Sports

AMMAN — Jordan has dispatched a top team to the World Karate Federation World Championships that will be hosted in Madrid from November 6-11, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The event will welcome over 1,200 fighters representing 139 countries with Jordan sending Abdullah Kraik, Abdulrahman Al Masatfah, Bashar Al Najjar, Mahmoud Al Sajjan, Al Mutasim Khair, Hatim Al Dweik, Fatimah Al Shawabkah, Aseel Al Nuaimi and Huda Jaber.

The team will be coached by Egypt’s Mohammad Ibrahim who said his fighters have trained hard and are ready to make an impact.

Strong performances in Madrid will enhance the Jordanian fighters’ rankings as they bid to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.

PARIS — UEFA helped Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City get around their own Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, according to a Football Leaks investigation published on Friday.

According to the investigation of “more than 70 million documents” analysed “over eight months by 80 journalists” from members of European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), UEFA “knowingly helped the clubs to cover up their own irregularities for ‘political reasons’“ under the leadership of Michel Platini and Gianni Infantino.

Both clubs, owned and bankrolled by wealth from Qatar and Abu Dhabi respectively, have avoided the most severe FFP punishment of being excluded from the UEFA Champions League.

Football Leaks claims that between them Qatar and Abu Dhabi have injected some 4.5 billion euros over the last seven years to increase the budgets of the clubs they own.

Of that figure, 2.7 billion euros has been invested in City via their Abu-Dhabi owners and from allegedly “overestimated” sponsorship deals.

Football Leaks also points the finger at PSG’s five-year agreement with the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), valued at 1.075 billion euros, or 215 million euros a year.

That is despite the investigation claiming that “two independent auditors assigned by UEFA valued the contract at... 123,000 euros per year for one, and 2.8 million euros a year for the other”.

UEFA rules say clubs cannot spend more than they earn in any given season and deficits must fall within a 30 million euros limit over three seasons.

Both PSG and City were fined 60 million euros by UEFA in May 2014, but both were told they would get 40 million euros back if they stuck to the terms of their settlement.

French investigative website Mediapart claims Infantino ― the current FIFA president who was then UEFA’s general secretary — “directly negotiated an agreement with Manchester City”, bypassing the Financial Control Panel of European football’s governing body. His proposal was for a “fine of 20 million euros instead of 60”.

Reputedly included in copy in emails sent by Infantino to City’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was former French President and PSG fan Nicolas Sarkozy, who also reputedly helped City’s Abu Dhabi owners in their attempts to get around FFP rules.

Sarkozy’s press officer responded to Mediapart by saying that “as a lawyer, Nicolas Sarkozy provided no counsel to the people you mention”.

Asked for a reaction by Mediapart, City said “the attempt to damage the reputation of the club is organised and clear”.

Late Friday, FIFA blasted the claims as an attempt to “undermine the leadership” of the global body.

“It seems obvious from the ‘reporting’ carried out in some media outlets that there is only one particular aim ― an attempt to undermine the new leadership of FIFA and, in particular, the president, Gianni Infantino, and the secretary general, Fatma Samoura.”

Infantino added in a statement: “It is always a challenge to change things, to move forward, and to bring people together in order to do things better.

“And, as we are resolutely implementing the reforms at FIFA, it was always clear to me that I would face strong opposition, especially from those who cannot anymore shamelessly profit from the system they were part of.”

PSG said in a statement that they have “always strictly complied with all applicable laws and regulations and firmly denies the allegations published today by Mediapart”.

The club’s delegate director general Jean-Claude Blanc later told AFP that “there was no secret agreement with UEFA, everything was done with the most complete transparency”.

PSG have been the subject of another UEFA investigation since they signed Neymar from Barcelona for a world-record 222 million euros in August 2017.

In late September UEFA said it had referred the accusations against the Paris club to its financial unit “for further investigation”. PSG’s case, though, is complicated by their sponsorship deals with the Qatar National Bank as well as the QTA.

UEFA indicated that the aim of FFP rules was “to help clubs become viable financially... and to punish them only as a last resort”.

Infantino meanwhile defended himself by saying it was possible for the independent body in charge of investigating FFP breaches to be helped by “the administration of UEFA, which of course includes the secretary general”.

Infantino is now at the head of FIFA, and Football Leaks also shone a light on his relationship with a Swiss prosecutor called Rinaldo Arnold.

The investigation said “invitations” were given to Arnold for World Cup and Champions League matches and a FIFA Congress in 2016, while Infantino was provided with details of ongoing investigations.

“According to FIFA’S internal directives and regulations, the president and the secretary general are entitled to invite a number of guests to FIFA tournaments and events,” the world football’s governing body told AFP.

Improbable as it seemed when Novak Djokovic had elbow surgery in February before slumping into a crisis of confidence, the Serb was guaranteed a return to World No. 1 on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old did not even have to swing a racket either as Rafael Nadal, who had occupied top spot, pulled out of the Paris Masters with an abdominal injury.

Nadal’s withdrawal shortly before his match against fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco means Djokovic will overtake him when the new ATP rankings are published on Monday.

It also left Paris ticketholders feeling frustrated after Roger Federer’s later match with Milos Raonic was called off after Canadian Raonic also pulled out injured.

“It was great to be here in Paris for a couple of days and practise with the guys,” Nadal told a news conference.

“But in the past few days, I started to feel a little bit [of an] abdominal [injury], especially when I was serving. I checked with the doctor and he said that he recommended not to play, because if I continued the abdominal may break and could become a major thing. And I really don’t want that.”

The resurgent Djokovic can now become the first player since ATP rankings were introduced in 1973 to end the year at No. 1 having started it outside the top 20.

It has been a rapid, but rocky, ride back to the top for the man whose 14 Grand Slam titles put him behind only Nadal and Federer on the all-time list.

Having missed the second half of the 2017 season because of his troublesome elbow, Djokovic returned at the start of this year but the injury flared up again at the Australian Open during a shock defeat by South Korean youngster Chung Hyeon.

After returning from surgery he failed to win a round at Indian Wells or Miami. He stated after his loss in Miami to Frenchman Benoit Paire that it was “just impossible at the moment” to play his best tennis.

Spiral downwards

Soon after that he split with coach Andre Agassi, then removed Radek Stepanek from his team as his career continued to spiral downwards into the abyss.

There were signs that a return to work with long-time coach Marian Vajda had reignited Djokovic’s fire but he suffered another body blow when losing to Italian Marco Cecchinato on a damp claycourt in the French Open quarter-finals then angrily threatened to skip Wimbledon.

From that moment on Djokovic was a man reborn.

He beat Nadal in a Wimbledon semifinal thriller before ending a two-year Grand Slam drought by defeating Kevin Anderson in the final. A few weeks later he roared past Juan Martin del Potro to win the US Open and earlier this month claimed the Shanghai Masters title without dropping a set.

With Nadal’s physical problems putting a big question mark over his participation at the ATP Tour Finals in London and Djokovic defending no ranking points there, it looks certain he will end a topsy-turvy year as World No. 1.

Djokovic has occupied top spot for 223 weeks during his career and another extended stay beckons.

Before he arrives in London, Djokovic will attempt to claim the Paris title for a fifth time — a task made easier by the latest injury setback for Nadal.

The 32-year-old Mallorcan was due to play his first match since retiring injured in the US Open semifinals, but fans were left disappointed as he was replaced by Malek Jaziri.

KUALA lUMPUR — FIFA President Gianni Infantino said expanding the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams was “feasible” on Wednesday, as the host Qatar pledged to come to a decision in the early part of next year.

Infantino said “Why not?” bring forward the expansion from 32 teams to 48, which is currently due at the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“We have decided... to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup final tournaments from 32 to 48,” Infantino told the Asian Football Confederation’s annual congress in Kuala Lumpur.

“It will happen in 2026. Will it happen in 2022? You know me. It is possible. It is possible. Why not?” he added.

Infantino said an expanded tournament would see Asia’s allocation rise from 4.5 places to 8.5, raising cheers from the delegates assembled at a luxury hotel in the Malaysian capital.

“You will have [a bigger] chance. It is possible. It is feasible. We are discussing with our Qatari friends. We are discussing with many other friends in the region. We hope we have it happen. We always have to try,” he said.

Accommodating another 16 teams would vastly complicate Qatar’s task in preparing for the World Cup, which was awarded to the tiny desert state in 2010.

Qatar has also been involved in a stand-off with neighbours Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, who have cut off diplomatic relations and imposed a blockade on the resource-rich country, accusing it of endorsing terror activities.

Hassan Al Thawadi, head of the 2022 organising body, told AFP that Qatar was studying the 48 teams proposal and would make a decision before qualifying gets under way.

“We are still looking at the feasibility studies and we will be in a better position to provide a feedback in the future,” he said.

“But it will be decided before the qualifications... sometime in the first quarter of next year.”

He added that preparations remained on track despite the blockade, and that the budget of $200 billion for the entire infrastructure, including metro and expressway, has not been affected.

“We are very happy and excited with the progress. It is on track. By 2020-2021 all our [eight] stadiums will be ready,” Thawadi said.

“This is the first World Cup in the Middle East and is a perfect opportunity to bring people together and contribute to the process of healing,” he added.

Ahead of FIFA’s presidential election next year, Infantino said 180 out of the 211 federations had given him their support.

“You know there is an election coming. I have announced I will be a [presidential] candidate. I have received over 180 letters of support,” he said.

“And when it comes to Asia, only a couple are missing.”

AMMAN — It was an interesting week in the Jordan Professional Football League as standings shifted with Jazira maintaining the lead ahead of Week 8 kicking off on Thursday. 

The leaders had their lead slashed to three points following their first draw with Salt (0-0), while Wihdat scored an important 1-0 win over Baqaa to move up to fifth and Faisali suffered their first defeat and slid to 6th.

Shabab Urdun stayed second after beating Faisali 4-1 as the latter let go of their coach amid alarming results. Hussein scored their fourth consecutive win and moved up to third after a 2-1 win over That Ras, while Aqaba also moved up to 7th after an important 2-1 win over Ramtha, who are having a bad season and are now 10th. 

Ahli lost 1-0 to Sarih and dropped to 11th while That Ras stayed last.

The upcoming week’s highlight will see Jazira come head to head with Wihdat on Friday. Faisali will play Hussein as both teams strive for an advanced position while Shabab Urdun play Ahli who must try to make up for lost points after impressive seasons in the past two league competitions.

In other matches, Baqaa will play Sarih while Aqaba play Salt and That Ras meet Ramtha.

So far on the regional scene, Jazira were eliminated from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup West Asia zone final losing to the Iraqi Air Force team and failing to reach the continent’s final. Faisali had bowed out in the event’s semifinals. Likewise, Ramtha bowed out to Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive Du Sahel in the preliminary round of the Arab Club Champions Cup. League titleholders Wihdat will represent Jordan in the 2018/19 AFC Champions League. Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. In the 2017/18 edition, Faisali were eliminated, while Wihdat were knocked out in 2017, 2016 and 2015, and Shabab Urdun were eliminated in 2014.

The 2018/19 football season agenda kicked off with league champs Wihdat beating Jordan Cup champs Jazira in the 36th Jordan Super Cup — the first major competition on the annual football calendar.

Last season, Wihdat won the league for a record 16th time. Jazira lost two competition finals conceding the 35th Jordan Super Cup to Faisali and the Jordan Football Association Shield final to Wihdat. Jazira also finished runner-up in the league won the Jordan Cup.

AMMAN — Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will be aiming to match one of the longest-standing records in world motor sport when he heads an international field of competitors from eight nations into Kuwait’s exciting return to the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) at Kuwait Motor Town on Thursday afternoon, according from a statement from organisers.

While Kuwait celebrates its own milestone of hosting a first international FIA-sanctioned event at its new FIA grade one race circuit facility, south of Kuwait City, Attiyah is focusing on claiming outright victory in the three-day event with his Autotek-run Ford Fiesta R5. This result would net the Qatari a record-equalling 14th regional rally title and put him alongside Dubai’s Mohammed Ben Sulayem in the history books.

The Qatari already has the record for the greatest number of successes in the history of the Kuwait Rally with six wins (2009, 2011 and 2013-2016) to Ben Sulayem’s four (1985, 1988, 1989 and 2006).

Attiyah will also be chasing his 68th MERC win, while victory for navigator Matthieu Baumel would be his 17th in MERC history and would move the Frenchman ahead of John Spiller into equal third in the regional Hall of Fame behind Ronan Morgan (41 wins) and a tying Giovanni Bernacchini and Chris Patterson (25 wins apiece).

Attiyah said: “This is an important rally for several reasons. Obviously the record is important, but the Kuwait Rally is always challenging and it would be nice to wrap up the championship before the final round in Qatar in two-weeks’ time.”

Czech driver Vojtech Štajf is attempting to become the first Arab driver ever to win the regional rally series and Ladislav Kucera  has replaced Markéta Skácelová, as his navigator in the Škoda Fabia R5.

Štajf trails Attiyah by 32 points in the title race after rallies in Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus, but there are two rounds to go and a possible 39 points available to the winner of each race with 30 potentially on offer to the Czech if he can shadow his Qatari rival to the finish and complete all the special stages. That would not be sufficient for Štajf to prevent Attiyah from retaining the title, however, and Attiyah’s challenger will need to push hard over the opening stages to try and gain the upper hand on leg one.

While the leading duo swap seconds for supremacy at the top of the leader board, a fascinating tussle is sure to develop in MERC 2 for Group N cars such as the Subaru Impreza and derivatives of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

Local driver Meshari Al Thefiri stands on the verge of claiming another showroom title with Qatari navigator Nasser Al Kuwari, but competition is sure to be fierce from a host of Jordanian, Omani, Qatari and Kuwaiti rivals.

Khaled Juma leads the way for Jordan and still has a chance to win the title, while fellow countrymen Ihab Al Shorafa and Shadi Shaban will be challenging hard.

Abdullah Al Rawahi flies the flag in the category for the Sultanate of Oman and there are further Group N entries for Qatar’s Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah and Rashed Al Nuami and Kuwaiti drivers Jassim Al Muqahwi, Mubarak Al Thefiri and Fahad Al Mutairi.

Nasser Al Attiyah returns to active competition after a long absence working in a senior role within both the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation and the FIA.

MADRID — Real Madrid sacked coach Julen Lopetegui three months into his first season in charge after the Spanish giants were beaten by arch rivals Barcelona over the weekend, the European champions said on Monday.

Real have failed to win in La Liga since beating Espanyol on September 22, losing to Sevilla, Alaves, Levante and drawing with Atletico Madrid before Sunday’s 5-1 thrashing by Barcelona.

Former player and reserve team boss Santiago Solari has been put in caretaker charge after negotiations between the club and former Chelsea, Italy and Juventus boss Antonio Conte broke down on Monday, the club added.

Negotiations stalled with Conte, citing the dressing-room’s reluctance to accept the Italian as the main reason.

Conte is famed for his direct management style and eyebrows were raised on Sunday when Real captain Sergio Ramos suggested after the Barcelona game that the players would not welcome him.

“Respect is earned, not imposed,” Ramos told reporters who quizzed him on the potential arrival of the former Juventus, Italy and Chelsea manager.

Reports said Santiago Solari, the former Real player and current reserve team manager, will be put in temporary charge of the first team by President Florentino Perez and will sit in the dugout for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey clash with Melilla.

“The Real Madrid board met today and decided to renounce coach Julen Lopetegui’s contract with the club,” the club said in a statement.

“The board feels there has been a disproportionate difference between the squad Real Madrid possesses… and the results obtained until now.”

Lopetegui has now lost two jobs in under five months, as he was also fired by the Spanish Football Federation as coach of the national team the day before the World Cup started in June for announcing his move to Real behind the organisation’s back, throwing Spain’s tournament preparations into chaos.

The 52-year-old replaced Zinedine Zidane as Real coach after the Frenchman decided to step down from the role having guided the club to three successive Champions League titles in May.

After the club’s all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo also departed for Juventus in July, Lopetegui’s stint at Real got off to a difficult start as they were beaten 4-2 by city rivals Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.

His side then won four of their opening five La Liga games and a 3-0 win over AS Roma in their Champions League opener.

But things started to fall apart when they were thrashed 3-0 by Sevilla last month, a result that started a run of four defeats in five matches in all competitions. During that stint, they also failed to score a goal for eight hours.

Last Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League provided a brief respite but the team were still booed off the pitch after an unconvincing display.

Sunday’s 5-1 hammering proved to be the final straw for Real president Florentino Perez.

During his 10 La Liga games in charge, Lopetegui won four, drew two and lost four, leaving Real floundering in ninth place in the table.

Spanish Federation rules allow clubs 14 days to name a permanent successor, meaning that Argentine Solari, who played for Real between 2000 and 2005, could potentially be in charge of four first team games.

MEXICO CITY — Lewis Hamilton celebrated his fifth Formula One world championship and joined an elite trio of greats on Sunday after a Mexican Grand Prix won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the second year in a row.

The Mercedes driver, who equalled the five titles of late 1950s Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio with only seven times champion Michael Schumacher above them, finished fourth while Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel was second.

Hamilton had needed only five points to be sure of the title while four times champion Vettel had to win to have any hope of denying the Briton.

“It’s something I dreamed of, but I never in a million years thought I’d be stood here as a five-time champion,” the 33-year-old told Sky Sports television.

“I’m so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup. 

“It wasn’t won here, just throughout the season and a lot of hard work,” added the 33-year-old after doing smoking “donuts” in front of a 130,000-strong crowd who witnessed a rare race without a Mercedes driver standing on the podium.

“To complete this when Fangio did it with Mercedes is an incredible feeling and very surreal.”

Team boss Toto Wolff hailed Hamilton as a well-deserved champion.

“He has really been the dominant driver this year,” said the Austrian.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third, meaning the constructors’ championship remained open at least until the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time with Mercedes’ lead trimmed.

In a nice sporting gesture, Hamilton hugged Vettel and then ran back to the Mercedes garage to embrace his teammates one by one. 

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, Verstappen’s teammate, retired from the race with a smoking engine after starting from pole position.

Team principal Christian Horner described that eighth retirement in 19 races as “absolutely gutting’, with Red Bull fretting about whether he would make it to the finish.

“It was a shame to lose Daniel,” said Verstappen, who had been angry on Saturday after missing out on pole. “I think we could have had a one-two or at least two cars on the podium.”

The Dutch driver seized the lead at the start, with Hamilton also making a quick getaway to slot in behind with Ricciardo dropping to third.

But in a high-altitude race of attrition, with tyre wear playing a huge part in the outcome, the champion was unable to match the pace and had no need to take any risks either.

“There’s nothing left guys, these tyres are dead,” Hamilton said after running off the track on lap 47. His Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas finished fifth but lapped by Verstappen.

As he crossed the line to take the title in Mexico for the second year in a row, Hamilton heard a message from Hollywood actor Will Smith come over the radio: “That’s how you do it, just like that. That’s how you’re supposed to drive.”

But the afternoon was one of his hardest of the season, the Briton off the podium for the first time since a race retirement in Austria at the beginning of July.

Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for Renault, who had Spaniard Carlos Sainz retire early on, with Charles Leclerc seventh for Sauber.

Stoffel Vandoorne enjoyed a rare afternoon of success, finishing eighth for McLaren, while Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson was ninth and Pierre Gasly 10th for Toro Rosso.

AMMAN — The West Asian and Asian Triathlon Championships concluded following a hugely successful event in Ayla, Aqaba, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The event welcomed 170 leading triathletes from 38 countries. Michael Lore, of Canada, took the elite title while Denmark’s Alexandra Mayer took the women’s elite crown.

Egypt’s Basma Al Salamuni took the U-23 women’s category while the men’s went to Syria’s Mohammad Al Sabbag. Sameera Al Baitar, of Bahrain, took the West Asian women’s category while Syria’s Mohammad Khuri took men’s.

There was success for the host nation, with Yazeed Khurma winning the men’s duathlon and Muna Jaber taking the women’s.

AMMAN — Jordan’s in-form partnership of Baha’ Al Shneik and Domoo Amro have won silver at the Egypt International Egypt Badminton Championship being held in Cairo, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The pair lost their mixed doubles final to Switzerland’s Oliver Shaleir and Selene Bolkart, 2-1.