FOOTBALL | Page 2
Dortmund tie
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Ramadan 26, 1441 AH
GULF TIMES
SPORT
TOP OF THE LINE
PSG chairman al-Khelaifi named most influential person in football
P
aris Saint-Germain and
beIN Sports Chairman
Nasser al-Khelaifi has
been named the most
influential person in world foot-
ball by leading French magazine
France Football.
According to a report on the
beIN sports website (beinsports.
com), France Football drew up a
list of top 50 people that includes
leaders of clubs and institutions,
agents, star players, coaches,
businessmen and politicians.
Al-Khelaifi is in a unique po-
sition as the chairman of PSG,
the biggest French club that has
only grown in stature since the
FOOTBALL
Celtic champions as
Scottish season ends
due to pandemic
Cologne throw away 2-0 lead at home after Mainz fight back to share points
Reuters
London, United Kingdom
C
eltic have been declared
Scottish champions
for a record-equalling
ninth successive sea-
son while Hearts were relegated
after the clubs voted yesterday
to end the Premiership season
early because of the Covid-19
pandemic.
“The SPFL has today an-
nounced that, following consul-
tation with all 12 top-flight clubs,
the Board of the SPFL has deter-
mined that the 2019/20 Ladbro-
kes Premiership has been con-
cluded with immediate effect,”
the Scottish Professional Foot-
ball League said in a statement.
“The decision means that
Celtic are crowned 2019/20
champions and Hearts have been
relegated to the Championship.”
When the season was stopped
in March because of the pan-
demic, Celtic were 13 points
clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers,
who had a game in hand, while
Hearts were four points adrift at
the bottom of the standings.
Places were decided on a
points-per-game average.
“We wanted to do it in front
of our supporters but obviously
that’s not been possible,” Celtic
manager Neil Lennon told Sky
Sports. “It’s a momentous day
for the club. Supporters of a cer-
tain vintage might remember
the first time Celtic did nine in
a row and probably can’t believe
it’s happened again.”
Celtic also won nine consecu-
tive league titles from 1965-
1974, a feat matched by Rangers
from 1989-1997.
While there was joy for Celtic,
whose tally of titles stands at 51
compared to the 54 of Rangers,
relegated Hearts said they were
still considering legal action, say-
ing they had been “unfairly pe-
nalised” because of the pandemic.
PRAGMATIC SOLUTION
In a statement, the Edinburgh
club added that they would be
CRICKET | Page 6
Virus will
46-year-old took over the reins,
a broadcasting boss and also a
minister without a portfolio of
Qatar, the hosts of the next FIFA
World Cup in 2022.
Al-Khelaifi kicked off PSG’s
transformation into a truly in-
ternational brand. The French
champions went from selling
44,000 replica shirts in 2011
to more than a million in 2019,
while their digital community
of 500,000 has swelled to more
than 87 million today.
“Power for power’s sake - the
obsessive search for the spotlight
- it’s just pure vanity,” al-Khelaifi
was quoted as saying to France
In this May 19, 2019, picture, Celtic players lift the trophy as they celebrate winning the Premiership in Glasgow. (Reuters)
submitting a member’s resolu-
tion offering a “pragmatic so-
lution” to the issues the game
is facing. Hearts believe there is
an appetite for a restructuring of
the Scottish leagues.
“It is our belief that this reso-
lution, if supported, will provide
an opportunity to avoid dispro-
portionately disadvantaging —
financially and otherwise — any
club,” Hearts said.
“This is possibly the final
chance for our game to stand
together, protect each other and
not only survive but flourish in
the aftermath of this terrible
pandemic.
“As previously intimated the
club has been taking legal advice
throughout this process and are
continuing to do so. We hope
that the resolution being pre-
pared will avoid the need to go
down this route.
Last week Scottish clubs
failed to support a request by
Rangers for an independent in-
vestigation into the SPFL’s han-
set to decide
German league
title: Mueller
Football by beIN Sports website.
He also talked about former
Manchester United manager Alex
Ferguson (“his know-how and
passion for football are incom-
parable”), UEFA President Ale-
ksander Ceferin (“a much needed
unifying force for European and
world football”) and Michael Jor-
dan, who he negotiated with for
the Parisian business (“not only
was he the greatest of all time
on court, but he hasn’t stopped
since”).
Of all the players he met, at
PSG and elsewhere, al-Khelaifi
picked out Zlatan Ibrahimovic
(“he was forever dependable and
dling of the season in the wake of
the coronavirus pandemic.
The resolution, backed by
Hearts and Stranraer, was put
forward after serious misgivings
about how a previous vote on
the SPFL’s plan to end the lower
leagues early, and possibly the
Premiership, was carried out.
The SPFL executive commit-
tee last week met all 12 Premier-
ship clubs about declaring the
season over and British media
reported that Hearts had made
a final push for a revamp of the
league structure.
Scotland’s three lowest tiers
were ended immediately in
April, with positions also de-
cided on a points-per-game av-
erage.
Dundee United, Raith Rovers
and Cove Rangers were declared
winners of the Championship,
League One and League Two
and the SPFL released end-of-
season payments of over 1.8mn
pounds ($2.18mn) to clubs to
ease their financial burden.
change the way
bowlers operate:
Ishant
MOTORSPORT
Alonso is ready to
return in 2021, says
ex-boss Briatore
Page 5
also stood up when needed”) and
David Beckham (“one of the best
role models for any young boy or
girl who aspires to become a pro-
fessional athlete”) among those
who impressed him the most
with their ability to unify and of-
fer another dimension.
Portugal and Juventus strik-
er Cristiano Ronaldo and FIFA
President Gianni Infantino are
second and third in the list.
Liverpool manager Jurgen
Klopp is fourth. Among others
Barcelona and Argentina forward
Lionel Messi is listed seventh,
while PSG and Brazil striker Ney-
mar is 16th.
FOCUS
Premier League
clubs agree group
training return
from today
AFP
London, United Kingdom
P
remier League clubs
will return to training
in small groups from
Tuesday after the latest
stage of “Project Restart” was
approved yesterday.
Clubs unanimously voted to
allow players to start socially
distanced training in a bid to
meet the Premier League’s mid-
June date to resume the season.
Contact training is not permit-
ted at this stage and corner flags,
balls, cones, goalposts, playing
surfaces and other equipment will
be disinfected after each session.
Testing for the coronavirus has
taken place at Premier League
clubs over the last few days and
will continue throughout the
training period.
“Strict medical protocols of
the highest standard will ensure
everyone returns to training in
the safest environment possible,”
a Premier League statement said.
“The health and well-being
of all participants is the Premier
League’s priority, and the safe
return to training is a step-by-
step process.
“Full consultation will now
continue with players, managers,
clubs, the PFA and LMA as pro-
tocols for full-contact training
are developed.”
The training protocols were
presented to players and manag-
ers last week before being rub-
ber-stamped during Monday’s
video conference call.
Other rules in phase one in-
clude players not travelling with
anyone to or from training, while
the use of public transport and
team vehicles is banned.
Newcastle were one of the first
top-flight teams to issue con-
firmation that players had been
tested at their training ground.
The club said players would
return today, by which time all
test results would be known.
Players will be asked to use an
app on a daily basis to record any
symptoms.
“It’s been a really difficult time,
but I hope with the news that
phase one is about to start,” New-
castle manager Steve Bruce said.
“I must stress that phase one
looks as if it’s as safe as it can
be. I’m sure everyone will be de-
lighted that we’re trying to make
that effort.
Fans celebrate after Celtic were confirmed champions after the “In phase one we’re allowed to
Scottish season came to a close in Glasgow. (Reuters) train four to five people on one
pitch, so basically a player has a
quarter of a pitch to work within,
so social distancing is not a prob-
lem. We’ll train with eight to 10
at a time on two separate pitches.
“Everything is in place in the
safety aspect. I’ve got no issues
and I can tell the supporters the
players and the staff are as safe as
we possibly can be.”
‘MAKING GOOD PROGRESS’
The resumption of Germany’s
Bundesliga over the weekend has
raised expectations that the Pre-
mier League can follow suit.
But some Premier League
players remain concerned over
returning to work while the virus
is still uncontained, with Britain
one of the countries worst hit by
the crisis.
Speaking to Good Morning
Britain yesterday, Watford captain
Troy Deeney said: “Phase one is
social distancing individual train-
ing with a coach. That’s no prob-
lem, that’s like going to the park.
“Phase two will be next week
six days of training, three to six
people training together with
contact and then six days after
that you’re going into 11 versus
11 and you can’t social distance
with 11 verus 11.
‘
We are working hard
with them to try and
get it back, aiming
for mid-June, but the
number one test is public
safety
— Oliver Dowden,
Britain’s Culture Secretary
“I would say 98 per cent (of
players) are very much aware that
phase one is very good, I would
say 65-70 per cent of people are
concerned with phase two. I’d
say even higher after that.”
With the Premier League sus-
pended since March 13 because
of the pandemic, the green light
for training came just hours after
Britain’s Culture Secretary Oliver
Dowden said he was hopeful the
top-flight could resume in June.
“I had some very constructive
discussions on Thursday with
the FA, the EFL (English Football
League) and the Premier League,”
Dowden told Sky News.
“We are working hard with
them to try and get it back, aim-
ing for mid-June, but the number
one test is public safety.
“If we can sort that out then we
will look to resume by mid-June.
We’re making good progress.”
2 Gulf Times
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
FOOTBALL
BUNDESLIGA
Dortmund tie set to
decide title: Mueller
2-0 result in Berlin maintained Bayern’s four-point lead at the top of the table
AFP
Berlin, Germany
T
homas Mueller expects
Bayern Munich’s
showdown behind
closed doors at closest
rivals Borussia Dortmund in a
week’s time to decide who wins
the Bundesliga title.
Goals by Robert Lewandowski
and Benjamin Pavard sealed a
2-0 win for Bayern at Union
Berlin on Sunday as the German
top flight restarted behind
closed doors.
The result in Berlin
maintained Bayern’s four-point
lead at the top of the table after
the league took a two-month
hiatus due to the Covid-19
pandemic.
Second-placed Dortmund
smashed Schalke 4-0 on Saturday
with Erling Braut Haaland
opening the scoring before
Raphael Guerreiro netted either
side of a Thorgan Hazard goal.
Dortmund host Bayern on Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller runs during the Bundesliga match
May 26 and Mueller expects the against Union Berlin in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday. (AFP)
UEFA postpones May 27
meeting over Euro 2020
hosting issues
Reuters
Nyon, Switzerland
U
EFA has postponed its Executive
Committee meeting scheduled for
May 27 because of some “open
points” regarding the venues for next year’s
re-scheduled Euro 2020 tournament.
In a statement, European soccer’s govern-
ing body said the meeting would now take
place on June 17.
The Euro 2020 championship, due to be
staged in 12 cities across the continent, was
postponed because of the coronavirus pan-
demic that shut down soccer in March.
UEFA said the change to the meeting was
caused by “the existence of some remain-
ing open points regarding a small number
of proposed venues for the rearranged
UEFA Euro 2020 next year”.
At the weekend UEFA president Ale-
ksander Ceferin appeared to suggest the
number of host cities might be reduced.
“We’ve had conversations with nine cities
and everything is set,” Ceferin said in an
interview with beIN Sports.
“With three cities, we have some issues. So
we will discuss further. In principle, we will
do it in 12 cities but if not, we are ready to
do it in 10, nine or eight.”
GLASGOW CONFIRMATION
Glasgow yesterday moved to reconfirm
its position as a host in the light of media
speculation.
“The formal confirmation letter was sent on
14 May to the UEFA Euro 2020 Operations
Director, Sharon Burkhalter-Lau, together
with all the required accompanying docu-
mentation,” said a spokesperson for the
Local Organising Structure (LOS) Glasgow.
“This followed extensive discussions with
all relevant stakeholders and partners
involved in hosting the tournament in
Glasgow since the March 17 postpone-
ment decision.
“We look forward to Hampden Park, Glas-
gow and Scotland as a whole playing a
key role as co-hosts of a memorable UEFA
Euro 2020 next year.”
UEFA’s May 27 meeting was also expected to
discuss its plan to finish the 2019-20 season
by August, including the Champions League
and Europa League campaigns.
Europe’s top soccer leagues were all
suspended in March due to the Covid-19
pandemic but the Bundesliga resumed at
the weekend while the Spanish, English and
Italian top flights are also hoping to com-
plete their seasons. The French and Dutch
top-flight campaigns have been cancelled.
“I can say that the European season will
be finished, if everything is as it is now, in
August,” Ceferin said.
BOTTOMLINE
Heading Down Under was a gamble that paid off for Fowler
Reuters outbreak not intervened.
Sydney, Australia The former England and Liv-
erpool striker only had the ex-
perience of the 2011-12 season
R
obbie Fowler believes as player-coach at Thai club
his decision to move to Muangthong United on his CV
Australia was a gamble when he took over at the Roar at
that paid off and that his the start of the season.
Brisbane Roar side would have The 45-year-old led the club,
been contenders for a third A- which had finished second last in
League title had the coronavirus the league the previous season,
LA LIGA
Atletico’s Felix raring to return to
matches after resuming training
Reuters
Madrid, Spain
A
tletico Madrid’s
players would be
happy to re-start
the season next
weekend, forward Joao Felix
has said, as his side trained
together yesterday for the
first time since the Cov-
id-19 pandemic disrupted
sport worldwide in March.
Atletico joined clubs
across Spain’s top two divi-
sions in training in groups
of up to 10 players after
getting the green light from
the government to move
into the penultimate stage
of the league’s four-phase
plan to return to activity.
Organising body La Liga
have said they hope to
resume the final 11 rounds
of matches, which will be
played without spectators,
from June 12, although the
return to competition re-
quires the approval of the
SPOTLIGHT
Lampard hopes out-of-contract
Chelsea players sign short-term deals
Reuters
London, United Kingdom
C
helsea manager
Frank Lampard
says he is hope-
ful players whose
contracts expire in June will
sign short-term deals and
finish the Premier League
season disrupted by the
Covid-19 pandemic.
With the novel corona-
virus outbreak bringing
world soccer to a stand-
still, global body FIFA last
month recommended ex-
tending players’ contracts
that are due to end in June.
The deals of Brazil-
to fourth place when matches
were suspended in March with
six rounds of the regular sea-
son and the playoffs remain-
ing. “I took over a team that was
struggling, for a couple of years
they’ve struggled really bad, last
year they conceded 71 goals,” he
told Optus Sport from lockdown
in England.
“(I knew this) was a massive
potential top-of-the-table clash
to be a key factor in determining
whether Munich will go on to
clinch an eighth straight league
crown.
“The match in Dortmund will
decide how exciting and close
it will be in the next few weeks,
that’s for sure,” said Mueller.
Former Dortmund striker
Lewandowski netted a first-half
penalty for Bayern on Sunday
for his 26th league goal this
season, taking him one closer to
Gerd Mueller’s record of 40 in
the 1971-1972 season.
Aked if the Pole could overtake
Mueller’s 48-year-old record,
Bayern coach Hansi Flick
said: “It won’t be easy, but he
(Lewandowski) has the quality.
“If anyone can do it, he’s the
one.”
In Dortmund, Haaland also
continued his phenomenal
scoring record with his 10th goal
in nine Bundesliga games since
arriving from Red Bull Salzburg
in January.
In total, the lanky 19-year-
old Norwegian has now scored
Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix takes part in a training session
at Ciudad Deportiva Wanda Atletico de Madrid training
ground in Madrid, Spain, yesterday. (Reuters)
government. wait and work hard so we
“We’re feeling very good can get off to a good start,”
and are very excited about Felix told Atletico’s website
playing again, if it were up
to us we would return this
after yesterday’s session.
“We worked hard at
weekend but we’ll have to home to make sure we
ian midfielder Willian and
French forward Olivier
Giroud will expire on June
30 and Lampard said he
wants to finish the season
with all the resources he
began it with as fourth-
placed Chelsea look to seal
a Champions League spot.
“We have big players in
that position so that’s obvi-
ously something I’m look-
ing at carefully,” Lampard
told the club’s website.
“The ones out of con- and if pre-season is rushed
tract here have been great they’ll want to make sure
servants... and have a lot they’re alright.
of feeling for the club, but “Hopefully we can have
of course they’ll be con- that arrangement so they
cerned about themselves in can stay with us because if
terms of how they are now, we play again I would love
gamble for me. I knew I wanted
to do it. I knew I wanted to be a
coach. I think me going to the
other side of the world showed
how dedicated I am, how pas-
sionate I am, how much I wanted
it.
“It was a huge gamble because
it could have gone either way but
thankfully I took to it. To me it
was a gamble that has definitely
41 goals in 34 games in all
competitions in 2019/20.
The drubbing of Schalke was
the heaviest defeat dished out in
the Ruhr derby since 1966.
Dortmund CEO Hans-
Joachim Watzke said he received
congratulatory text messages
from football luminaries
including Liverpool manager
Jurgen Klopp, Tottenham coach
Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid
president Florentino Perez.
“Perez even wrote that
he was very happy” about
the “exceptionally good
performance by our team”,
Watzke told the Bild daily.
However, the Dortmund chief
drew the line at suggestions
the emphatic win was a direct
challenge to Bayern.
“No. We played the first game
after the coronavirus break under
exceptional circumstances —
that’s all,” said Watzke.
Last season, Dortmund threw
away a nine-point lead when
their form dipped in early 2019,
allowing Bayern to win the title
by two points.
didn’t lose our fitness and
it’s been easy to get back
to doing cardio work. Now
we’re starting to work with
the ball again and will do
that every day so we can re-
turn to normality.
“It’s the first day we have
been able to come together
and we have been playing
lots of small sided games
which is what we love doing
and what we were missing
the most. I missed playing
against my team mates and
scoring goals.”
Atletico were sixth in
the standings when the
season was provisionally
suspended on March 12 but
were only one point behind
fourth-placed Real Socie-
dad who occupy the final
Champions League spot.
Atleti are also into
the quarter-finals of the
Champions League, having
knocked out holders Liver-
pool in the last match they
played before the season
was put on hold.
the squad to look as it’s
looked all season, but we’ll
have to see how that works.”
Premier League clubs
will hold a conference call
later on Monday to vote on
a return to group training
before a possible return to
action in June.
“Health and safety is the
main thing, but we also have
to think about the condi-
tion of the players in terms
of injury and how we can try
to move forward when we
don’t really know the date
of our next game,” Lampard
added. “The first steps will
have to be very careful but all
managers will be thinking a
similar thing.”
paid off.”
Until Covid-19 “put a little bit
of a kibosh on it”, Fowler felt the
Roar were well placed to chal-
lenge for another A-League title
to those they won in 2010-11 and
2013-14.
“Since the turn of the year, the
team over there have been abso-
lute class, I couldn’t have asked
any more of them,” he added.
Games without spectators only a
short-term solution: Wenger
Staging football matches without spectators must only be a short-
term fix during the Covid-19 pandemic as the prolonged absence
of fans could damage the game, former Arsenal boss Arsene
Wenger has said. The German Bundesliga became the first major
soccer league to resume since the novel coronavirus outbreak
shut down sports earlier this year, and its return behind closed
doors is being closely watched by other leagues. “Will it survive
long-term? Will it damage the show long-term without support-
ers? I am convinced of that,” FIFA’s head of global development
Wenger told beIN Sport. “You cannot imagine a whole season
without any spectators. That’s why I believe it a short-term solu-
tion. It is still the best possible way to get a verdict for the end of
the season. It’s better than any other decision.”
Clubs must respect players’ health
concerns, says Allardyce
Premier League clubs must reassure players there will be no
repercussions if they are unwilling to risk their health by returning to
action during the Covid-19 pandemic, former England manager Sam
Allardyce has said. Several players have expressed concerns about
the league’s plans to resume amid the novel coronavirus outbreak,
which has infected more than 4.64mn people globally, causing over
310,200 deaths. “Getting the players fit in four weeks could be done,
but that’s the least of their worries. I think the biggest challenge for
players will be dealing with the mental side,” Allardyce wrote in a
column for The Times. “My first point of call as a manager in this
situation would be to speak to all the players... find out whether they
want to play or not. I’d reassure them there would be no repercus-
sions if they decided they would find it too difficult to play.”
Rayo Vallecano players skip training
due to pay dispute
Spanish second division side Rayo Vallecano refused to turn up
for the first day of group training due to a dispute with the club
hierarchy over a pay cut for staff and players, a club source said
yesterday. While every club in Spain’s top two divisions held group
training yesterday for the first time since play was halted in March
due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rayo’s players were given an
individual programme to follow at home, the source added. In
May, Rayo joined a large number of Spanish clubs in introducing a
temporary pay cut underwritten by the government, known as an
ERTE, after the season was provisionally suspended. Coach Paco
Jemez criticised the pay cut, however, arguing that it was not nec-
essary as the club was in a healthy state financially, and called for
all non-playing staff to receive their full wages during the period.
Cologne’s Heldt complains Mainz
broke agreement with triple sub
Cologne sport chief Horst Heldt and Mainz coach Achim Beier-
lorzer were involved in a disagreement during Sunday’s Bundesliga
game with the former claiming a gentleman’s agreement over sub-
stitutes had been broken. Heldt claimed Mainz’s decision to make
a triple substitution in the 83rd minute went against an unwritten
deal between clubs after the Bundesliga permitted five substi-
tutes per game. The football rule-making body IFAB approved the
increase from three as a temporary measure to protect players
from fatigue when leagues return from the coronavirus enforced
suspension. “Of course Mainz have behaved within the rules,” Heldt
told Sky television. “But we had formulated an agreement between
the clubs, that everyone should stick to, a change a maximum of
two players at once. Therefore it got emotional.”
FIFA plans football match for fight
against coronavirus
FIFA will organise a charity football match to raise funds for the
battle against the coronavirus, the sport’s world governing body said
yesterday. “It is our responsibility to demonstrate solidarity and con-
tinue to do everything we can to participate and support the efforts
in the combat against the pandemic,” said FIFA president Gianni In-
fantino. “We have been active in raising awareness via several other
campaigns, and FIFA has also contributed financially to this cause,
but now we commit ourselves to organise this global fundraising
event when the health situation permits, even if this is only in some
months’ time.” Funds raised will support the “development, produc-
tion and equitable global access to new coronavirus essential health
technologies, including diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines,” said
FIFA. Further details of the match were not given.
Chelsea’s Hudson-Odoi arrested:
media report
Chelsea and England forward Callum Hudson-Odoi was ar-
rested on Sunday following an argument with a woman, The Sun
newspaper reported. The Metropolitan Police told The Sun that
officers and London Ambulance Service were called in the early
hours of Sunday morning “to a report of an unwell woman”. The
report added that the woman was taken to hospital and a man
was arrested at the scene and remained in police custody. Chelsea
declined to comment on The Sun’s report. Hudson-Odoi, 19, had
made 17 Premier League appearances for Chelsea this season un-
til the Covid-19 pandemic halted the campaign. He made his Eng-
land debut last year and has a total of three caps for his country.
Positive coronavirus test at third-tier
Chemnitz; 3 in quarantine
German third division side Chemnitz confirmed yesterday a player
has tested positive for the coronavirus. All players were tested on
Thursday, and returned negative, but a second round of testing on
Saturday produced one positive. The player who tested positive
will enter a 14-day quarantine at home, according to a club spokes-
person. Two further people will also enter quarantine despite test-
ing negative as they had close contact to the player. Chemnitz are
fighting relegation to the fourth-tier of German football and have
spoken out in favour of the third division resuming from suspen-
sion. The German football federation (DFB) which is responsible for
the league said last week that the intended restart date of May 26
could not be met. It is unclear when the league will resume but it
seems certain matches would continue into July, posing a problem
for players whose contracts expire at the end of June.
“We accumulated more points and so further his ambition that
than anyone else and were prob- his coaching career might one
ably the form team going into the day match the heights of his years
playoffs. I honestly believed that as a player.
we had as good a chance as any- “I would never disrespect Bris-
one in those playoffs to win the bane Roar by saying I’m using
grand final.” this as a stepping stone straight
With Football Federation Aus- away,” he said.
tralia (FFA) hoping to resume “(But) I am ambitious... I want
the season in late July or August, to try to manage at the very top
Fowler could still land the title level.”
 Gulf Times
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 3

SPORT
SPOTLIGHT

‘Maddening’ Bulls dynasty couldn’t seek ’99 crown: Jordan

away from the game, only to return
AFP
New York later, while Pippen and Steve Kerr were
traded and Rodman was released.
The rebuilding Bulls missed the
all of it at the beginning of ’98. Why
say that statement at the beginning of
’98?”
Krause, who died in 2017 at age 77,

M
ichael Jordan believes the
Chicago Bulls 1990s NBA
dynasty would have stayed
together for at least one
more season if team chiefs had backed
coach Phil Jackson.
The retired legend made his com-
ments in the last chapter of hit docu-
mentary The Last Dance, saying he
would have re-signed a one-year deal
had management kept the team to-
gether, including Dennis Rodman,
Scottie Pippen and Jackson.
“If you asked all the guys who won in
’98... ‘We’ll give you a one-year con-
tract to try for a seventh,’ you think
they would have signed? Yes, they
would have signed,” Jordan said.
“Would I have signed for one year?
Yes, I would have signed for one year.
“Would Phil have done it? Yes. Now,
Pip, you would have had to do some
convincing. But if Phil was going to be
there, if Dennis was going to be there,
if MJ was going to be there, to win our
seventh? Pip is not going to miss out on
that.”
Instead, Jordan and Jackson stepped
playoffs with losing records for the
next six seasons after taking the 1998
title and since then have reached the
Eastern Conference finals only once.
The 10-part saga concluded with
Jordan saying he felt no sense of grati-
fication to leave while on top.
‘IT’S MADDENING’
“It’s maddening, because I felt like we
could have won seven,” Jordan said. “I
really believe that. We may not have,
but man, just to not be able to try, that’s
something that I just can’t accept for
whatever reason.”
Former Bulls general manager Jerry
Krause had told Jackson before the
1997-98 season that it would be his last
campaign as coach, a move that led to
Jordan’s exit and the Bulls breakup.
“In ’98, Krause already said at the
beginning of the season, ‘Phil can go
82-0, and he was never going to be the
coach.’ So when Phil said it was the last
dance, it was the last dance,” Jordan
said.
“We knew they weren’t going to keep
the team. Now, they could’ve nixed
was concerned about trying to keep the
team a contender and hoped for a quick
rebuild, fearful of the quick plunge and
rapid talent turnover that eventually
came.
After offering no solace to Jackson
during a difficult season, Bulls owner
Jerry Reinsdorf said he called Jackson
following the team’s championship
parade and offered him the chance to
return for the 1998-99 season.
“After the sixth championship, I of-
fered him the opportunity to come
back,” Reinsdorf said. “‘You’ve earned
the opportunity to come back, regard-
less of what was said before now.’”
But Jackson said in the documentary
that he rejected the offer after having
spent the season as a lame duck. Former NBA star and owner
“I said, ‘Well, I think I should just of Charlotte Hornets team
take a break. I don’t think it’s fair to Michael Jordan. (AFP)
Jerry (Krause) and I know it would be
difficult for him to accept that,” Jack-
son said.
Reinsdorf, 84, called Jackson’s deci-
sion the finish of the dynasty run.
“That was the end. It just came to an
end on its own,” Reinsdorf said.

NBA OPINION

Can coronavirus hiatus

NHL should cancel
rest of its season, says
defenseman Gudas

turn Sixers into a finals

contender?
‘I’M EXCITED, AND CONFIDENT, AND
COMFORTABLE...LIKE WE’RE GOING
TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING’
By David Murphy
The Philadelphia Inquirer

S
hortly after the NBA sea-
son was postponed in the
middle of March, there
was a story about a group Radko Gudas of the Washington Capitals. (TNS)
of whitewater rafters who’d re-
turned from a 30-day excursion By Sam Carchidi league could make as much as
in the Grand Canyon to discover The Philadelphia Inquirer $500 million in TV revenue if
that a pandemic had shut down it returns and holds its play-
society while they were away. offs.

Most of the rafters expressed
surprise at the turn of events,
but if there was a Sixers fan in
the group, I imagine that he or
she just shrugged.
If you’ve followed this team
for the last several years, you’ll
know that a world-wide plague
was well within the range of po-
tential outcomes for a season
that saw the Sixers enter as one
of the co-favourites to advance
out of the East to the NBA Fi-
nals.
Frankly, the only surprising
thing about this year’s bit of bad
luck is that it may not have been
bad luck at all. The frustrating
thing about the first 65 games
of the Sixers season is that the
nights where they looked like a
legitimate title contender were
far outnumbered by the nights
where they looked like a team in
need of a two-month break.
The last time we saw them all
together, they’d lost five of nine
games in addition to an All-Star
point guard who had spent much
of the season as the No. 1 reason
to continue to believe. Although
it sounds like Ben Simmons may
have been ready for the playoffs
had they started in mid-April,
the Sixers were facing the strong
possibility that he would not be
ready before then, and that they
would enter the postseason with
a team that had spent the final
25 games of the regular season
playing a completely different
style of basketball than they
would with Simmons running
endline to endline like a beefed-
up gazelle.
Now, not only has Simmons
recovered from the nerve im-
pingement that left him in so
much pain that he was barely
able to make the plane ride
home, but he could have three or
four weeks of training camp and
a handful of regular-season or
exhibition games to get himself
into far better shape than would
have been possible within the
normal arc of a season.
“It could be a little bit of the
silver lining of this pandemic,”
Sixers coach Brett Brown said on
Friday in his first public ques-
tion-and-answer session since
the NBA season was interrupted
on March 11, “just the fact that
you actually have a chance to
Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach Brett Brown (right) reacts to a call during a regular NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Wells Fargo Center
in Philadelphia on December 2, 2019. (TNS)
get somebody like Ben, and as
important as Ben is, back into
our team.” The silver lining goes
well beyond Simmons. While
it might be a stretch to say that
Covid-19 has the potential to
save the Sixers season, their
path to the Finals looks much
more plausible right now than it
did before the NBA’s two-month
hiatus. That is, there is now at
least some plausible reason to
believe in all the things that you
need to talk yourself into in or-
der to believe that they are capa-
ble of winning 12 out of 21 games
against three of the five teams
who are currently ahead of them
in the standings.
It starts not with Simmons,
but with Brown, who has had
seven weeks to watch tape and
contemplate changes and dis-
cuss with his players and staff
the things the Sixers will need to
do in order to maximise their tal-
ent. How do you coach a basket-
ball team while isolated in a sub-
urban home? You talk with your
players and your general man-
ager every day. You hold weekly
meetings with your bench staff,
and your development staff,
and your training staff, and you
spend that time identifying
what has worked, what hasn’t,
and how to optimise that distri-
bution. “I’m excited, and confi-
dent, and comfortable,” Brown
said, “like we’re going to hit the
ground running.”
You have to think that the
Sixers understand the opportu-
nity they suddenly have. When-
ever the NBA gives its teams the
green light to resume practice,
Brown will almost certainly
have multiple weeks to coach
his team in an environment that
is far more controlled than the
NBA regular season typically
allows. And, really, can there be
better way to evaluate a coach
than to give him two months to
prepare to face four or five teams
and then allow him an addi-
tional few weeks of practice to
implement his game plan?
Who knows whether the
original framework still applies.
All season, we’ve looked toward
the playoffs as an eventual ref-
erendum on Brown’s future as
a head coach. Given the finan-
cial uncertainty that is sure to
plague ownership for at least the
next year, as well as the level of
disruption that the organization
has already endured, it should
not surprise anybody if Josh
Harris, Inc. decides that the
last thing he needs in 2020 is to
find himself a new head coach.
But there’s a good chance that,
however much season remains,
it is going to tell us plenty about
Brown’s capabilities.
There are all sorts of things
that could go wrong, things that
are far outside a coach’s control.
If Joel Embiid is not healthy,
C
iting the players’
health concerns,
Washington Capitals
defenseman Radko
Gudas, a former Flyer, said the
NHL should cancel the rest of
its season.
The season was suspended
March 12 because of the coro-
navirus outbreak, and the
league has said it is hopeful
of returning. It is reviewing
several scenarios, including a
format that would have 24 of
the 31 teams play in a tourna-
ment.
Gudas urged the NHL to
bag the season while at a golf
tournament in his native
Czech Republic.
In an interview aired on a
Czech Republic sports chan-
nel (CT Sport) and trans-
lated into English by hockey
blog Russian Machine Never
Breaks, Gudas questioned the
NHL’s mindset in trying to re-
turn.
“If we kept playing, our
sport would be swimming
against the current a bit,” he
said. “Money is money; it’s
what currently makes the
world go around. It’s a bit
sad they are willing to risk
the health of so many players
for money.” Reportedly, the
focused, and in shape when
the season resumes, Red Auer-
bach could walk through that Report: NHL plotting two playoffs
door and struggle to succeed.
Same goes for any scenario in
hubs, 12 teams each
which Simmons’ back is less The NHL Board of Governors
than 100%. The formula hasn’t is scheduled to hold a confer-
changed — it still comes down to ence call, and the prevailing
the two young stars. preference appears to be
Still, the reason the Sixers are using two hub cities with 12
currently the No. 6 seed in the teams apiece for the 2020
East instead of the No. 1 or the playoffs.
No. 2 has had as much to do with Commissioner Gary Bettman
the players around Embiid and said on multiple occasions
Simmons. The question now is over the past two weeks that
the same as it was back in Sep- the league is determined
tember: How do you maximize to hold the Stanley Cup
the skill sets of Al Horford and Playoffs.
Tobias Harris and Josh Richard- Darren Dreger of TSN
son when they share the court reported yesterday there are
with each other and with Sim- still issues to sort out with
mons and Embiid? expansion of the playoffs,
Back in March, it was looking which typically would in-
increasingly unlikely that they clude eight teams from each
would ever find an answer. They conference.
needed more time. Now, that’s Bob McKenzie of TSN said
exactly what they have.
Earlier in the week, Gary
Bettman, the NHL’s commis-
sioner, said canceling the sea-
son was “not something I’m
even contemplating.”
Around the world, hockey
has had most of its leagues
and tournaments cancelled.
The AHL and ECHL have
bagged their seasons. Ditto
the IIHF’s 2020 World Cham-
pionship, and the pro leagues
in Russia, Sweden, and the
Czech Republic.
The NHL is contemplating
having games return in four
cities, with players and their
staffs quarantined in hotels.
Staying in a hotel room for
the summer, Gudas was quot-
ed as saying, was a “way to
end up with depression” and
a “step into one’s personal
freedom.”
Traded to Washington last
June in a deal that brought
Matt Niskanen to the Flyers,
Gudas said he was concerned
about how quickly the coro-
navirus would spread among
players if someone contracted
it.
In conference calls with re-
porters since the season was
paused, several of the Flyers’
players seemed eager to re-
turn to action.
nothing is firmed up yet, but
Las Vegas — where an entire
resort connected to an arena
could be dedicated to play-
ers and staff — was likely to
be one of the hubs.
The league also has looked
into returning to play with
either a traditional 16-team
or 20-team tournament. The
NHL halted play on March 12
because of the coronavirus
pandemic with teams having
between 11 and 14 games left
in the regular season.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said last
week the two sides had been
having trouble deciding how
to bring some teams that
wouldn’t have qualified for
the postseason into a playoff.
4 Gulf Times
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

SPORT
FOCUS OPINION

Harris reportedly
Incentives won’t
solve NFL’s diversity
issue, says Acho
accepts tender, likely
to return to Vikings
‘I am continuing my focus on what it takes to be successful both as a team and an individual’

Reuters 16 places in the third round

Los Angeles — potentially into the second
round.
The subject is reportedly

Minnesota Vikings defensive back Anthony Harris. (TNS)
my dream of playing in the NFL going
By Chris Miller
Star Tribune (Minneapolis) from practice squad, to making the
active roster, to becoming a full-time
starter, to leading the league in inter-
signing him to a long-term deal. They
also used it on fullback Jim Kleinsas-
ser in 2003.
The Vikings lost cornerbacks Xavi-
S
am Acho doesn’t be-
lieve incentives will
tempt teams to hire
minorities as head
coaches and general managers.
The NFL Players Asso-
ciation executive committee
member said Sunday that cro-
nyism is the issue as it stunts
opportunity.
“The problem is, it can’t be
about incentives. It’s gotta be
about giving the right coaches
the right opportunities,” Acho
said during an ESPN radio in-
terview. “The problem with
the NFL is that there’s so much
cronyism; it’s all about who
you know. Oftentimes, NFL
coaches aren’t the best coach-
es; they’re not.
“Oftentimes, people talk
about the politics and the
business of football; it’s about
who you know, and no one
wants to talk about it.”
The 31-year-old linebacker,
who is currently a free agent,
was responding to reports that
the NFL might allow teams
to improve their draft status
based on minority hires.
The proposal would report-
edly allow teams to move up 10
places in the third round of the
draft ahead of the second year
under a newly hired minor-
ity GM. For newly hired head
coaches of color, teams would
Chargers looked into get a six-place jump in the
signing Newton third round of the draft before
his second season.
likely to be discussed dur-
ing Tuesday’s virtual meeting
with team owners. A proposal
needs 24 (of 32 votes) to pass.
Acho said the virtual NFL
draft due to the coronavirus
pandemic put the diversity
issue on full display. There
are only two minority GMs
in Chris Grier of the Miami
Dolphins and Andrew Berry
of the Cleveland Browns and
four minority head coaches
— Mike Tomlin of the Pitts-
burgh Steelers, Ron Rivera of
the Washington Redskins, An-
thony Lynn of the Los Angeles
Chargers and Brian Flores of
the Dolphins.
“It’s like one of America’s
best-kept secrets — no one
knows who’s in charge, espe-
cially in corporate America,”
Acho said. “But because of
Covid, we got an inside look to
who’s in charge. And I think it
just opened some people’s eyes
into a bigger problem that’s
going on in our country, which
is a lack of diversity, especially
in positions of power.”
Acho has played in 110
NFL games (57 starts) and
has 241 tackles (22 for losses),
18 sacks, 11 forced fumbles,
three fumble recoveries and
three interceptions while be-
ing employed by the Arizona
Cardinals (2011-14), Chicago
Bears (2015-18) and Tampa Bay
Buccaneers (2019).
He had three tackles, one

A
nthony Harris said he in-
tends to be back with the
Vikings in 2020, and the
28-year-old safety added he
plans to remain in Minnesota for years
to follow.
The NFL’s leader in interceptions
last season wrote on social media
Sunday that he will return. The Vi-
kings placed a franchise tag on him in
March to prevent him from becoming
an unrestricted free agent.
There had been speculation that
the Vikings were doing so as a formal-
ity before trading him. But instead,
Harris is set to make $11.4 million in
2020 by accepting his franchise ten-
der.
He has until July 15 to agree to a new
deal with the Vikings.
“Since arriving in Minnesota with
uncertainty as an undrafted free
agent in 2015, I have accomplished
ceptions,” Harris wrote on Twitter
and Instagram.
“During the past five years, Minne-
sota has become home and is where I
want to continue to develop as a play-
er having only scratched the surface!
“Although it has been a strange off-
season, time spent in isolation with
family has been refreshing and ener-
gizing. This is just one step in God’s
plan for me and my family.
“I will let my agents and the Vikings
work toward long-term certainty in
Minnesota, but I am excited to be back
for the 2020 season.”
Harris, who had six interceptions
during the regular season and also
picked off New Orleans’ Drew Brees
in the playoffs, is only the third player
tagged by the Vikings since 2000.
They hadn’t used the franchise tag
since 2011, when they placed it on
linebacker Chad Greenway before
er Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mack-
ensie Alexander in free agency. They
drafted three cornerbacks — Texas
Christian’s Jeff Gladney in the first
round (31st overall), Cameron Dan-
tzler of Mississippi State in the third
and Harrison Hand of Temple in the
fifth. The Vikings also took two safe-
ties, Josh Metellus of Michigan (sixth
round) and Brian Cole of Mississippi
State (seventh).
Harris became a starter in 2018, re-
placing injured Andrew Sendejo. The
Vikings signed him as an undrafted
free agent out of Virginia in 2015.
“I am continuing my focus on what
it takes to be successful both as a team
and an individual,” Harris wrote. “I
am excited for the new challenges the
2020 season will bring, but I am most
excited for the opportunity to bring a
Super Bowl to Minnesota and the best
fans in the country.”
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn looked into Should a team hire a minor- sack and one forced fumble in
bringing Cam Newton to Los Angeles, but the ity head coach and GM in the eight games for the Buccaneers
franchise ultimately decided to give Tyrod Taylor same year, the rise would be last season.
and rookie Justin Herbert space to compete for
the starting job this season. Lynn said Newton,
31, intrigued the team when he became a free SPOTLIGHT
agent prior to the 2020 NFL Draft. The Chargers
selected Herbert sixth overall and the Oregon
product will compete with Taylor before the 2020
season begins. Easton Stick is also on the depth
chart at quarterback. For the first time since
Colts’ Reich expects
2004, the Chargers roster doesn’t include Philip
Rivers. “Tyrod Taylor, Easton Stick — those are
guys that a lot of people don’t talk about,” Lynn
Rivers to play more
told CBS Sports. “ was a Division I-AA — he won
like three national championships.... He’s a hell of
a leader, hell of a professional and I think he has
than one season
a bright future in this league one day. “But with
him, Tyrod Taylor and knowing that we had an
opportunity to get one picking sixth in the draft
— all those decisions came into play when talking
about Cam.”

NBA

Cavs forward Nance ‘scared’ of

virus with pre-existing issue
AFP when Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. (TNS)

New York for the coronavirus — leading to the NBA
shutdown — because he had recently played
Reuters
Los Angeles
to play multiple years. I per-
sonally believe he’s more than
capable of multiple years.”
Larry Nance Jr (left) of the Cleveland Cavaliers The Colts signed Rivers in

N
against the Frenchman. in action against the Chicago Bulls at the o retirement surpris- March to fill the quarterback

C
leveland Cavaliers forward Larry
Nance Jr is “scared” of making an
NBA comeback during the corona-
virus pandemic due to his weakened
immune system because he has Crohn’s dis-
ease.
And the 27-year-old forward hopes the
league will take into account players with pre-
existing conditions when pondering plans
to restart the season halted March 12 by the
deadly disease.
“I would hope there would be an under-
standing (by the NBA) if someone didn’t feel
comfortable coming back, that you would get
a pass,” Nance told ESPN. “Just because you
may look like the picture of health, some peo-
ple have issues you can’t see.”
Nance, who spent his first 2 1/2 NBA sea-
sons with the Los Angeles Lakers before being
traded to Cleveland in 2018, is among those
who conducted individual workouts at the
Cavaliers training facility the past two weeks.
His therapy to combat inflammatory bowel
illness allows Nance to play but weakens his
immune system and leaves him more vulner-
able than most to catch Covid-19.
Nance said he was “absolutely terrified”
“We’re young and you know the kind of
shape players are in, you’d like to think (the
virus impact) wouldn’t be what it could be for
others,” Nance said.
“But you don’t know. I’m still scared and
don’t want to get it.”
Nance told ESPN a drug he has taken for
10 years to combat Crohn’s has helped those
with the disease fight off Covid-19, eas-
ing some of his worries with hopes he could
join his teammates on the court if the season
resumes.
The Cavaliers were 19-46, worst in the
Eastern Conference and second-worst in the
NBA ahead of only Golden State, when the
league went on hiatus.
Nance, averaging 10.1 points and 7.3 re-
bounds when the season was halted, was a
very interested spectator last weekend when
the Bundesliga made its return in empty Ger-
man stadiums.
“I’m paying super close attention to eve-
rything that is going on,” Nance said. “I was
watching the German soccer league over the
weekend and seeing how the players were
interacting with each other and still seeing
them make a lot of contact.”
United Center on March 10, 2020. (AFP) es the Indianapolis
Colts, but head coach
Frank Reich seems
certain new starting quarter-
back Philip Rivers is good for
at least two more years.
Rivers signed a one-year,
$25mn deal with the Colts and
will start for Indianapolis in
2020. But Reich believes Rivers
is planning to play more than
one season, echoing a report
in March from NFL Network’s
Daniel Jeremiah that Rivers
isn’t close to the finish line of
his career.
“The spirit of was, we’re in
this together and as long as
Philip wants to play, wants to
be here,” Reich said yesterday.
“It’s the NFL, we know he has
to prove it. We have to prove it
as a team to keep him wanting
to play. I can just tell you from
the previous relationship [with
the Los Angeles Chargers], I
really believe it’s Philip’s intent
position left vacant when An-
drew Luck retired abruptly in
August 2019. Jacoby Brissett
started last season after sign-
ing a two-year, $30mn deal
but Indianapolis missed the
playoffs due to a late-season
fade from first place in the AFC
South. Rivers, 38, had 23 turn-
overs (20 interceptions) with
the Chargers last season. But
the Colts quickly landed him in
free agency thanks to Reich’s
relationship with Rivers from
their time together as quarter-
backs coach and pupil with the
then-San Diego Chargers. Riv-
ers played 16 seasons with the
franchise.
“I take it one year at a time,”
Rivers said after signing with
the Colts. “If I feel good, I’ll
keep going. I don’t want to get
carried away. You won’t see me
in the Tom Brady range. I still
feel like I can help a football
team go win a championship.”
 Gulf Times
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 5

SPORT
MOTORSPORT FOCUS

Alonso is ready to
Vettel’s former team
chief backs him for
more F1 success

return in 2021, says DPA ways means the start of some-

Berlin thing,” Tost told the Formula 1
homepage. “It really depends
on what seat he gets.

S
ebastian Vettel’s former “He needs to get a seat in the
team chief at Toro Rosso first three teams. Then he has

ex-boss Briatore
believes the German is
still capable of winning
Formula One races and chal-
lenging for titles - if he can se-
cure a suitable team in future.
The 32-year-old Vettel will
leave Ferrari at the end of this
season and it is not clear where
he will drive in 2021 or if he will
‘Fernando is motivated. A year away from Formula One has done him good’ retire from the sport.
But Franz Tost, who led
Reuters Toro Rosso when Vettel made
London his debut in 2008, backed his
former driver.
“The end of something al-
a real chance to win races and
another championship. I know
Sebastian quite well, and that is
for sure his main target.”
The only feasible move for
Vettel within the top three
would seem to be Mercedes
as Red Bull, where he won the
world championship four
times 2010-2013, have ruled
out a return.
Both Mercedes drivers,
world champion Lewis Hamil-
ton and Valtteri Bottas, are out
of contract in 2020.

T
wo-times world cham-
pion Fernando Alonso is
ready for a Formula One
comeback, his long-
time adviser and former Renault
team boss Flavio Briatore has
said amid increasing speculation
about a return to Renault.
The 38-year-old Spaniard
left Formula One at the end of
2018 but is seen as a possible
replacement for Australian Dan-
iel Ricciardo, who is moving to
McLaren in 2021.
“Fernando is motivated. A
year away from Formula One has
done him good. He has detoxed
himself and I see him calmer
and ready to return,” Briatore,
who left Renault in 2009 after a
race-fixing scandal, told Italy’s
Gazzetta dello Sport.
Renault are expected to take Sebastian Vettel
their time before making any
driver announcement, with the
2020 season yet to start due to RUGBY
Covid-19.
Four-times world champion
Sebastian Vettel is also available
after Ferrari announced the Ger-
man would be leaving at the end Two-times world champion Fernando Alonso.
Japan’s ‘Iron Man’
of the year.
Alonso won his titles with Re-
nault in 2005 and 2006 to end
Singapore F1 can’t be held behind closed doors: organisers lock Ono hangs
seven-times champion Michael
Schumacher’s long reign.
He moved to McLaren for a
Singapore F1 organisers yesterday said it was
“not feasible” to hold the race behind closed
doors, threatening further problems for the
Formula One, the Singapore government and
others involved “to assess different possibili-
ties” for holding the race. But a spokesperson
developments. Our utmost priority remains
the well-being and safety of our fans, staff,
volunteers, and all Singaporeans,” the
up his boots
tumultuous 2007 season along- coronavirus-ravaged season. added that “as the Singapore F1 race is a spokesperson said. AFP picked,” said Jones at the time.
side a rookie Lewis Hamilton After 10 races were cancelled or postponed, street circuit, it is not feasible to conduct the Like many other countries, Singapore has Tokyo “If you want a strong child
but returned to Renault for 2008 Formula One bosses are aiming to begin the race behind closed doors”. ordered the closure of most businesses, make sure they get brought up
and 2009 before moving to Fer- on a dairy farm, deliver the pa-

rari and then back to McLaren in
2015.
The two-times Le Mans 24
Hours winner has made the In-
dianapolis 500 his main tar-
get this year in a bid to become
only the second man after the
late Graham Hill to complete
the ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’.
The Spaniard turns 40 next
year but former Ferrari team
mate and 2007 champion Kimi
Raikkonen is that age already
and still racing with Alfa Romeo.
Renault finished fifth overall
last year but represent Alonso’s
IndyCar’s planned street race
in Toronto will not be staged on
July 12 as originally scheduled
because of the coronavirus
pandemic, race organisers have
confirmed.
The decision came after Toronto
city officials withdrew permits
for major events in July and Au-
J
season with two races in Austria in July, both Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won last year’s race, advised people to stay at home, and banned
without fans. Races in other countries are which drew 268,000 spectators over three large gatherings as it battles a virus out- apanese lock Hitoshi pers every morning, drink 10
also expected to go ahead in closed venues. days, a substantial portion of them coming break. The tiny Southeast Asian country has Ono, who won a record beers a night,” added Jones in
But the Singapore Grand Prix, scheduled for from overseas. reported more than 28,000 infections, most 98 caps for his country typically light-hearted com-
September, is a nighttime street race around Work on the street circuit, which requires of them among foreign workers living in and played in the fa- ments.
the city-state’s waterfront, where it would be “considerable temporary infrastructure”, crowded dormitories. Officials say they may mous “Miracle of Brighton” Ono began his career against
challenging to keep spectators away. typically takes three months, organisers said. start relaxing some of the curbs from early 2015 World Cup win over the Korea in 2004 but the high-
Organisers said they have been in talks with “We will continue to keep a close watch on June.  (AFP) Springboks, announced his re- light was undoubtedly the
tirement yesterday. Brave Blossoms’ 34-32 win
The 42-year-old played his over South Africa at the 2015
best, and possibly only, chance team with both drivers over 30 Sky Sports television that he saw pionships with them, so he’s got last game for the Brave Blos- World Cup - arguably the big-
of a comeback. Ferrari and Red and the champions are more Alonso to Renault as a ‘bit of a history,” said the American, who soms against Scotland in a 21- gest upset in the sport’s his-
Bull have put an emphasis on likely to go for a youngster like no-brainer’. spoke to Alonso recently. 16 loss in 2016 - leaving him tory. Relatively short for a lock
youth while Mercedes look sure George Russell, now at Williams, “I think he’s undecided, and Brown said Alonso would agonisingly stranded two caps at six foot four inches (1.95m),
to reach a new deal with six- should they replace Valtteri Bot- if I was running Renault, that’s jump at the chance to win again short of his 100th. he managed to score 13 tries
times world champion Ham- tas. Hamilton looks sure to stay. who I’d put in the car: big name, but might be less interested in a He did not feature in Ja- in his international career but
ilton. Mercedes are the only F1 McLaren boss Zak Brown told fast as anyone, won two cham- team still some way off. pan’s history-making side that none against top-tier opposi-
reached the 2019 Rugby World tion. He also captained Japan
Cup quarter-finals at home, seven times.
Toronto IndyCar race won’t happen in July as planned with veteran locks Luke Thom-
son and James Moore preferred
At club level, he played for
Japanese Super Rugby fran-
gust in a precautionary move to with the city of Toronto, Exhibi- IndyCar’s season, postponed postponed to August 23. in the Japanese engine room. chise the Sunwolves and
control the spread of the deadly tion Place, Honda Canada and from a March start due to the There are only four vacant At 37, he was the oldest man enjoyed a long career with
disease. IndyCar to explore alternate pandemic, is now scheduled to weekends in September and to represent Japan when he took Toshiba Brave Lupus, whom he
Contested around Exhibition date options for 2020,” race open June 6 without spectators October available for a resched- the field for his last cap, with joined in 2001.
Place since 1986, the event has organizers said in a statement. at Texas motor Speedway in Fort uled Toronto race before what then coach Eddie Jones hailing Originally from Fukushima,
been struck from IndyCar’s Frenchman Simon Pagenaud Worth. The signature Indiana- is now a 14-race campaign is an “unbelievable achievement” Ono was a baseball player at
schedule without a new date is the defending Toronto Indy polis 500, originally scheduled scheduled to conclude on Octo- - and putting his long career high school and university but
being set. “Preparations and champion as well as the reign- for Sunday at the famed 2 ber 25 at St. Petersburg, Florida. down to some unusual skills. switched to rugby at 18 after
discussions have been ongoing ing Indianapolis 500 champion. 1/2-mile (4km) oval, has been (AFP) “He’s an incredibly tough being courted by the rugby
player and that is why he’s team.

SPOTLIGHT

Harvick wins closed-door race in NASCAR return

Reuters the stands but in this race there ville, Florida on Saturday, sport With limited crew members
New York was no one to witness the show. starved fans had their choice on drivers were left to do some of
Not even the growl from 40 V8 Sunday of a charity skins game the more mundane chores, such
stock car engines could make up featuring golf greats Rory McIl- as filling water bottles and mak-

K
evin Harvick and NAS-
CAR both celebrated
victories on Sunday as
the stock car series re-
turned to live racing from a two-
month novel coronavirus forced
hiatus at an empty Darlington
Raceway.
While the day unfolded with
none of the bells and whistles
that have made NASCAR North
America’s most popular motor
sport, on the track the race de-
livered as promised with plenty
of bumper-to-bumper action.
Harvick, winner of the 2007
Daytona 500, produced a mas-
terful drive to pull away after a
late restart to cross 2.15 seconds
clear of Alex Bowman and Kurt
Busch to collect his 50th career
Cup win.
The 44-year-old driver cel-
ebrated his victory in what has
become typical NASCAR fash-
ion with some tire burning do-
nuts that would normally spark
a massive roar of approval from
for the silence as drivers exited
the track to muffled applause
from pit crews and officials.
“I didn’t think it was going to
be that much different and then
we won the race and it is dead
silent out here, so we miss the
fans,” said a bewildered Harvick,
standing alone on the track. “It
is weird just because there is no-
body up there.
“Usually you get out of the car
and the crowd is screaming and
yelling... today it was like, well,
I don’t know really what to do
here.
“We got done, everybody left.”
For U.S. sports fans the Real
Heroes 400 was the highlight of
a weekend that saw sport slow-
ly come back to life after most
events were shuttered mid-
March by the Covid-19 pandem-
ic that has claimed over 88,000
American lives.
Following an Ultimate Fight-
ing Championship card aired live
from an empty arena in Jackson-
roy and Dustin Johnson, Profes-
sional Bull Riding and NASCAR.
U.S. President Donald Trump
said in an interview with NBC
Sports during the skins broad-
cast that sport was a part of “the
psyche of our country”.
As the NBA, NHL and MLB
work through scenarios that
could get them playing again,
NASCAR is ready to go - Sun-
day’s race the first of 20 tak-
ing place across seven Southern
states over 36 days.
NASCAR will be back at Dar-
lington Raceway on Wednesday
for the second Cup race in four
days.
While the action on the track
was familiar, everything else was
uncharted.
Teams, each allowed 16 mem-
bers, arrived in the morning at
designated times and tempera-
tures were screened before en-
tering the infield. Only 900 es-
sential personnel were approved
to be inside the gates.
ing lunch, that might have oth-
erwise fallen to staff.
When called to the track, driv-
ers, crews and officials wore face
masks.
With no practice or qualifying
places on the starting grid were
set by a random draw with Brad
Keselowski on pole.
NASCAR’s oldest speedway
on the Cup circuit is known as
the “Track Too Tough to Tame”
and proved to be just that for
Ricky Stenhouse Jr, who had his
return come to an abrupt end as
he slammed into the wall on the
opening lap.
Otherwise racing was free of
major wrecks as drivers quickly
settled into their routines.
“I have been around this deal
for a long time and this is not like
anything I have experienced,”
said Harvick.
“It is very similar to coming
back after 9/11 but that day had
100,000 fans in the stands and
now you have no fans.” Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning the Real Heroes 400 at Darlington, USA. PICTURE: USA TODAY
 SPORT
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

GULF TIMES
CRICKET QATAR ONLINE RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

Virus will change Al-Sulaiti romps to victory

By Sports Reporter
Doha
a sizeable lead, before strolling
to easy win.
final one on Thursday. In total
21 riders had signed up for the

the way bowlers

Soud al-Thani, who had championship, including four
won three out of three races in from Kuwait. The race format

S
aeed al-Sulaiti cruised
to an emphatic victory
in the first of three final
round races at the Qatar
Online Racing Championship
qualifying stage to top Group A,
finished second. Al-Thani had
struggled in the practice but
managed to finish runner-up to
keep his title hopes alive. Kha-
consists of qualifying for 15
minutes, followed by the race
for 30 mins. The event is or-
ganised by the Qatar Motor and
Motorcycle Federation for bike

operate: Ishant
for bikes on Sunday. After three
rounds of qualifying stage, 14
best competitors took to Mo-
toGP 19 PS4 for first race of the
final week of competition set
at Donington Park Circuit in
Leicestershire, England.
Al-Sulaiti, a three-time
‘I feel cricketers will have to get used to the new normal’ QSTK champion, was miles
ahead of his rivals as he romped
to victory by a margin of ten
seconds. Al-Sulaiti started
from pole position and built up
lid al-Maraghi, who had quali-
fied as the third best rider from
Group B, finished third, having
started from the same position.
Hade Ahmed took fourth spot,
while Frenchman Jeremy Paro-
la, who won the QSTK Trophy
this season, finished fifth. Ab-
dullah al-Qubaisi, the reigning
QSTK 600 champion, came
seventh in the race.
The second race will be held
today, followed by the third and
racing connoisseurs after the
virtual series for cars received
an overwhelming response.
RESULTS
1. Saeed al-Sulaiti; 2. Soud al-Tha-
ni; 3. Khalid al-Maraghi; 4. Hade
Ahmed; 5. Jeremy Parola; 6.
Mohamed al-Zaidan (Kuwait); 7.
Abdulla al-Qubaisi; 8. Ali Ahmed
(Kuwait); 9. Sheikh Jassim
al-Thani; 10. Hamad al-Sahouti

The first race of the final week of Qatar Online Racing Championship for bikes was set at Donington
Park Circuit in Leicestershire, England. (QMMF)

SPOTLIGHT

Markram stakes claim for

South Africa Test captaincy
Reuters
Cape Town

AFP things. But honestly I don’t like
New Delhi to think about these things too
much. I feel it is important to stay
in the present and not look too far
O
pening batsman
replace the traditional methods I am a robot. But the phase before Aiden Markram
of shining the ball.” 2017 was one when the pressure has said he would
All international cricket — in- to perform was a lot,” he said. “It give an “arm and a
cluding cash-rich tournaments gave me sleepless nights, and I leg” to captain South Africa in

T
he world’s top bowlers
will likely have to change
the way they go about
getting swing and seam
as a result of the coronavirus, In-
dian paceman Ishant Sharma
said yesterday. Bowlers tradi-
tionally get the ball to move in the
air by applying shine to one side
via sweat or saliva, but new regu-
lations being considered to out-
law the practice will change the
game, he told an online discus-
sion. There will be “no option”
but to play by new rules when the
sport resumes, said Ishant, who
plays for for Delhi Capitals in the
Indian Premier League.
“I feel cricketers will have
to get used to the new normal,
whatever that is,” he said.
“The ball may not shine as per
your liking if you are not allowed
to use saliva, or you may have
to go and fetch the ball yourself
during nets – but there is no
option but to get used to these
ahead,” said the lanky pacer.
Yesterday, following recom-
mendations by the International
cricket Council, cricketers are set
to be banned from using saliva to
shine the ball due to the corona-
virus pandemic. The ICC’s in-
fluential cricket committee met
via conference call and made the
recommendations after a brief-
ing from the governing body’s
medical advisory committee.
Last week the Australian In-
stitute of Sport issued new
guidelines expressly forbidding
rubbing spit or sweat into the
ball’s surface as a condition for
competitive cricket to resume.
That prompted former Australia
captain Ian Chappell to suggest
some form of ball-tampering be
allowed. “With cricket on hold,
this is the ideal time to conduct
the exercise,” Chappell said.
“Using saliva and perspiration
are now seen as a health hazard,
so bowlers require something to
such as the IPL — has been halted
by the coronavirus, with no clear
timetable for a resumption. India
has extended a nationwide coro-
navirus lockdown until May 31,
but new rules starting yesterday
allowed stadiums to host events
without spectators.
The Board of Control for
Cricket in India said it “will not
rush into any decision” on the
IPL and will wait before organ-
ising training camps for national
players. Ishant has been in and
out of the Indian team due to in-
juries and inconsistent perform-
ances since his debut in 2007,
but he hit form before the virus
struck.
The lanky bowler, who has
claimed 412 wickets in 97 Tests
and 80 in one-day internation-
als, credits his 2018 season with
English County side Sussex as
the reason for his improvement.
“People keep saying Ishant
2.0, which it makes it sound like
hardly found any joy in my bowl-
ing. My county stint with Sussex
was what changed everything.”
Ishant also said he has not met
a better coach than Ricky Pon-
ting as the Australian great made
him feel wanted from the word go
in his IPL comeback last year.
Ishant was bought by Delhi
Capitals ahead of the 2019 IPL
after he went unsold in the previ-
ous auction. “Ponting is the best
coach I’ve ever met. I was very
nervous when I was making a re-
turn to the IPL last season. I was
almost feeling like a debutante
walking into the camp the first
day, but he gave me a lot of confi-
dence since the first day I arrived
at the camp.
“He just told me, ‘You’re a
senior player and you should help
the youngsters. Just don’t worry
about anything – you’re my first
choice.’ And I think that bit of
conversation really helped me,”
Ishant recalled.
Tests but admits doubting his
own ability during a difficult 12
months in the longer format.
Markram, 25, is considered
one of the front-runners to take
over the Test captaincy from Faf
du Plessis when South Africa
return to five-day action, and
would likely have been a shoo-
in if his form had not dipped so
dramatically in the last year.
“It is just nice to be con-
sidered and I’d give an abso-
lute arm and a leg to be able to
do it, but in the same breath I
don’t want to become desper-
ate about it,” Markram said in
an interview released by Cricket
South Africa (CSA) yesterday.
“It’s one of those things
where if it were to happen it
would be amazing. But if not,
there are plenty of good lead-
ers within the environment that
will definitely take the team.”
Markram led South Africa
to victory at the 2014 Cricket
Under-19 World Cup, and had
been tipped by current CSA di-
rector of cricket Graeme Smith
as a future captain for the senior
side. “I really enjoy captaincy,”
Markram said. “I enjoy the re-
sponsibilities that come with it.
I have been able to watch from
franchise captains to a guy like
Faf and it is just something that
I would love to do.”
But Markram must first re-
gain his starting place in the
side. The opener averaged
above 45 in his first 15 Tests, but
in the next five managed only
183 runs at an average of 18.30.
He had a spell on the sidelines
after injuring his hand when he
struck a wall following a pair of
ducks in India last year.
“I have certainly doubted
myself and doubted my abili-
ties,” Markram said.
“At the top level, you’re just a
few bad knocks away from peo-
ple wanting you out of the team.
I doubted myself quite a bit this
last year. It’s a tough space to be
in but it comes with the terri-
tory and if you want to be a top
performer at a high level, you’ve
got to find ways to deal with it.”
South Africa are next sched-
uled to be in action for two Tests
in the West Indies in late July,
though that tour is under threat
due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

ROUND-UP FOCUS
ICC recommends banning use
of saliva, want extra DRS
Dubai: The International Cricket later. It also recommended the
Babar praying pandemic Kohli’s record
in all three
won’t scupper T20 World Cup
Council’s (ICC) Cricket Committee provision of an extra DRS appeal
chaired by former Indian captain
Anil Kumble recommended ban-
for a team in each format as an
interim measure.
forms is quite
unbelievable:

ning the usage of saliva to polish
the match ball. It however noted
that the risk of spread of the virus
through sweat is “highly unlikely”
and “saw no need to prohibit” the
practice.
“The ICC Cricket Committee
heard from the Chair of the ICC
Medical Advisory Committee
Dr Peter Harcourt regarding the
elevated risk of the transmission
of the virus through saliva, and
unanimously agreed to recom-
mend that the use of saliva to
polish the ball be prohibited,” said
the ICC in its statement.
“The committee also noted the
medical advice that it is highly un-
likely that the virus can be trans-
mitted through sweat and saw no
need to prohibit the use of sweat
to polish the ball whilst recom-
mending that enhanced hygiene
measures are implemented on and
around the playing field.”
The committee also recom-
mended the appointment of
local match officials in the short
term due to the restrictions on
travel around the world due to the
pandemic. No home nation umpire
has stood in a Test since 2002. In
1994, the ICC mandated the use of
one neutral umpire per Test, which
was extended to two eight years
“Given the challenges of
international travel with borders
being closed, limited commercial
flights and mandatory quarantine
periods, the committee recom-
mended that local match officials
be appointed in the short-term,”
the statement said.
“The appointments will con-
tinue to be made via the ICC from
local Elite and International Panel
referees and umpires. Where there
are no Elite Panel match officials
in the country, the best local
International Panel match officials
will be appointed. The committee
also recommended that the use of
technology is increased to support
the appointments of a wider pool
of umpires from around the world
and has proposed an additional
DRS review per team per innings
is introduced in each format as an
interim measure.”
“We are living through extraor-
dinary times and the recommen-
dations the committee have made
today are interim measures to en-
able us to safely resume cricket in
a way that preserves the essence
of our game whilst protecting eve-
ryone involved,” said Kumble.
The recommendations will now
be presented to the ICC Chief Ex-
ecutives’ Committee for approval.
W
orld number one Twenty20
batsman Babar Azam said
yesterday he was praying
the coronavirus pandemic
would not scupper his first T20 World
Cup as Pakistan skipper. Australia are
due to host the seventh Twenty20 World
Cup in October and November but
organisers face challenges of providing
appropriate bio-security and quarantine
measures for 15 international teams.
Lingering travel restrictions could
also hit the event, where forty-five
matches are scheduled to be played in
seven cities. “It will be my first World
Cup as skipper so I am praying for it and
keeping fingers crossed,” Azam said in a
virtual press conference.
The International Cricket Council will
discuss the event at its board meeting in
Dubai next week.
Azam said he would not mind if
cricket was played in closed stadiums,
without fans. “It would be tough to play
without fans because they cheer along
and back you up, but who knows bet-
ter than Pakistan how to play without
crowds,” said Azam.
Pakistan were forced to play before
sparse or no crowds in the UAE, their
neutral ground, in the aftermath of the
2009 terrorist attack against a visiting
Sri Lanka team in Lahore. International
cricket returned gradually to Pakistan
from 2015 but it was only last year that
the side managed to stage a Test at home
after a gap of ten years.
The one-day international captain
also vowed to improve Pakistan’s rank-
ings. “We are now fourth in Twenty20,
sixth in ODIs and seventh in Tests which
is not acceptable and I want to see im-
provements in that,” Azam said.
Pakistan topped the Twenty20 rank-
ings from January 2018 to until last
week. Pakistan T20 captain Babar Azam
said he was keeping his ‘fingers crossed’
that this year’s Twenty20 World Cup
would go ahead in Australia
FORMER ENGLAND BATSMAN KEY
RECOVERING FROM ‘MINI STROKE’
Former England batsman Rob Key is re-
covering after suffering a “mini stroke”.
Key revealed he needed hospital treat-
ment when the stroke occurred at the
weekend. Alongside an Instagram selfie,
the 41-year-old wrote: “Long weekend.
Turns out I’ve had a mini stroke. Thanks
to everyone at the Kent and Canterbury
hospital especially Charlie And dr baht.
Now got to eat food with no flavour and
take pills.”
Key played in 15 Tests for England and
made five one-day international appear-
ances, as well as playing in one Twen-
ty20 game for his country. Key’s finest
moment for England was an innings of
221 against the West Indies in July 2004,
the only time he would go past three
figures in an international match.
He scored nearly 20,000 first-class
runs between 1998 and 2015 in a stellar
county career with Kent, leading them
for nine seasons across two spells, before
becoming member of Sky Sports’ cricket
coverage.
Chappell
New Delhi: Former Australian
captain and commentator Ian
Chappell feels that Indian skip-
per Virat Kohli is the best out
of his current rivals Australia’s
Steve Smith, England’s Joe Root,
New Zealand’s Kane Williamson
in international cricket because
of his record in all formats of the
game and the discipline he has
towards his batting and fitness.
“Of that group (including
Steve Smith, Kane Williamson,
Joe Root), Kohli is the best in all
three forms. That’s unquestion-
able,” Chappell said on ‘The RK
Show’ on YouTube. “His record
in all three forms is quite unbe-
lievable, particularly his record
in the shorter forms.”
Chappell cited Kohli’s ap-
proach to batting as something
that he liked about the 31-year-
old. “We did an interview with
him last time India were in Aus-
tralia, and one of the things he
talked about was why he didn’t
play the fancy shots, the inno-
vative shots of particularly T20
cricket. Kohli said he didn’t want
those to creep in his batting in the
longer form of the game,” he said.