PARIS: Leicester City heroes Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, stars in their team’s fairytale run to the Premier League title, have been named on a 30-player longlist for the 2016 Ballon d’Or.
Vardy — who has enjoyed a meteoric rise from amateur football to rub shoulders with the game’s biggest names — is the sole Englishman nominated for the prestigious prize awarded by France Football magazine, which is organizing the trophy on its own after the end of a partnership with FIFA.
The Foxes pair are among eight Premier League stars on the list.
Three-time world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo and last year’s victor Lionel Messi, who has won it five times altogether, are among the favorites to take the prize once again.
Ronaldo, who took home the award in 2008, 2013 and 2014, set himself up for a potential fourth Ballon d’Or when captaining Portugal to Euro 2016 glory and helping Real Madrid to an 11th Champions League triumph.
Other members of Madrid’s Champions League-winning campaign have been recognized as well in Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Pepe.
Pepe and Ronaldo are also joined on the list by Sporting Lisbon’s Rui Patricio, who kept goal in Portugal’s run to Euro glory.
Atletico Madrid and France striker Antoine Griezmann is another leading contender. However, his compatriot Karim Benzema is not on the list, the Real Madrid striker’s year having been overshadowed by the sextape blackmail affair which led to him being frozen out of the national team ahead of the Euros.
The winner will be determined by a vote of journalists — national team captains and managers will no longer have a say after the ending of the five-year deal between France Football and FIFA.
The first Ballon d’Or was won by Stanley Matthews, at the time with Blackpool, who beat Alfredo Di Stefano for the inaugural title in 1956.
Full list
Sergio Aguero (ARG/Manchester City), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB/Borussia Dortmund), Gareth Bale (WAL/Real Madrid), Gianluigi Buffon (ITA/Juventus), Cristiano Ronaldo (POR/Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (BEL/Manchester City), Paulo Dybala (ARG/Juventus), Diego Godin (URU/Atletico Madrid), Antoine Griezmann (FRA/Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Higuain (ARG/Juventus), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE/Manchester United), Andres Iniesta (ESP/Barcelona), Koke (ESP/Atletico Madrid), Toni Kroos (GER/Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (POL/Bayern Munich), Hugo Lloris (FRA/Tottenham Hotspur), Riyad Mahrez (ALG/Leicester City), Lionel Messi (ARG/Barcelona), Luka Modric (CRO/Real Madrid), Thomas Mueller (GER/Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (GER/Bayern Munich), Neymar (BRA/Barcelona), Dimitri Payet (FRA/West Ham United), Paul Pogba (FRA/Manchester United), Pepe (POR/Real Madrid), Rui Patricio (POR/Sporting Lisbon), Sergio Ramos (ESP/Real Madrid), Luis Suarez (URU/Barcelona), Jamie Vardy (ENG/Leicester City), Arturo Vidal (CHI/Bayern Munich)
Leicester heroes Vardy, Mahrez on Ballon d’Or longlist
Leicester heroes Vardy, Mahrez on Ballon d’Or longlist
Bangladesh will not play T20 World Cup matches in India, says sports adviser
- The development follows release of Mustafizur Rahman by IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders
- Bangladesh are scheduled to play three Twenty20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month
Bangladesh will not play their Twenty20 World Cup matches in India after Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League team amid growing tensions between the countries, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul said on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders said on Saturday they had released the Bangladesh bowler after being told to do so by India’s cricket board (BCCI).
Bangladesh are scheduled to play three Twenty20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month, with the February 7-March 8 tournament being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
“Bangladesh will not go to India to play the World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has taken this decision today,” Nazrul, who is an adviser to the Ministry of Sports, said in a statement.
“We welcome this decision taken in the context of the extreme communal policy of India’s cricket board.”
Last month, hundreds protested near Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi after Hindu factory worker Dipu Chandra Das was beaten and set on fire in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district by a crowd that accused him of making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad.
A total of 12 people were arrested in connection with his death.
WORSENED RELATIONS
The incident worsened relations between India and its neighbor, with ties already strained after Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi following protests against her.
After Mustafizur’s release on Saturday, the BCB had held an emergency meeting and were planning to write to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate their matches and raise concerns about player safety.
“The board said that where a Bangladesh cricketer can’t play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladesh cricket team can’t feel safe to go to the World Cup,” Nazrul had said.
“I have also instructed the board to request Bangladesh World Cup games to be held in Sri Lanka.”
Last year, the ICC allowed India to play Champions Trophy matches in the United Arab Emirates due to soured relations with hosts Pakistan.
On Sunday, cricket news site Cricbuzz reported that the BCB would ask the BCCI for a formal explanation regarding Mustafizur’s release.
The ICC and BCB did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Bangladesh are due to play West Indies, England and Italy in Kolkata before ending the group stage against Nepal in Mumbai.
