MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will not stand in Bernardo Silva’s way should he wish to join Barcelona before the end of the transfer window.
Guardiola said there has been no bid from his former club for the Portuguese midfielder, but would not keep Silva in Manchester against his will.
Despite debts of 1.3 billion euros ($1.3 billion) Barcelona have embarked on a spending spree this summer and will reportedly turn their attentions to Silva should Frenkie de Jong depart the Camp Nou.
City have already let Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko join Arsenal and sold Raheem Sterling to Chelsea this summer as all three sought more regular game time.
By contrast, Silva has been a vital player in City winning four Premier League titles in the past five seasons and would be difficult to replace in the final weeks of the transfer window.
“I was comfortable working with Oleks, Raheem, Gabriel, incredible characters that helped us achieve what we achieved,” Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference ahead of the start of City’s Premier League defense at West Ham on Sunday.
“Sometimes for the club, sometimes for the players, sometimes for the agent, sometimes you have to divide our path.
“Especially the desire of the player is the most important thing. Of course I would love Bernardo to continue here, he is a special player for us. But I don’t know what is going to happen.
“What happens will happen and if he stays it is perfect and in the end if he has to leave it is because football is like this, the player has a desire. I will not be a person to stop a desire for the people.”
Despite the departures from the Etihad over the close season, the City squad looks stronger than ever thanks to the arrival of Erling Haaland to fill the need for a natural striker.
The Norwegian superstar had a debut to forget last weekend, missing a glorious chance toward the end of a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Community Shield.
But Guardiola dismissed any suggestion that Haaland will struggle to adapt to City’s possession-based style.
“He adapts to the way we play and we will adapt to him,” he added. It will need time but at the same time I have no doubts it is going to happen.”
For the second time in four years, City pipped Liverpool to the title by a single point last season.
Another tight tussle between those two is expected at the top of the table.
But Tottenham and Arsenal have invested heavily to try and close the gap, while Chelsea and Manchester United are expected to be active in the final weeks of the window.
“Every year I have the feeling that this season is harder,” said Guardiola.
“Everyone is getting better, every club, every owner invests. Many teams do it and do it well, the quality is there and the managers are exceptional.
“That’s why it is exciting and that’s why the Premier League is the best.”
Guardiola will not stop Silva joining Barcelona
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Guardiola will not stop Silva joining Barcelona
- Guardiola said there has been no bid from his former club for the Portuguese midfielder, but would not keep Silva in Manchester against his will
- Silva has been a vital player in City winning four Premier League titles in the past five seasons
Racist abuse of Richarlison shows FIFA still has work to do
- In a statement, FIFA condemned the incident, saying: “First and foremost, FIFA strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero tolerance stance against such behavior in football
MANCHESTER, England: When FIFA President Gianni Infantino dashed from Geneva to Paris to watch World Cup favorite Brazil in their final warmup game before Qatar, he cannot have expected to be confronted by such visual proof of the racism that continues to infect soccer.
Not least because the sport’s world governing body disbanded its anti-racism task force — declaring it had “completely fulfilled its temporary mission” — shortly after Infantino was elected in 2016.
FIFA has implemented a detailed strategy to combat all forms of discrimination, but the incident at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, when a banana was thrown at Richarlison as he celebrated scoring a 19th-minute goal in Brazil’s 5-1 win against Tunisia, showed just how much work is still to be done.
The Tottenham striker later tweeted: “As long as it’s ‘blah blah blah’ and they don’t punish, it will continue like this, happening every day and everywhere. No time bro!”
In a statement, FIFA condemned the incident, saying: “First and foremost, FIFA strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero tolerance stance against such behavior in football.
“FIFA will investigate the incident in yesterday’s game in Paris.”
Earlier that day, Infantino had been in Geneva to discuss human rights-related matters and their relation to soccer with Federico Villegas of the United Nations.
Later on, he witnessed first-hand the latest instance of racism and discrimination, which is prompting such concern within the sport.
Leading players have called out online abuse — but there have also been high-profile episodes within stadiums, with FIFA handing Hungary a two-game stadium ban and a fine of almost $205,000 after England players were subjected to racist abuse during a World Cup qualifier in Budapest last September.
UEFA also sanctioned Hungary for discriminatory behavior during Euro 2020.
It raises the question of whether there will be similar occurrences in Qatar at FIFA’s showpiece occasion.
The FARE network, an anti-discrimination organization which works with FIFA and UEFA to investigate cases of discriminatory behavior by fans, does not believe there is particular cause for concern within stadiums at the World Cup. But executive director Piara Powar says “international football has a huge problem.”
“There will be a lot of close monitoring of far right and racist banners (in Qatar). They will be taken down within minutes,” Powar told The Associated Press. “There will be specific analysts in security boxes. There will be a lot of people watching out for these things.”
FARE has contacted FIFA regarding the Richarlison incident.
“The wilful act of taking a banana and throwing it at black player after scoring a goal is breath-taking,” Powar added. “When we’re reminded what the act means — it is dehumanizing.”
Richarlison’s tweet pointed to his own lack of faith in soccer’s authorities to deal with racism.
On Wednesday, his club, Tottenham, voiced its support for the forward.
“We are disgusted by the racist abuse of Richarlison at last night’s game between Brazil and Tunisia,” it tweeted. “This has no place in football, or anywhere. We stand with you, Richy.”
Former Chelsea player Paul Canoville was subjected to racist abuse from fans of his own club during his career — and believes today’s stars will eventually take extreme measures in protest.
“It’s hard hearing about racism,” he told AP. “The truth is it’s happening throughout the world. Racism is a large problem in football and a huge problem in society.
“When I was warming up I’d hear fans calling me a monkey and throwing bananas. It’s telling me I am an animal.
“The players will walk off the pitch. That will be a statement. I can see that. It will be a team with Black players saying, “Enough is enough. Why should I play in these conditions?’
“Some people think that’s giving in. I don’t think it’s giving in — it’s standing up.”
Yankees star Judge hits 61st home run, ties Maris’ AL record
TORONTO: Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris’ American League record of 61 home runs in a season, going deep for the New York Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old slugger drove a 94.5 mph belt-high sinker with a full-count from left-hander Tim Mayza over the left-field fence in the seventh inning at Rogers Center, a 117 mph drive that landed 394 feet from the plate. The tiebreaking, two-run drive, which put the Yankees ahead 5-3, clanked off the front of the stands and dropped into Toronto’s bullpen.
Judge’s mother and Roger Maris Jr. rose and huegged from front-row seats. He appeared to point toward them after rounding second base, them was congratulated by the entire Yankees team who gave him hugs after he crossed the plate
Judge moved past the 60 home runs Babe Ruth hit in 1927, which had stood as the major league mark until Maris broke it in 1961. All three stars reached those huge numbers playing for the Yankees.
Barry Bonds holds the big league record of 73 for the San Francisco Giants in 2001.
Judge had gone seven games without a home run — his longest drought this season was nine in mid-August. This was the Yankees’ 155th game of the season, leaving them seven more in the regular season.
The home run came in the fourth plate appearance of the night for Judge, ending a streak of 34 plate appearances without a home run.
Judge is hitting .314 with 130 RBIs, also the top totals in the AL. He has a chance to become the first AL Triple Crown winner since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012.
Maris hit No. 61 for the Yankees on Oct. 1, 1961, against Boston Red Sox pitcher Tracy Stallard.
Maris’ mark has been exceeded six times, but all have been tainted by the stench of steroids. Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998 and 65 the following year, and Bonds topped him. Sammy Sosa had 66, 65 and 63 during a four-season span starting in 1998.
McGwire admitted using banned steroids, while Bonds and Sosa denied knowingly using performing-enhancing drugs. Major League Baseball started testing with penalties for PEDs in 2004, and some fans — perhaps many — until now have considered Maris the holder of the “clean” record.
Among the tallest batters in major league history, the 6-foot-7 Judge burst on the scene on Aug. 13, 2016, homering off the railing above Yankee Stadium’s center-field sports bar and into the netting above Monument Park. He followed Tyler Austin to the plate and they become the first teammates to homer in their first major league at-bats in the same game.
Judge hit 52 homers with 114 RBIs the following year and was a unanimous winner of the AL Rookie of the Year award. Injuries limited him during the following three seasons, and he rebounded to hit 39 homers with 98 RBIs in 2021.
As he approached his last season before free agent eligibility, Judge on opening day turned down the Yankees’ offer of an eight-year contract worth from $230.5 million to $234.5 million. The proposal included an average of $30.5 million annually from 2023-29, with his salary this year to be either the $17 million offered by the team in arbitration or the $21 million requested by the player.
An agreement was reached in June on a $19 million, one-year deal, and Judge heads into this offseason likely to get a contract from the Yankees or another team for $300 million or more, perhaps topping $400 million.
Judge hit six homers in April, 12 in May and 11 in June. He earned his fourth All-Star selection and entered the break with 33 homers. He had 13 homers in July and dropped to nine in August, when injuries left him less protected in the batting order and pitchers walked him 25 times.
He became just the fifth player to hold a share of the AL season record. Nap Lajoie hit 14 in the AL’s first season as a major league in 1901, and Philadelphia Athletics teammate Socks Seabold had 16 the next year, a mark that stood until Babe Ruth hit 29 in 1919. Ruth set the record four times in all, with 54 in 1920, 59 in 1921 and 60 in 1927, a mark that stood until Maris’ 61 in 1961.
Maris was at 35 in July 1961 during the first season each team’s schedule increased from 154 games to 162, and baseball Commissioner Ford Frick ruled if anyone topped Ruth in more than 154 games “there would have to be some distinctive mark in the record books to show that Babe Ruth’s record was set under a 154-game schedule.”
That “distinctive mark” became known as an “asterisk” and it remained until Sept. 4, 1991, when a committee on statistical accuracy chaired by Commissioner Fay Vincent voted unanimously to recognize Maris as the record holder.
FIFA judges detail why they rejected Chile World Cup appeal
- The 64-page appeal verdict released by FIFA is needed by the Chilean federation as the basis of another urgent legal challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport
GENEVA: FIFA judges comprehensively rejected the Chilean soccer federation’s entire case in a failed appeal this month to replace Ecuador at the World Cup, according to the detailed verdict published Wednesday.
Chile argued it had documents proving Ecuador defender Byron Castillo was actually Colombian and should have been ineligible for the eight World Cup qualifying games he played in.
However, “at no point did (Chile) provide ‘cogent evidence’ that the documents related to the individual born in Colombia indeed relate to the player,” the judges ruled.
The 64-page appeal verdict released by FIFA is needed by the Chilean federation as the basis of another urgent legal challenge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
There are just 53 days left for that judgment to be issued before Ecuador is due to play in the World Cup opening game against host nation Qatar, on Nov. 20 in Doha.
If the FIFA appeal committee had ruled that Castillo was ineligible, Ecuador would have forfeited all eight games he played in — including two wins over Chile — as 3-0 losses and dropped out of contention in the South American qualifying group.
But the three FIFA-appointed judges wrote they were convinced both that there was no falsification of Castillo’s documents to get an Ecuadorian passport and identity document, and that he complied with the soccer body’s rules to play for the national team.
“There is no element on file that could suggest that the player would actually be Colombian, or bear another nationality,” wrote the judging panel chaired by Neil Eggleston, a former White House Counsel.
The case “revolved around three key sets of documents,” the judges said. They were: Birth certificates from Colombia and Ecuador; case files from the Ecuadorian soccer federation’s 2018 investigation into Castillo’s identity; court decisions in Ecuador plus national identification documents. Those included a passport issued on Nov. 13, 2017.
The passport and subsequent ID documents have “undoubtedly been issued by the competent state authorities and, as such, are to be considered genuine and authentic,” the verdict stated.
Castillo is eligible to play at the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 tournament in Qatar, where Ecuador will also play the Netherlands and Senegal in Group A.
He does face a separate FIFA disciplinary case which the judges requested because he did not take part in the Sept. 16 appeal hearing held by video link. Any potential punishment would not affect his ability to play in Qatar.
The detailed verdict confirmed that a Qatari judge originally selected by FIFA for the case withdrew after Chile objected to a potential conflict of interest because the case was to decide Qatar’s opponent in the opening game. An Iranian lawyer was picked instead.
Pakistan hold nerves to pull off another last-over win against England
- Pakistan defeat England by 5 runs to go 3-2 up in series
- Muhammad Rizwan scores half-century, Haris Rauf takes 2 wickets
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan defeated England in yet another close encounter on Wednesday, winning the clash by five runs to go 3-2 up in the seven-match T20 series at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Set a target of 146 runs to win the fifth T20I, the English batters couldn’t withstand the Pakistani bowling attack and as a result, lost early wickets. Pakistan’s bowlers chipped in with the wickets, with pacer Haris Rauf finishing with figures of 2/41.
Debutant Aamer Jamal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Wasim all took a wicket each to restrict England to 139/7 at the end of 20 overs. The visitors were seven runs shy of their target.
Moeen Ali was the only English batter who put up some resistance against the Pakistani bowling lineup, scoring an unbeaten 51 off 37 balls. His innings included six 4s and two 6s.
Dawid Malan looked threatening as well with his 36 off 35 balls but Pakistan’s Ahmed trapped him lbw and sent him to the pavilion before he could do some more damage.
From Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan once again top-scored from his side with his 46-ball 63. Rizwan found little help from Babar Azam or Shan Masood, who went for 9 and 7 respectively. Haider Ali, batting in at number 4, also went cheaply for 4 runs.
Mark Wood once again proved to be the pick of the English bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/20 while David Willey and Sam Curran ended up with figures of 2/23 and 2/23 respectively.
Earlier, England won the toss and put Pakistan to bat.
Pakistan brought the Karachi leg of the series to a close on Sunday when the hosts beat England in a thriller. Shan Masood’s under-arm throw from the last match prevented Reece Topley from reaching the crease and England from chasing the 167-run target.
England, who are on their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years, will play the sixth T20 fixture against Pakistan on Friday, September 30 before the final match of the series will take place on Sunday, October 2.
Squads:
Pakistan 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Shan Masood, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Haider Ali, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Aamer Jamal, 10 Mohammad Wasim, 11 Haris Rauf
England 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali (capt), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood
After enthralling Karachi leg, Pakistan resume England rivalry in Lahore today
- Pakistan beat England in last T20I to level seven-match series 2-2
- England win toss, put Pakistan to bat first in fifth T20I
ISLAMABAD: England won the toss and put Pakistan to bat on Wednesday in the fifth T20 international match of the seven-match series in Lahore.
The two sides are playing each other at the Gaddafi Stadium after Pakistan levelled the series 2-2 with last week's enthralling win.
"Looks a good wicket, don't think it's going to change," Moeen Ali, England skipper, said at the toss. "Most important is to win the game, fantastic series so far. Great to be a part of, got to be on your A game against Pakistan."
Pakistan captain Babar Azam conceded he would have opted to bowl first too, had he won the toss.
"Lots of positive things, got to step up for the World Cup," he said.
England have made four changes to their playing XI; Dawid Malan, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are back in the playing XI of the squad.
Pakistan have made four changes from the last playing XI, bringing Shadab Khan into the playing XI for Usman Qadir, debutant Aamr Jamal for Hasnain while Naseem Shah has been injured.
Pakistan brought the Karachi leg of the series to a close on Sunday when the hosts beat England in a thriller. Shan Masood's under-arm throw from the last match prevented Reece Topley from reaching the crease and England from chasing the 167-run target.
A bit troubling for Pakistan would be the absence of right-arm pacer Shah. The fast bowler will miss today's T20 fixture against England after an infection ruled him out for the match.
The green shirts are already missing Pakistan's lethal left-arm bowling sensation, Shaheen Shah Afridi, who also had to sit out the Asia Cup earlier this month due to an injury.
“Naseem was taken to hospital on Tuesday night with a viral infection and will not be available for Wednesday’s match,” a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman said.
Pakistan will hope skipper Babar Azam scores at least 61 runs in the match today. The Pakistani captain is just 61 runs shy of 3,000 runs. If Azam succeeds in crossing the 3,000-run mark, he will become the fastest batter to reach the milestone—beating the previous record set by Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Kohli took 81 innings to reach the milestone of 3,000 runs in T20Is. Currently, Azam has 2,939 runs under his belt from 79 innings.
England, who are on their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years, will play three matches in Lahore. The sixth T20 fixture between the two sides will take place on Friday, September 30 before the final match of the series will take place on Sunday, October 2.
Playing XI:
Pakistan 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Shan Masood, 4 Iftikhar Ahmed, 5 Haider Ali, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Aamer Jamal, 10 Mohammad Wasim, 11 Haris Rauf
England 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali (capt), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood
