BAGHDAD: Two clubs from Iraqi Kurdistan announced on Saturday their withdrawal from the country’s football championship in protest at anti-Kurdish chants during a match against a Shiite club.
The match itself was briefly suspended after Irbil’s players walked off when home club supporters in the Shiite city of Najaf south of Baghdad chanted slogans associating the Kurdish regional capital Irbil in the north with the Islamic State jihadist group.
Iraqi television, which was broadcasting the match, cut the audio to block the chanting.
“We called our players off because of the slogans... which the Najaf public was chanting against Kurdistan and its political figures,” Abdallah Majid, a director of the Irbil club, told AFP.
“This is unacceptable and has no place in sport,” he said, adding that Irbil was pulling out of the championship until “a decision is taken at the political level.”
A second Kurdish club in the Iraqi league, Zakho, withdrew in solidarity with Irbil.
The Iraqi football federation issued a statement apologizing to Irbil and calling for punitive measures to be taken over the incident.
IS fighters seized swathes of Iraqi territory west and north of Baghdad in 2014, including areas bordering autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan.
Iraqi federal forces, Shiite militias and Kurdish peshmerga fighters in mid-October launched an anti-IS offensive to try to recapture the northern city of Mosul.
But strains remain between Kurdistan and Baghdad over oil resources in northern Iraq and the scope of autonomy.
Iraq’s football federation has for years been lobbying the sport’s world governing body FIFA to lift a ban on the country hosting international games because of security concerns.
Kurdish-Shiite row erupts at Iraqi football match
Kurdish-Shiite row erupts at Iraqi football match
Carlos Alcaraz joins other tennis stars in first-ever tennis event at Marlins’ loanDepot Park
- It was a one-time event — the first time tennis has ever been played at loanDepot Park — and also featured rising Brazilian standout Joao Fonseca and women’s stars Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula
- Alcaraz: I’m having a lot of fun. Getting the energy from the people, playing in some places that we are not used to. It’s exciting
MIAMI: Carlos Alcaraz wanted to play in front of an energetic crowd at the inaugural Miami Invitational.
The No. 1 men’s tennis player got his wish, drawing a roar of applause when he stepped onto the court and electric cheers throughout an exhibition event Monday night at loanDepot Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.
It was a one-time event — the first time tennis has ever been played at loanDepot Park — and also featured rising Brazilian standout Joao Fonseca and women’s stars Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula.
Alcaraz defeated the 24th-ranked Fonseca 7-5, 2-6, 10-8 in a thrilling singles match, their first time facing each other. Anisimova topped Pegula 6-2, 7-5 earlier in the night. Alcaraz and Pegula also beat Anisimova and Fonseca in a mixed doubles 10-point tie breaker.
“I just expect that the people are going to get entertained by watching us play,” Alcaraz said before the match. “I think it’s unusual watching us play in these kinds of stadiums and court. I’m really excited about playing here with Joao. I’m just excited to see how people are going to respond.”
The 22-year-old Alcaraz recently wrapped up the 2025 season, ending the campaign with the ATP’s year-end No. 1 ranking, tour-highs of 71 match wins and eight trophies and a pair of Grand Slam titles that lifted his career total to six.
He’s still been busy during the exhibition season, which also included an exhibition event in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday in which Alcaraz played a singles match against two-time US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe.
“I’m having a lot of fun,” Alcaraz said. “Getting the energy from the people, playing in some places that we are not used to. It’s exciting. It’s been great so far, and I’m enjoying it a lot.”
The crowd Monday included Inter Miami stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, who became MLS champions just a couple days ago in the final match of their decorated careers.
Anisimova, a US Open and Wimbledon finalist this year, and Pegula, who reached the US Open semis, both noted that Monday’s exhibition was a great way to prepare for the upcoming season in a new environment.
“I think we love playing tennis and we love competing,” Pegula said. “Being able to change what that looks like a little bit where it’s not something we do 95 percent of the year is always really nice and refreshing for us. I think it’s great for the sport. It gives it a diff look for the fans, for everyone that’s involved. For players, it kind of keeps us refreshed and kind of brings you back to why you’re playing.”
