World Sports News in Brief

Vettel to leave Ferrari at end of 2020 F1 season

Four-times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season, with the German facing an uncertain future in racing.

Four-times F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel. (Reuters)
Four-times F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel. (Reuters)

The sport's oldest, most glamorous and successful team announced the move in a statement on Tuesday after talks on a new contract ended without a deal.

* Golfers and caddies returning to the PGA Tour next month will face a battery of tests and safety measures as they adjust to tournament golf in the era of novel coronavirus. Golf Channel said on Tuesday it had seen the 37-page health and safety document being sent to players as the PGA Tour prepares for a June 11-14 return at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.

* Portugal's top-flight soccer division will restart on June 4 after being halted since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league's organising body said in a statement on Tuesday. Porto led the standings by one point over champions Benfica when the season was indefinitely postponed, with 10 games remaining.

* Joan Laporta has said he will seek to bring former manager Pep Guardiola back to Barcelona if his bid to return as president of the La Liga club in 2021 is successful, Spanish media reported. Laporta was Barcelona president from 2003 to 2010 and was at the helm when Guardiola was promoted from the youth team to manager of the senior team in 2008.

* The women's Under-20 World Cup tournament in Costa Rica and Panama, postponed from August-September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been rescheduled for Jan 20-Feb 6 of next year, world governing body FIFA said on Tuesday (May 12). The women's Under-17 World Cup in India, originally planned for November, has also been rescheduled for Feb 17-Mar 7, 2021.

* Spanish football clubs have no option but to face up to reducing players' salaries next season due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, La Liga president Javier Tebas has said. The Spanish season has been on hold since March, and although matches are due to re-start in June without spectators, the league still estimates clubs will lose a combined 300 million euros (264.67 million pounds) in lost revenue due to the disruption.

* A British archery competition that has been running for more than 300 years has been cancelled for the first time since the 1940s because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Ancient Silver Arrow tournament had been set to take place in northern England on May 16.

* French club Amiens have launched legal proceedings in a bid to overturn what they consider to be their "unjust" relegation from Ligue 1 after the season was ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic.

* This year's international athletics season will begin with a Continental Tour Gold event in Finland on Aug. 11 and will end with a Diamond League meeting in China, World Athletics said in a statement on Tuesday. While a few minor events will be staged in July, the season is likely to resume only in August after the National Championships window, the statement said

* USA Gymnastics will not stage its national championships and other major events in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the national sport governing body announced on Tuesday (May 12). The US Gymnastics Championships, which had been planned for Jun 4-7 at Fort Worth, Texas, will be staged in the same city on Jun 3-6, 2021.

Reuters, CNA