LONDON: The English Football Association really is an astonishing body. Almost from the moment it was founded in December 1863, it has lurched from embarrassment to embarrassment, plumbing new depths.
The latest farrago is signing a memorandum of understanding with the Qatar Football Association.
The FA will no doubt seek to justify the decision by pointing out that the 2022 World Cup is in Qatar, so it makes sense to be on good terms with the country’s FA in the build-up to the tournament. There will be friendlies. Training camps perhaps can be arranged to get England’s players used to conditions there (assuming they qualify).
“We have a long history of collaboration with various national associations to share knowledge and experience to support the development of football,” said the FA chairman Greg Clarke. “For Qatar, developing the game across the country is a key objective as they approach the hosting of the Fifa World Cup in 2022.”
That Clarke remains in his job is remarkable. In October, he gave a humiliating performance in front of House of Commons select committee investigating claims of racism and sexism within the FA. It was his jitteriness that led to Sam Allardyce being forced to resign as England manager after vague allegations of not a lot were made in the Daily Telegraph.
The circumstances behind the dismissal of the England women’s coach Mark Sampson, meanwhile, remain baffling. It was justified on the back of a two-year-old internal report into his conduct at Bristol Academy, the club he had coached before England, but was instigated by the racism claims.
The process of finding a successor was protracted and the eventual appointment of Phil Neville mystifying given his lack of experience in the women’s game. But perhaps even more damning was that the FA did not anticipate the public skepticism; only very belatedly was there any attempt at explanation.
Clarke is by no means the first FA chairman to panic in the face of a potential media storm, but few have been quite so supine, and none surely has so misjudged the national mood as he did before the select committee when referring to allegations of institutional racism as “fluff.”
Any sense that the FA can stand as a moral arbiter, leading English football, has vanished; they blow with the wind as though incapable of independent thought, of determining for themselves a decent code of behavior.
But this link-up with Qatar feels like a new low. Clarke’s predecessor, Greg Dyke, after all, described the awarding of hosting rights for 2022 to Qatar as “the worst day in Fifa’s history.” That bid is still under criminal investigation in both the US and Switzerland. As the tournament approaches, there are only going to be more questions about the morality of playing a World Cup in a country with a questionable human rights record, especially when so many of those questions are being asked about the treatment of workers building the stadiums in which the World Cup will be played.
At around the same time Clarke was visiting Doha, a group of British MPs was meeting Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee. For what reason remains unclear but there must be a fear as Britain stares into an impoverished post-Brexit future that the need to do deals will increasingly outweigh ethical considerations. But even if that is not the case, how now can the FA criticize Qatar? How can it ask the right questions?
There was hope that the corruption allegations that blighted the campaigns to host both 2018 and 2022 might lead to a sweep that went beyond the resignation of a handful of officials and a few court cases in the US involving South American officials. One that actually led to a change of the culture within Fifa.
How can the FA pretend it cares, how can it pretend it wants to help clean up the game when it is prepared to do deals with an organization whose conduct in winning the World Cup bid remains dubious? What is anybody to think other than that the FA will deal with you if they think there’s something in it for them? And what sort of morality is that?
Signing MoU with Qatar FA shows the English FA has lost its moral compass
Signing MoU with Qatar FA shows the English FA has lost its moral compass
Saudi taekwondo athlete Donia Abu Taleb wins Best Arab Achievement Award
- Taleb, the first Saudi athlete to directly qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, receives honor from Egyptian sports minister
- Saudi Taekwondo Federation named Best Arab Federation in recognition of its achievements both locally and internationally
RIYADH: Saudi taekwondo standout Donia Abu Taleb has been honored with the Best Arab Achievement Award at a ceremony in Cairo celebrating the achievements of Arab athletes.
About 40 athletes from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Tunisia, Jordan, Algeria, Qatar and Morocco were honored, along with businessmen from various Arab countries.
Egypt’s Minister of Youths and Sports, Ashraf Subhi, handed the recognition to Taleb, the first Saudi athlete to directly qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Saudi Taekwondo Federation was also awarded the Best Arab Federation in recognition of its achievements both locally and internationally, particularly Taleb’s qualification for the Paris Olympics.
Mohammed Al-Shehri, executive director of the federation, accepted the award on behalf of the sports group.
Japan beats Uzbekistan in stoppage time in U23 Asian Cup final
- Substitute Fuki Yamada broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time
AL-RAYYAN, Qatar: Japan left it late to win its second Under-23 Asian Cup after beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in the final on Friday.
Substitute Fuki Yamada broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Japan goalkeeper Leo Kokubo saved a penalty to preserve the lead.
Uzbekistan, the 2018 champion, almost took an incredible lead just before halftime. Ruslanbek Jiyanov, just inside the Japanese half, tried to send a long cross into the area but, instead, the flight of the ball deceived Kokubo and bounced off the crossbar.
For the goal, Ryotaro Araki backheeled the ball to Yamada just outside the area, and he fired low into the left corner.
Just five minutes later, Uzbekistan was awarded a penalty after a VAR review when Hiroki Sekine handled in the area. Kokubo made a diving save to his right to push out Umarali Rakhmonaliev’s powerful shot.
Both finalists and third-placed Iran also qualified for Paris Olympics men’s football. Fourth-placed Indonesia has one more chance to make it to a first Olympics since 1956 with a playoff against Guinea next Thursday.
Munoz leads LIV Golf Singapore, Fireballs and Smash share team lead
- Colombian’s 6-under 65 at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course gives him a 1-shot advantage over a group of 6 players
SINGAPORE: After suffering a “little low point” a week ago in Australia, Torque GC’s Sebastian Munoz produced his best round of the 2024 season on Friday to take the first-round lead at LIV Golf Singapore.
Munoz’s 6-under 65 at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course gives him a one-shot advantage over a group of six players: Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, Iron Heads GC captain Kevin Na, RangeGoats GC’s Thomas Pieters, HyFlyers GC’s Cameron Tringale and Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer.
Another eight players are two shots back, including Munoz’s captain Joaquin Niemann, the current Individual points leader.
The team leaderboard is just as crowded. Fireballs and Smash share the lead at 11 under, with three teams just one shot back: Cleeks, RangeGoats and Stinger GC.
For Munoz, Friday’s round was a welcome relief after his struggles in the first round in Adelaide. He suffered five bogeys, including three straight, in his final 10 holes to shoot a one-over 72. It was his fourth over-par score in five rounds to that point.
“(It) kind of hit me hard,” Munoz recalled. But his Torque teammates gathered together after the round to offer support. “We kind of had a deep talk,” he said. “Just having good, solid teammates can help you a lot.”
Munoz bounced back with two solid rounds to finish up in Adelaide, then fed off that momentum on Friday in Singapore, setting the tone with birdies on two of his first three holes.
Munoz added: “(I’m) really happy where the game is right now and kind of trending.”
Koepka, who was celebrating his 34th birthday on Friday, found his putting stroke that had been mostly absent this season. He opened with five birdies in his first seven holes, and then saved par with a 12-footer after his birdie attempt had rolled off the green. A three-putt on the par-4 16th was his only blemish.
“I thought I putted OK,” Koepka said. “Speed was off, but the ones that I needed to make, I felt like I made.”
Pieters has found his form recently with a tie for ninth in Miami and a tie for 14th in Adelaide. His bogey-free 66, including an eagle at the par-5 18th, was his sixth consecutive sub-par round.
He said: “I’ve been putting a lot of work into it over the last few months. I just had a rough time last year personally, and I finally found the time and the focus to kind of refocus on my game. I’ve been working on every aspect, and it’s kind of showing now.”
Ancer also continued his hot stretch that included his first LIV Golf individual win two months ago in Hong Kong. He suffered an early bogey, but then found his rhythm the rest of the way, including a stretch of three consecutive birdies to finish up his first nine holes.
After finishing 47th out of 48 players in Singapore last year, Ancer was happy with the strong start to this week.
He said: “I was not in the same spot with my swing last year. (I was) not playing confident at the time. I feel a lot better today. Big difference.”
Kaymer was coming off his best LIV round, an 8-under 64 on Sunday in Adelaide, and continued to show positive signs with his 66. Na, like Munoz, played well in the last two rounds in Adelaide after a tough start and was bogey-free for his first 15 holes on Friday.
Standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round of the team competition at LIV Golf Singapore. The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
T1. FIREBALLS GC -11 (Ancer 66, Chacarra 67, Garcia 69)
T1. SMASH GC -11 (Koepka 66, Gooch 68, McDowell 68)
T3. RANGEGOATS GC -10 (Pieters 66, Wolff 68, Uihlein 69)
T3. CLEEKS GC -10 (Kaymer 66, Meronk 67, Bland 70)
T3. STINGER GC -10 (Burmester 67, Oosthuizen 67, Grace 69)
6. TORQUE GC -9 (Muñoz 65, Niemann 67, Ortiz 72)
T7. RIPPER GC -8 (Herbert 67, Leishman 67, Smith 71)
T7. LEGION XIII -8 (Hatton 68, Vincent 68, Rahm 69)
9. HYFLYERS GC -7 (Tringale 66, Steele 68, Mickelson 72)
10. IRON HEADS GC -5 (Na 66, Vincent 70, Lee 72)
11. 4ACES GC -4 (Johnson 67, Reed 71, Varner III 71)
T12. CRUSHERS GC -1 (Casey 69, Lahiri 70, DeChambeau 73)
T12. MAJESTICKS GC -1 (Poulter 70, Horsfield 71, Westwood 71)
Luton gains valuable point from home draw with Everton
- Luton remained third to last
LUTON, England: Luton got a valuable point in its fight to avoid relegation after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with visiting Everton in the English Premier League on Friday.
Luton remained third to last, below 17th-placed Nottingham Forest only on goal difference. Luton has two games left. Everton has already guaranteed its survival.
Everton took the initiative when Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored from the penalty spot after 24 minutes.
A video review ruled Teden Mengi held Jarrad Branthwaite, and Calvert-Lewin notched his fourth goal in his last five appearances.
Luton bounced back quickly thanks to Elijan Adebayo. The striker scored five in five games before he was injured in February, and almost three months out did not seem to have affected his eye for goal. In his first start since returning, Adebayo collected his 10th goal of the season.
Luton substitute Andros Townsend saw his shot blocked on the line in the dying seconds.
Mitchell Starc shows class as Kolkata Knight Riders notch IPL win in Mumbai
- Kolkata's first win at the Wankhede ground in 12 years and seventh from 10 games this season
MUMBAI: Mitchell Starc picked up four wickets as a disciplined bowling performance helped Kolkata Knight Riders seal a 24-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League on Friday.
Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium.
Suryakumar Yadav raised hopes with a 35-ball 56 but his dismissal in the 16th over tilted the scales in favour of Kolkata.
This was Kolkata's first win at the Wankhede ground in 12 years and seventh from 10 games this season.
Mumbai slumped to ninth position in the 10-team competition after their eighth loss in 11 games.
Kolkata are placed second and well poised to make it to the play-offs.
"Obviously we couldn't form partnerships and kept losing wickets," said Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya.
"There are a lot of questions that will take time to answer. But for now, not much to say."
Mumbai were off to a shaky start, with Starc flattening the leg-stump of Ishan Kishan (13) and Varun Chakravarthy sending back Naman Dhir (11).
The home team got another big jolt when Rohit Sharma, who came in as an impact sub, miscued a shot to be caught off Sunil Narine for 11.
Pandya's poor run of form continued as he was out for one, much to the disappointment of the strong home crowd.
Yadav hit his third half-century of the season and Tim David chipped in with 24 but Kolkata did well to rein in the five-time champions.
Earlier, Kolkata lost five quick wickets including that of the prolific Phil Salt (five) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (six) after being put in to bat.
Tottering at 57-5, Venkatesh Iyer (70) and impact sub Manish Pandey (42) steadied Kolkata with an 83-run stand and ensured a respectable total on the board.
Iyer, who hit a century at the same ground last season, hit three sixes and six fours in his fighting 52-ball knock.
"It's an extremely good feeling, because we haven't won at Wankhede for 12 years," said Kolkata's Varun Chakravarthy.
"This is a very special win because we were down and out in the first innings. The way Venkatesh and Manish pulled it back was great."
Jasprit Bumrah and Sri Lanka's Nuwan Thushara were the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets each and troubling the batsmen with their line and length on a lively wicket.
