Sports News Roundup: Tennis-Halep says ITIA trying to delay her doping hearing further; Soccer-Lights go out at Rio's Christ the Redeemer in support of Vinicius Jr and more

The NFL cited "integrity of the game" as the main reason for the rule change, which follows the San Francisco 49ers' debacle in January's NFC championship game, where they lost their starting and backup quarterbacks with injuries and were ultimately crushed 31-7 by the Philadelphia Eagles. MLB roundup: Dodgers outslug Braves in series opener J.D. Martinez hit two home runs and Freddie Freeman had a double and a homer to help the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers overcome a four-run deficit and beat the Atlanta Braves 8-6 in the opener of a three-game series matching the National League's two winningest teams.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Halep says ITIA trying to delay her doping hearing further

Former world number one Simona Halep has accused the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) of seeking to further delay her independent tribunal doping hearing and said she is being denied her right to be heard. The 31-year-old former Wimbledon and French Open champion has been provisionally suspended since October 2022 after testing positive for banned blood-booster roxadustat at the U.S. Open last year.

Soccer-Lights go out at Rio's Christ the Redeemer in support of Vinicius Jr

The lights on Rio de Janeiro's iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer were switched off for an hour on Monday night in a display of solidarity with Vinicius Jr after Brazil forward was racially abused during a club match in Spain. The lights were turned off at 1800 local time to cap a day when the Brazilian government and the world of football united to condemn the racial slurs aimed at the Real Madrid player during a Spanish league match on Sunday.

NFL-League owners approve proposal to allow third active quarterback

National Football League (NFL) teams will be allowed to have a third active quarterback on game day in case of emergency after the league owners approved a bylaw proposal at the Spring League Meeting on Monday, NFL Network reported. The NFL cited "integrity of the game" as the main reason for the rule change, which follows the San Francisco 49ers' debacle in January's NFC championship game, where they lost their starting and backup quarterbacks with injuries and were ultimately crushed 31-7 by the Philadelphia Eagles.

MLB roundup: Dodgers outslug Braves in series opener

J.D. Martinez hit two home runs and Freddie Freeman had a double and a homer to help the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers overcome a four-run deficit and beat the Atlanta Braves 8-6 in the opener of a three-game series matching the National League's two winningest teams. Martinez went 4-for-5 with a pair of solo shots. Freeman, who played for Atlanta from 2010-21, went 3-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Golf-Woods withdraws from U.S. Open while recovering from surgery

Tiger Woods will not compete in next month's U.S. Open while he recovers from recent surgery, the major tournament's organisers said on Monday. The 15-times major winner withdrew from the Masters midway through the tournament due to injury and had fusion surgery on a bone in his ankle last month to address post-traumatic arthritis from a previous talus bone fracture.

Exclusive-Olympics-Paris 2024 hoping for Olympic flame on Eiffel Tower -source

Paris 2024 organizers have been planning to install the Olympic flame on the Eiffel Tower, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. The source added that the flame would not be put at the top of the Eiffel Tower, for technical reasons, and it was not clear whether it would stay on the monument throughout the Games but the combination of two such iconic images would be a dramatic backdrop to the July 26-Aug. 11 event.

Soccer-Spanish football admits racism problem after Vinicius incident

Spanish soccer has a racism problem, its football federation chief Luis Rubiales said on Monday, echoing criticism by Brazil after Real Madrid lodged a race crime complaint following insults hurled at their Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr.

The top-flight LaLiga is under pressure to do more to combat racism after the Brazilian president, FIFA and fellow sporting stars such as France forward Kylian Mbappe, Rio Ferdinand and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton voiced support for Vinicius.

Boxing-IBA suspends four national federations for joining 'rogue' body

The International Boxing Association (IBA) has suspended federations from New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden for joining a 'rogue' rival organisation, it said on Monday. A group including the United States and Britain announced the establishment of Swiss-registered World Boxing last month in a breakaway aimed at securing the troubled sport's Olympic future.

Soccer-Spanish police detain four in connection with Vinicius Jr effigy hung from bridge

Spanish police said on Tuesday they had detained four people in connection with an incident in which a mannequin representing Brazilian soccer star Vinicius Jr was hung under a bridge in January. A hate crime investigation had been opened after an effigy-wearing winger Vinicius Jr's No. 20 shirt was hung from a bridge in front of the training ground of Real Madrid, Vinicius's team, along with a banner that read "Madrid hates Real".

Soccer-Juventus slump to 4-1 defeat at Empoli after points deduction

Juventus were handed a crushing 4-1 defeat at lowly Empoli in Serie A on Monday after they have docked 10 points in a new ruling over their transfer dealings, which makes it unlikely they will qualify for the Champions League. Two goals by Francesco Caputo and a strike from Sebastiano Luperto made it 3-0 for Empoli just after halftime before Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back for Juve five minutes from time and Roberto Piccoli sealed Empoli's win in stoppage time.

(With inputs from agencies.)