MAN CITY OVERTURNS 2-YEAR BAN

Manchester City successfully overturned its two-year ban from the Champions League on Monday in a surprising legal victory.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld City’s appeal against the UEFA ban, but imposed a 10 million euro ($11.3 million) fine on the club for failing to cooperate with independent investigators.

Some UEFA allegations accusing City of finance rules violations dating back several years were not proven and others were “timebarred,” the court said.

CAS plans to publish a detailed written verdict within days. That could help explain why UEFA’S case did not comply with its own internal rules, and show how other evidence was weighed.

Man City joins Paris Saint-germain, AC Milan and Galatasaray in beating UEFA in appeal cases related to finance monitoring rules in the past two years.

The decision by the three CAS judges clears the team coached by Pep Guardiola to play in the group stage of the Champions League next season. The case does not affect City’s place in this season’s competition, which resumes next month.

More soccer

Crystal Palace player Wilfried Zaha wants “action” and “education” against the racial abuse that he and other Black athletes are regularly subject to on social media. A 12-year-old boy was arrested on Sunday after the Ivory Coast international highlighted racist abuse he received ahead of Palace’s match at Aston Villa.

The messages and images referenced Zaha’s race and showed the Ku Klux Klan. They were sent on Instagram from a user who included central Englandbased club Villa in his or her name.

• The Portland Thorns will face top-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Challenge Cup after wrapping up the group stage with a scoreless draw with the rival OL Reign in Herriman, Utah.

• Samantha Mewis and Crystal Dunn each scored and the North Carolina Courage won their fourth straight game, beating Sky Blue 2-0 in the Challenge Cup.

• Diego Rossi and Brian Rodriguez scored six minutes apart midway through the second half, and LAFC rallied for a 3-3 draw with the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Is Back tournament at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

• Javier Hernandez scored his first MLS goal in the 88th minute but it wasn’t enough as the L.A. Galaxy dropped a 2-1 tournament match to the Portland Timbers.

• Federico Higuain and Frederic Brillant both scored late in the second half as D.C. United rallied for a 2-2 draw against Toronto FC in the MLS tournament.

Motorsports

Remember the old IROC Series, where the best drivers from various disciplines raced each other in equally prepared cars?

It ran for 30 seasons before Tony Stewart won its final championship in 2006 and the series quietly went away.

Now Stewart, along with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernaham, has teamed with a group of heavyweights to bring an allstar circuit back in 2021. The Superstar Racing Experience plans a six-race, shorttrack series to air in prime time on CBS in a Saturday night summer spectacular.

Colleges

Former USC starter JT Daniels said he has been granted immediate eligibility at Georgia, where he can join the competition at quarterback.

• The Patriot League announced that its fall sports will not be played this autumn, but Navy and Army are exempt from that decision and will forge ahead with their own plans.

NHL

The NHL says 43 players tested positive for the coronavirus from June 8 through the end of the league’s optional workouts. That number announced includes 30 who tested positive at team facilities and 13 the league is aware of who tested positive outside the league’s protocols for its Phase 2.

• Corey Crawford was absent when the Chicago Blackhawks practiced for the first time since the NHL season was suspended, casting doubt on the goaltender’s availability for their qualifying series against Edmonton.

• The Minnesota Wild began training camp with a bang, formalizing Dean Evason’s status as their full-time head coach.

Also

The remainder of the PGA Tour schedule this season will be played without spectators after the organizers of four tournaments announced that they would close their events to the public.

• The National Junior College Athletic Association says it will not have a fall season and will instead attempt to play football and other sports in the spring.

• The Oct. 11 Chicago Marathon has been canceled because of the pandemic.