the English club heavily criticised the treatment of their supporters.

Liverpool's preparations for the Champions League final were boosted by the news that midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho will be fit to face Real Madrid after injury scares.

Mohamed Salah has confirmed he will see out his contract at Liverpool next season, but the Egypt forward remains non-committal on his future at Anfield beyond 2023.

British climber Kenton Cool made headlines around the world this week for reaching the summit of Mount Everest for the 16th time, the most of any non-Nepali climber -- but says his title is largely meaningless. 

Mountain guide Cool, 48, first climbed Everest in 2004 and has since had an expedition almost every year taking clients up the world's highest peak.

Russian athletes and officials who have been banned from international sporting events because of the war in Ukraine are being protected rather than punished, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Friday.

Most sports bodies have followed the IOC guidance given on Feb. 28 — four days after Russia began its invasion — by taking teams and athletes out of their international competitions. In soccer, Russian teams were removed from World Cup qualifying for men and women.

Naomi Osaka will not have the luxury of easing into her return to the courts of the French Open, facing a tough foe in her very first match.

Week 2 at Roland Garros, meanwhile, could be quite fascinating for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — the three leading favorites for the men's title ended up on the same side of the bracket for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament, meaning only one can reach the final.

For the first time in a year, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are both entered in a major tournament — and, somehow, most of the buzz heading into the French Open is about Carlos Alcaraz, a teenager without one Grand Slam title to his name.

There's plenty of reasons to keep tabs on Djokovic and Nadal when play begins Sunday. They're two greats of the game who have played each other more than any other two men in the Open era, including nine times at Roland Garros.

Kylian Mbappe may play his last game for Paris Saint-Germain when the French league season ends on Saturday.

The champions will host struggling Metz with Mbappe looking to add to his league-leading 25 goals and his overall tally of 168 since joining PSG from Monaco five years ago for 180 million euros ($190 million).

Three teams are fighting to avoid relegation on the final day of the Spanish league, while Real Madrid gets its last chance to fine-tune before facing Liverpool for the European Cup.

Madrid clinched its 35th Liga title three weeks ago. Since then in three more or less meaningless games, coach Carlo Ancelotti has rotated his squad to keep his players fresh while reducing the risk of injury.

Female referees will make World Cup history this year by working games at a major men's tournament for the first time in Qatar.

Three female referees and three female assistant referees were announced Thursday by FIFA among 129 officials selected for World Cup duty, including one man who caused controversy when refereeing a chaotic African Cup of Nations game in January while suffering with heatstroke.