Pope Francis prayed for racing legend Michael Schumacher on Thursday as he offered his backing for a Formula One-led road safety campaign aimed at reducing the number of children killed by cars.

The prayer came after Francis was visited by Jean Todt, the president of the Formula One's governing body FIA, who showed the pontiff a shock three-minute video used in the "Save Kids' Lives" campaign.

FIFA on Thursday banned Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid from buying players for one year over their dealing in under-age players.

The ban will start from the July transfer window this year and finish with the January transfer market in 2017.

Arsenal conceded a 90th-minute equalizer at Liverpool to lose its outright lead in the Premier League on Wednesday, as Leicester kept up its surprising title challenge with a 1-0 win at Tottenham.

Only a superior goal difference is keeping Arsenal above Leicester after the 3-3 draw at Anfield. Manchester City was held to a 0-0 draw at home at Everton and is three points off the lead in third place.

Defending champions and No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams top the Australian Open seedings lists, which follow rankings ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of 2016.

Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka moved back into the top 16 with her victory at the Brisbane International last week, her first title since 2013. She finished last season at No. 22 but moved up the rankings with her title run in the Australian Open warmup tournament and was seeded No. 14 at Melbourne Park, meaning she avoids early-round encounters with the top-ranked players.

Stephen Curry was just about unstoppable in the fourth quarter, except near the very end.

Curry scored 20 of his 38 points in the final period but lost the ball under defensive pressure from Danilo Gallinari in the last moments, allowing the Denver Nuggets to hang on to hand the Golden State Warriors their third loss of the season, 112-110 on Wednesday night.

British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid says the Japan Sport Council is withholding money owed for work on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium design while demanding her company give up claims to copyrights.

The Japan Sport Council said in a statement read over the phone on Thursday that it was seeking to resolve the issue but would not comment on specifics of the contract with London-based Zaha Hadid Architects, or ZHA.

Barcelona's off-field strife despite their on-field success continued on Wednesday as Brazilian star Neymar was called to give evidence by Spain's national court on February 2 for alleged fraud surrounding his transfer to the Catalan giants in 2013.

Neymar starred as Barca won five trophies in 2015, but the manner in which his transfer from Santos came about has become a legal nightmare for the club, the player and his family.

Roma have sacked French coach Rudi Garcia after a poor run of form, the Serie A club confirmed on Wednesday.

"AS Roma confirms that Rudi Garcia, and his assistants Frederic Bompard and Claude Fichaux, will cease to manage its first team with immediate effect," read a statement in English on the club's website.

FIFA has fired secretary general Jerome Valcke, who is under investigation for misconduct, world football's governing body said Wednesday.

The former right-hand man to Sepp Blatter, the FIFA president banned for eight years, has been accused of aiding a scheme to sell 2014 World Cup tickets on the black market.

Five talking points ahead of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the tennis season which starts on Monday:

- Novak's great, but is he golden?