Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Inter's slim title hopes fading after late defeat at Spezia; Tennis-Tsitsipas crashes out of Indian Wells in second round and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Inter's slim title hopes fading after late defeat at Spezia

Inter Milan's faint hopes of catching runaway Serie A leaders Napoli suffered a huge blow when they fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Spezia after conceding late on Friday. Spezia struck through Daniel Maldini and M'Bala Nzola's penalty to beat Inter for the first time, with Romelu Lukaku's equaliser from the spot counting for nothing in the end.

Soccer-Roma coach Mourinho loses appeal against two-game suspension

AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho has lost an appeal against a two- match Serie A ban for his reaction to being sent off in his side's 2-1 defeat at Cremonese in late February, the Italian Sports Court of Appeal ruled on Friday. Mourinho who was given his marching orders by referee Marco Piccinini at the start of the second half for dissent, was fined 10,000 euros ($10,656.00) and will be suspended for Roma's matches against Sassuolo on Sunday and Lazio on March 19.

Soccer-PSG to submit bid for Stade de France

Paris St Germain will submit a bid for the country's largest stadium, the Stade de France, the Ligue 1 champions said on Friday as they look to move from their Parc des Princes home.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said the Parc des Princes was not for sale which prompted PSG to say in January that they would explore "alternative options" for their home stadium.

Tennis-Tsitsipas crashes out of Indian Wells in second round

Stefanos Tsitsipas's hopes of taking over the world number one ranking with an Indian Wells title ended in a 7-6(0) 4-6 7-6(5) second-round loss to Australian Jordan Thompson on Friday. Second seed Tsitsipas told reporters on Wednesday that he did not expect to make a deep run at the tournament due to his ailing shoulder and it was unclear how much he had left in the tank after he was blanked in the first set tie-breaker.

Golf-Rahm withdraws from Players Championship due to illness

The Players Championship favourite and world number one Jon Rahm withdrew from the tournament ahead of his second round on Friday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, due to illness. Rahm, who arrived at the PGA Tour's flagship event seeking his fourth win of the season, opened with a one-under-par 71 on Thursday that left him seven shots behind first-round leader Chad Ramey.

Olympics-Britain urges sponsors to pressure IOC on Russia, Belarus ban

The British government has written to Olympic sponsors urging them to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over its proposal to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete at next year's Paris Games, British media reported on Saturday. The IOC is facing a mounting backlash after setting out a pathway in January for competitors from Russia and its ally Belarus to earn Olympic slots through Asian qualifying and to compete as neutral athletes in Paris.

Golf-Griffin leads Players as play suspended, McIlroy struggles

Ben Griffin double-bogeyed the final hole but still held the second-round clubhouse lead at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, when play was suspended for the day due to inclement weather with Rory McIlroy poised to miss the cut. Griffin, who started out on Friday three shots back of first-round leader Chad Ramey, shot a one-under-par 71 that brought him to six under on the week and gave him a two-shot clubhouse lead over fellow American Will Gordon (67).

Tennis-Thompson's confidence growing after Tsitsipas upset

Australian Jordan Thompson said his thrilling second-round upset of second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at Indian Wells on Friday provided the latest boost in confidence after a sluggish start to the year. The 87th ranked Thompson beat the world number three 7-6(0) 4-6 7-6(5) for his second career win over a top 10 player and first against the Greek in three meetings.

Soccer-PSG's Neymar undergoes ankle surgery

Paris St Germain's Brazil forward Neymar has successfully undergone surgery on his right ankle, the Ligue 1 side announced on Friday. Neymar, who has 13 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1 this season, has not played since a 4-3 win over Lille last month, missing PSG's last three games.

Soccer-Four Real Betis fans arrested after violence at Manchester United game

Four Real Betis fans were arrested at Old Trafford on Thursday for disorderly conduct at their team's Europa League last-16 game against Manchester United, local police said on Friday. During the match, in which flares and other objects were thrown into the stands, a policeman was injured when a person from the away section threw a pyrotechnic device.

(With inputs from agencies.)