Central & South America

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will miss Tuesday's match at home to Eibar due to an ankle injury, the LaLiga club said on Sunday.

BUENOS AIRES — Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona did not consume alcohol or illicit narcotics in the days before his death, an autopsy released on Wednesday said.

Maradona, who died in November aged 60, had taken seven different medicines to treat depression, anxiety and other ailments but "there was no presence of (illegal) drugs," a judicial official told Reuters.

Lionel Messi has admitted the ill feeling between him and Barcelona over his attempt to leave the club in the close season has affected his form this season, in which he has posted his lowest goal and assist tallies in 13 years.

Messi caused consternation at Barça when he sent the club a burofax (official notice) that he wanted to leave in August, but then president Josep Maria Bartomeu blocked the move and the Argentine committed to stay this season to avoid a legal battle. He has less than seven months left on his contract and is able to negotiate with other clubs from January.

The 2020 Concacaf Champions League resumed last night with leg two of Olimpia versus Montreal — 280 days after the Honduran side had disappointed 23,000 fans inside the Impact’s Olympic Stadium by snatching a crucial 2-1 road win. 

Despite having to play the return leg at Exploria Stadium in Orlando — where the remainder of the competition will be staged — Olimpia advanced on away goals after Montreal could only find one through Amar Sejdič. 

Thierry Henry is out; Olimpia plays Tigres in the semifinals on Saturday. 

Lyon handed PSG a 1-0 loss at the Parc des Princes on Sunday to move into second place in Ligue 1 and send the home side down to third, but the result was much more devastating than that — Neymar was stretchered off in injury time after an awful tackle from Thiago Mendes that resulted in a straight red card.

Lawyers are gearing up to do battle over the estate of Diego Maradona, estimated at between $10 million and $40 million and disputed by the soccer great's children, ex-partners and many others.

The legal wrangling began within days of Maradona's death from a heart attack in Buenos Aires on Nov. 25.

"I do not know if they are not hurting sufficiently or if they wanted to be the first in line, but it's insane because everyone will be able to participate," said lawyer Mauricio Dalessandro, who worked with Maradona for several years.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Flamengo beat Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday but the derby match was overshadowed by a controversy over Flamengo’s threat to take the home side to court over a banner on display at their Rio de Janeiro stadium.

With the stands empty because of the coronavirus pandemic, Botafogo draped banners around the seats with one reading: “We Care About Lives Here.”

VP do Flamengo ameaça ir ao STJD por faixa colocada no Nilton Santos antes de clássico