GAZA: The Palestinian national football club championship was called off on Wednesday after Israel denied travel permits to Gaza players who had hoped to face off with their opponents in the occupied West Bank.
Israel refused to let players from Gaza’s Khadamat Rafah club travel several dozen kilometers through its territory to play Nablus’s FC Balata in the central West Bank.
Israeli officials have not given a public explanation of the reasons. Some media reports have quoted Israeli security sources saying team members were believed to have links to terrorism.
Only 12 of the Gaza club’s 35 members were granted permits, just five of whom were players, the team said.
Wednesday’s FIFA-recognized Palestine Cup in the West Bank city of Nablus had already been postponed from July, when 31 of the Gaza club’s 35 players were denied permits, the team said.
The winner of Wednesday’s game between the Gaza and West Bank Cup holders would have represented Palestinians in the Asian Champions League, a qualifier for the FIFA Club World Cup.
“It’s a terrible feeling after training so hard,” said Ahmad Abu Thuhair, a Gaza footballer whose application was rejected.
An Israeli court on Monday upheld a decision from COGAT, Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians, to deny the Gaza players permits.
“Each permit application received by COGAT is individually and thoroughly evaluated, pursuant to the criteria that are published on COGAT’s website and subject to security checks,” COGAT said in an email, without providing further details.
It referred additional questions to the Shin Bet Israeli domestic intelligence service, which did not respond to a request for comment.
Israel captured Gaza and the West Bank in 1967. It withdrew its settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, and the enclave is now run by the Islamist armed group Hamas, which Israel and the West designate a terrorist organization. Citing security concerns, Israel maintains tight control over Gaza’s land and sea borders.
Hamas and Israel have fought three wars over the past decade, and several other heavy rounds of violence have broken out. The two million Palestinians in the narrow coastal enclave must request permits from Israel to travel to the West Bank.
Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinians’ FIFA member association, accused Israel of trying “to paralyze Palestinian players and even the (Palestinian) sport system in general.”
Gisha, an Israeli rights group which petitioned the Jerusalem District Court to challenge COGAT’s decision, said the case illustrates what it called Israel’s “separation policy,” which it says “violates Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement.”
Gisha and other rights groups say the restrictions drive a wedge between Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Palestinians seek to unite in a state.
Palestinians cancel football final after Israel denies Gaza team travel
Palestinians cancel football final after Israel denies Gaza team travel
- Israel refused to let players from Gaza’s Khadamat Rafah club travel to play in the central West Bank
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10-man Barcelona concede two late goals in draw at Celta Vigo
- Celta poured forward at Balaidos Stadium and Hugo Alvarez rifled in the 86th-minute equalizer with Barcelona unable to mark the extra man
- Antoine Griezmann converted a late penalty to equalize and Alexander Sorloth struck an 86th-minute winner to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win at home over Alaves
BARCELONA: Celta Vigo gave 10-man Barcelona a shock by scoring two late goals and snatching a 2-2 draw at home in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Barcelona were minutes away from a win to pad their league lead after Raphinha and Lewandowski had put Barcelona ahead.
But the game dramatically swung after Barcelona defensive midfielder Marc Casado was sent off with a second booking in the 81st. Moments later Jules Kounde’s poor control of a ball in his area allowed Alfon Gonzalez to pick his pocket and give the hosts hope in the 84th minute.
Celta poured forward at Balaidos Stadium and Hugo Alvarez rifled in the 86th-minute equalizer with Barcelona unable to mark the extra man.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, however, said that he saw it coming since his team had never been able to establish their passing game and was making mistakes even when up 2-0.
“It was not only the 10 last minutes, it was the whole match. We played today a really bad game,” Flick said. “The passing game for us was bad. We made a lot of mistakes and at the end we had no confidence with the ball.”
This was Barcelona’s second straight stumble since Lamine Yamal was sidelined with a right-ankle injury. Barcelona lost 1-0 at Real Sociedad without Yamal before the international break.
Barcelona is seven points ahead of third-place Real Madrid, which has played two fewer games.
Koundé accepted the blame for what he called his “gross mistake” that helped give Celta hope.
“We didn’t do what we needed to all game, and at the end they made us pay,” Koundé said. “It starts with me. I can’t lose my focus like that. It was a gross mistake that can’t happen. I accept that it was my fault.”
The late rally by Celta came after Raphinha had led Barcelona as he filled in for Yamal on the right side of the front three.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 15th when he ran onto a long pass by Kounde that bounced over left back Óscar Mingueza, cut back to his left foot and fired home.
Lewandowski doubled the lead in the 61st after Raphinha intercepted a pass by Minqueza and set up his strike partner. The Poland striker scrambled the ball past two defenders before slotting beyond Vicente Guaita.
Lewandowski took his league-leading tally to 15 goals in 14 rounds, while Raphinha has added eight league goals.
Raphinha came close to a second goal that would have made it 3-0 when he hit the post in the 77th, just moments before the wild final stretch when it all crumbled for the visitors.
“We have to learn from this. This can’t happen just because we had a player sent off. But onto the next game,” said Gavi Paez, who started his first match since returning from a serious leg injury last season.
Atletico move into second place
Antoine Griezmann converted a late penalty to equalize and Alexander Sorloth struck an 86th-minute winner to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win at home over Alaves.
The comeback victory lifted Atletico into second place — five points behind Barcelona.
Coach Diego Simeone showed his sensitive side after the match when he choked up when speaking about this love for the team he has coached for nearly 13 years.
Valencia honor flood victims
Valencia played their first home game since last month’s devastating floods that killed over 200 people in eastern Spain.
The club honored the victims before kickoff when several fans were seen to cry during the ceremony.
Hugo Duro led the 4-2 win over Real Betis by scoring a double.
Elsewhere, Girona routed Espanyol 4-1 in a Catalan regional derby with Bojan Miovski’s first two goals since joining the club.
Mallorca forward Johan Mojica scored off a set piece from a free kick inside Las Palmas’ area to complete a 3-2 win for the visitors in injury time.
Al-Khaleej stun Al-Hilal with comeback win
- Defeat was first for reigning champions in the league in 46 games since May 2023
RIYADH: Al-Hilal lost 3-2 at Al-Khaleej on Saturday, a result made even more stunning as the all-conquering champions had been winning 2-0.
It is a defeat, a first in the league in 46 games since May 2023, that not only blows the title race wide open but shows that the champions are not invincible.
Al-Ittihad will go two points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League if they beat Al-Fateh on Sunday. It also means that Al-Nassr stay five points behind and are not out of the running.
The Blues had the better of the play from the beginning and few were surprised when Marcos Leonardo put the leaders ahead after just 12 minutes.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic won the ball on the edge of the area as Khaleej tried to play out from the back and there was Leonardo to stroke a low shot home.
Eight minutes before the break, Aleksandar Mitrovic struck with his 12th goal in the SPL this season. Salem Al-Dawsari, such a big miss for Saudi Arabia in recent World Cup qualifiers, curled over a corner and there was the Serbian striker to head home.
It seemed to be all over but then the hosts were handed a lifeline on the stroke of half time. Kalidou Koulibaly made a clumsy challenge in the area and while Yassine Bounou saved the penalty from Konstantinos Fortounis, Abdullah Al-Salem reacted the quickest to shoot the rebound home.
Al-Salem stunned Al-Hilal soon after the restart with a stunning goal. The hosts made uncharacteristic defensive mistakes and Khalid Narey fed the ball to the 31 year-old who chipped Bounou delightfully from the right side of the area.
With five minutes remaining, Fabio Martins side footed home from another Narey assist to provoke wild celebrations as Al-Khaleej move into sixth. Al-Hilal stay top but maybe not for much longer.
Spurs thrash Man City 4-0 to end 52-match unbeaten home run
- James Maddison struck twice in seven first-half minutes before Pedro Porro rubbed salt in the wounds of his former club and Brennan Johnson completed the rout
- City’s first defeat on home soil from open play since the eve of the 2022 World Cup leaves them still five points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool
MANCHESTER: Manchester City crashed to a stunning fifth consecutive defeat as Tottenham won 4-0 at the Etihad to end the English champions’ 52-game unbeaten home run on Saturday.
James Maddison struck twice in seven first-half minutes before Pedro Porro rubbed salt in the wounds of his former club and Brennan Johnson completed the rout.
City’s first defeat on home soil from open play since the eve of the 2022 World Cup leaves them still five points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, who play their game in hand at bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Sunday.
A great day for Tottenham eases the pressure on Ange Postecoglou as they climb into the top six.
City boss Pep Guardiola has committed himself to turning around the poorest run of his managerial career after extending his contract till 2027 this week.
But hopes his new deal could revitalize a City side, that have won an unprecedented four consecutive Premier League titles, proved short-lived.
Rodri paraded his Ballon d’Or trophy to the home fans before kick-off as his name was lit up across the Etihad pitch by firelight in an ostentatious show of support for the Spanish midfielder.
The 28-year-old is not expected to play again this season after suffering knee ligament damage in September and his absence has been at the heart of City’s demise.
Guardiola’s men did start strongly as Guglielmo Vicario denied Erling Haaland and the Norwegian had another shot deflected wide.
But the momentum of the match completely swung on Tottenham’s first serious attack after 13 minutes.
Dejan Kulusevski’s teasing cross picked out Maddison who applied a cool first-time finish.
Maddison had found himself frozen out of Postecoglou’s starting line-up in recent weeks and was keen to prove a point to his manager.
Son Heung-min’s inventive pass freed the England international inside the box and he dinked the ball over the advancing Ederson to double Spurs’ lead.
Inconsistency has been the scourge of Tottenham’s season so far.
A 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich before the international break saw Postecoglou’s men slip to 10th in the table.
But they have now twice won comprehensively in Manchester after a 3-0 win over United at Old Trafford.
Dominic Solanke was denied by a fine Ederson save with the chance to make it 3-0 before half-time.
Spurs, though, were not to be denied seven minutes into the second period.
The excellent Kulusevski crossed for Solanke and he patiently laid the ball back for Porro to blast home from close range.
Haaland clipped the bar from an almost impossible angle as City labored to find a response.
Instead, they were hit with one final sucker punch as Timo Werner eased past Kyle Walker and crossed for Johnson to tap home at the far post.
The one glimmer of hope for City may be the return of Kevin De Bruyne after a two-month injury absence as a late substitute.
However, Guardiola has to find solutions fast if his side’s title defense is to be maintained into the new year.
A daunting trip to face Liverpool at Anfield is next up in the Premier League, where City have not won in front of a crowd since 2003.
Odegaard inspires Arsenal to reignite title hopes
- Victory at the Emirates lifts them to 22 points, level with third-placed Chelsea
- Captain Odegaard was making his first appearance at the Emirates since late August and showed what a huge miss he was for Arsenal
LONDON: Mikel Arteta said his Arsenal team “flows in a different way” when Martin Odegaard is playing after the Gunners crushed Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday to end their winless run.
Stunning strikes from Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey and a first Premier League goal for teenager Ethan Nwaneri gave Arsenal a first victory in five league games, reigniting their title challenge.
Arsenal, Premier League runners-up for the past two seasons, started the campaign strongly but their form dipped and they kicked off on Saturday nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
Victory at the Emirates lifts them to 22 points, level with third-placed Chelsea.
Arsenal took the lead in the 15th minute when Saka exchanged passes with Odegaard on the edge of the area before lashing a left-footed shot into the roof of the net.
Captain Odegaard was making his first appearance at the Emirates since late August and showed what a huge miss he was for Arsenal during his two-month injury absence.
Time and again the Norwegian found space in the penalty area with his quick feet and he teed up Gabriel Jesus, who curled narrowly wide, before linking up with Saka again.
Partey doubled Arsenal’s lead early in the second half after collecting Saka’s pass 20 yards out and taking a touch, before curling his shot away from the dive of Matz Sels and inside the far post.
Seventeen-year-old Nwaneri tucked away Raheem Sterling’s cutback to wrap up an emphatic win in the 86th minute.
“I think we started really well,” Arteta told the BBC. “The sense I was getting in the last 48 hours after the international break, the boys coming together and were all at it.”
Speaking about Odegaard, who returned to action at Inter Milan earlier this month, he said: “It’s not a coincidence. The team flows in a different way when he is playing.”
And he also had warm words for Nwaneri.
“He is the second-youngest (Premier League goalscorer) in our history,” Arteta said. “That’s a story in itself.
“He’s brave. You see the reaction of fans and they were singing ‘He’s one of our own’. I think we have to put brick by brick and make sure the cement doesn’t get dry. Hopefully we can build a beautiful thing with him.”
Riyadh retains Chestertons polo title in Dubai
- Saudi team secures 6-5 victory over Egyptian opponents in final match
DUBAI: The Riyadh polo team have successfully defended their title as Chestertons MENA Polo in the Park champions for a second year after defeating their Cairo rivals in Dubai on Saturday.
The Saudi team secured a 6-5 victory over their Egyptian opponents in the final match, which was held at Dubai’s Desert Palm Polo Club.
Amr Zidan, chairman of the Saudi Polo Federation, awarded the championship trophy to Khalid Al-Omran, the Riyadh team captain.
Representing Riyadh alongside Al-Omran were Rayan Al-Ajaji, and professional players Santos Iriarte (Argentina) and Guillermo Li (Peru).
The tournament featured four teams: Riyadh, Cairo, London, and Dubai.
It was the second Chestersons Polo in the Park event to be held in the Middle East after having been held in London for over a decade.
