Benzema scores in final game with Madrid; Vinícius back in team after racial abuse

MADRID (AP) — Karim Benzema converted his penalty kick and received a standing ovation from fans before being substituted at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, bringing an end to his memorable career with Real Madrid on Sunday. Benzema was replaced after scoring the 72nd-minute...

Mirra Andreeva is a teen who doesn't like homework, wins easily at French Open; Coco Gauff next

PARIS (AP) — Mirra Andreeva is the latest teen sensation in tennis, a 16-year-old Russian who is the youngest player to win a match in the women's main draw at the French Open since 2005. Do the math: That’s before she was born. The 143rd-ranked Andreeva made her...

Spain PM's shock election call brings unruly coalition to heel

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's snap general election call breaks apart the coalition he built with the far-left United We Can party, marking a line in the sand with a movement born from grassroots activism whose electoral fortunes have nosedived. On Monday,...

Spanish prime minister calls early general election after battering in regional vote

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday called an early general election for July 23 in a surprise move after his Socialist party took a serious battering in local and regional elections. Prior to Sunday's debacle, Sánchez had insisted that he would ride out...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls early general elections for July 23

Spain swings right in local and regional elections

MADRID (AP) — Spain's conservative opposition Popular Party made significant gains in Sunday's local and regional elections, offering a dire assessment of public feeling towards the ruling left-wing coalition ahead of general elections in December. In the local vote, the Popular...

Spain takes action against racism after Vinícius case but punishing fans remains a challenge

MADRID (AP) — The attention brought by the latest case of abuse against Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior has taken Spain to what could be a turning point in the fight against racism in soccer. Never before had local authorities acted so quickly to take action against fans who...

Spanish police arrest 4 people on suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinícius Junior off a highway bridge in January

Spanish acknowledge they have a racism problem after more abuse of Vinícius Júnior

MADRID (AP) — One after another, the racial insults kept coming. The “monkey” chants outside one stadium, the offensive gestures during a game, the effigy hung off a highway bridge. One by one, Vinícius Júnior showed them on a video on Instagram on Monday,...

New Madrid museum set to unveil five centuries of Spain's royal collections

MADRID (AP) — It’s not as if Madrid was short on world-ranking galleries with the likes of the Prado Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía, among others. But next month, Spain is set to unveil what is touted as one of Europe’s cultural highlights of the year with...