PARIS: The world union of professional footballers FIFPRO said it was “shocked and sickened” by the risk of Iranian footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani being sentenced to death in connection with protests which have shaken the country for three months.
Nasr-Azadani was arrested in the city of Isfahan two days after allegedly taking part in an “armed riot” in which three security agents were killed on September 16, Isfahan’s judiciary chief Abdullah Jafari said, quoted Sunday by Iran’s ISNA news agency.
Jafari said the 26-year-old had been accused of “rebellion, membership in illegal gangs, collusion to undermine security and therefore assisting in moharabeh” — or “emnity against God” — a capital crime in the Islamic republic.
“FIFPRO is shocked and sickened by reports that professional footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani faces execution in Iran after campaigning for women’s rights and basic freedom in his country,” the union wrote on its Twitter page late Monday.
“We stand in solidarity with Amir and call for the immediate removal of his punishment.”
The alarm comes after a global outcry following the execution by Iran in the past days of two young men arrested over the protests.
Nasr-Azadani, who played at Under-16 level for the national team, began his football career with Tehran team Rah-Ahan, with whom he played for the first time in Iran’s top flight league.
The defender briefly played for Tractor SC under former Wales coach John Toshack and is currently at FC Iranjavan Bushehr.
Former Iranian international star Ali Karimi, a strong supporter of the protests, backed the footballer in a tweet, saying “Do not execute Amir.”
The Iranian national team took part in the World Cup in Qatar and staged their own protest by refusing to sing the national anthem in their opening match against England.
However, they rolled back to sing the anthem for subsequent matches against Wales and the USA.
Iran is facing protests sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who died after she was arrested by morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
According to Amnesty International, 11 people have been confirmed to have been sentenced to death over the protests and at least another nine, including Nasr-Azadani, risk being sentenced to death.
Iran calls the protests “riots” and says they have been encouraged by its foreign foes.
Prominent former international star Voria Ghafouri was arrested in Iran last month after he backed the protests and condemned the crackdown but was later released on bail.
Footballer union ‘sickened’ as Iranian player risks death sentence
https://arab.news/zp732
Footballer union ‘sickened’ as Iranian player risks death sentence
- Nasr-Azadani was arrested in the city of Isfahan two days after allegedly taking part in an “armed riot” in which three security agents were killed
Al-Shehri wins Jeddah derby for high-flying Al-Ittihad
- As derbies often are, this was high-paced, frenetic affair but there was a little quality missing in the final balls
- Goalscorer’s timely reminder to Saudi Arabia’s coach Herve Renard
JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Ahli 1-0 on Thursday in a tightly-contested Jeddah derby. The result means the victors are level on points with Al-Hilal at the top of the Saudi Pro League, while the losers are left languishing in mid-table.
Saleh Al-Shehri reminded returning Saudi coach Herve Renard of his attacking instincts by grabbing the only goal of the game before the break.
Al-Ahli came back into it in the second half but could not get back on level terms.
Coach Matthias Jaissle will be hoping that the efforts of his side will be enough to keep him in his job as the Greens continue to struggle.
In a league that produces some of the best fan tifos around, there was another special one as the teams took to the King Abdullah Sports City pitch. Al-Ittihad came up with a colorful clenched fist, and the home fans were entitled to be confident as their team were boasting 10 wins from the last 11 games.
Even without their star striker Karim Benzema, who had picked up a hamstring injury, the Tigers made most of the early running.
There were some nerves for Al-Ahli early on when Houssem Aouar went down in the penalty area but, despite a VAR check, the game continued.
Soon after, Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi, deputizing for the injured Edouard Mendy, had to get down well to prevent more danger from the left.
This was a fast-paced, frenetic affair, as derbies often are, but there was little quality in the final balls. Then, four minutes before the break, Al-Ittihad broke the deadlock with a simple but effectively worked goal.
Al-Ahli had just had a penalty review refused when a long ball from goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic found Moussa Diaby free on the right. The French winger waited inside the area, twisting and turning, before getting to the byline and pulling it back to Al-Shehri, who had drifted intelligently into space on the edge of the six-yard box. The Saudi Arabian international striker side-footed home to give his side a deserved lead.
One almost became two within minutes. Al-Shehri’s backheel inside the area gave Muhannad Al-Shanqiti a chance to pick his spot but his low shot was deflected onto the post. From the resultant corner, Al-Ittihad again hit the woodwork as Abdulelah Al-Amri headed powerfully against the underside of the bar.
The second half was a big one for Al-Ahli and it started with Saad Yaslam forcing a good save from Rajkovic.
Al-Ahli then fashioned their best chance. Ivan Toney latched on to a ball from deep, went past Rajkovic on the edge of the area and the England striker’s low shot looked destined for goal until Al-Amri sprinted back and somehow slid at the near post to put the ball behind with a heroic block.
He was powerless, though, to seemingly prevent a goal after 59 minutes. A free-kick from deep led to some ping-pong inside the area and the ball eventually fell to Franck Kessie who steered home from just outside the six-yard box. However, and following a lengthy video review, it was ruled out following the tightest of offside decisions.
Al-Ahli kept coming and Kessie shot from outside the area, the attempt looking bound for the bottom corner before Rajkovic got down well to save.
Al-Ittihad were hanging on, although Diaby hit the post in the 101st minute when through on goal after sprinting from inside his own half.
It had been a spirited second-half performance from Al-Ahli but they are stuck in mid-table while Al-Ittihad are still challenging at the top.
Attention now turns to the Riyadh derby to see what Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr — who are first and third respectively — produce.
UAE women’s team Banaat FC seeking silverware in sophomore year
- Banaat, meaning ‘girls,’ aiming for league title this season
- Founder Budreya Faisal seeks to ‘empower’ girls via football
DUBAI: Following an impressive debut in the UAE Women’s Football League last season, Banaat FC have their sights firmly fixed on the trophy in their sophomore campaign, which they kicked off with a bang last Sunday with a 5-0 win over PSA.
The brainchild of Budreya Faisal, an Emirati entrepreneur with extensive sports marketing experience, Banaat FC was founded in 2023.
Its mission is “to empower young girls in the UAE through football, providing top-tier training in a culturally inclusive environment, while championing Arab representation in the sport.”
Faisal’s vision is to provide Arab women with a football club that reflects their identity and values, starting with the club’s name, Banaat, which means ‘girls’ in Arabic.
In their first year, Banaat FC won 10 of 11 games to qualify for the top division league, which they ultimately finished in third place.
They enter this 2024-2025 campaign having signed a landmark three-year deal with Nike. This makes Banaat the first independent women’s football club in the Middle East and North Africa region to partner with the athletic footwear and apparel powerhouse.
The Banaat FC jersey design features a bougainvillea, known in Arabic as ‘Jahannamiya,’ which is the unofficial UAE flower, known to thrive in harsh conditions.
The team’s kit is available exclusively at the Nike store in Dubai Mall. “It’s the best honor to have them as our main sponsor,” Faisal told Arab News in an interview after the kit launch recently.
“I think us being in the Nike store, having our jerseys sold there, it’s not something that’s ever happened here for a women’s team. So I feel like this partnership is helping us change the game at a much faster speed.”
The partnership with Nike is about more than just a football kit. The collaboration encompasses a variety of initiatives including community events and workshops featuring international Nike athletes.
The aim is to improve the perception of women’s football in the UAE, as well as support the club’s ambition to become Dubai’s first professional women’s club.
“It’s crazy. The kit launch event was so emotional and overwhelming. I felt so proud,” said Banaat FC center-back Farah Al-Zaben.
“If you think about it, we’re only 1 year old and to be 1 year old and have a partnership with Nike, it’s not an easy thing to get. And it’s all testament to Budreya’s hard work and her belief in the vision of the club and what we’re trying to do.
“Of course we’re here to win the league, to compete, it’s the No. 1 goal for us this season, but it’s also us existing to show the other teams how it’s done properly, how it should be done.
“Because from what I’ve seen so far in women’s football, there’s not a lot of attention to details and how things are done. It’s just things getting done for the sake of it and not to actually help grow the game and expand it in the region.
“So it’s amazing. We’re talking about Nike, it’s not like any other partnership. We’re so lucky and this is just the beginning. I can’t wait to see what else is coming.”
Indeed there is a lot more in the pipeline, according to Faisal, who says community outreach events will be a key part of their work this season.
More sponsors will be onboarded as well, with the main focus being on winning the league in order to make it to the Asian Women’s Champions League qualifiers and get a chance to compete at the continental level.
UAE league champions Abu Dhabi Country Club have made history at the current inaugural Asian Women’s Champions League, by becoming the first Arab team to qualify, and then advancing to next March’s quarterfinals.
“This is the most important thing for us right now. I just sent them a message, to one of their coaches, saying, ‘I cannot wait for you to bring that trophy home.’ They can go all the way,” said Faisal.
“They’ve been here for 12 years, as the only professional club here, paying their players, having incredible staff there, they’re Abu Dhabi’s club. Them just making it that far gives us all a much bigger chance next year to improve things locally.
“Because you can’t have a team do that well and then you come back here and look at the league and find no league. It’s because of that achievement that we’re going to get a lot closer to professional football here and a lot sooner than everyone expected.”
While Banaat’s first season was filled with unprecedented milestones, it also served as a reality check for how much work needs to be done to elevate women’s football in the UAE and to professionalize the landscape.
Last season’s league featured 10 teams split across two divisions, with some eventually dropping out from the bottom one. This season there are only nine teams, and most of them are from academies, featuring younger players.
“This is tough, it’s much tougher than I thought it would be,” said Faisal.
“I’ve always worked in professional football, but with men’s football. I understand that the women’s league here is still not a professional league, as in players are still not paid and we don’t have enough clubs.
“But because I come from a very professional environment, I thought it would be easy to professionalize things. But what I’ve learned is that I have to change my expectations and almost erase a lot of what I’ve learned before because this is a completely different game and industry.
It’s not just women compared to men. And there’s so much more room for growth here, so much we can impact and change, which are all good things, it’s just not as smooth as I thought it would be. And it’s also very expensive.”
Faisal believes people have underestimated the appetite for women’s football in the country. She is confident things will change with more light being shed on the game, especially through the establishment of the Asian Women’s Champions League.
CAF, the governing body for football in Africa, recently enforced a rule stipulating that all men’s clubs must establish women’s teams to obtain professional club licenses and take part in regional and continental competitions.
The AFC, Asian football’s governing body, is meant to follow suit but such licensing criteria are yet to be enforced. Once they are though, things can develop rather quickly for women’s football in the UAE.
“Imagine that many more opportunities for girls to play and to get paid to play,” said Faisal.
“That’s going to be a new experience for them all and will show them what it’s like to actually be professional footballers. Because our players are as committed as any professional.
“They commute from Abu Dhabi, Khor Fakkan, Al-Ain, everywhere, four times a week, to come to training for an hour and a half. So they spend a good four to five hours in the car, just to come and train, and they don’t get paid.
“So they’re doing more than what men are doing, because men get paid to live in the same city. They’re putting in more effort for no financial return. But they know that, at least the girls on my team, that we’re here to change that for the better and push other clubs.
“And already we’re talking to other pro clubs and helping and advising them on their women’s programs. Because they’re seeing the appeal. So it’s going to change a lot of things for women here.”
Among the difficulties faced by Banaat in year one was multiple coaching changes. They have found stability with their current coach, Shamel Soqar, who took the helm midway through last season and helped steady the ship.
“We’re all grateful for him, because we believe he kept the team going,” said Al-Zaben, who has played for Jordan on different age-group national squads and competed at the U17 Women’s World Cup in 2016.
“Three different coaches in one season; we started off winning each and every single game, but we didn’t end up on the best note. But if anything this is just going to drive us to do better this season, fight for every single game as if it’s the final game,” said the 25-year-old.
“Because this season is different, everyone is seeing what we’re doing, it’s not just the social media part of things, but also the hard work we’re putting in as players, as coaches, as management, there’s a lot behind the scenes, especially for this season, because the mentality is different.
“Last season it was our first season ever, the team was two months old, we were there to do our best and hopefully get a result. But this season we’re there to win it and nothing else, there’s no other option.”
Al-Zaben added: “I’ve never seen the team this committed and working this hard because this season we’re literally taking it personal, every single game we’re there to win, and nothing else.”
Faisal has full faith in the team and says all their preseason performance testing showed significant improvement in the players’ physicality and agility after eight weeks of intense training.
“Everyone has improved drastically, which is incredible. So we’re after the trophy, we want to win, we want to go play in the Asian Women’s Champions League. So performance-wise we want it all and we’re ready,” said Faisal.
Hull, Babnik and Sobron lead Aramco Team Series Riyadh
- Hull came out at a blistering pace, with four birdies and an eagle wrapping up her front nine of six-under-par
- The Ladies European Tour’s rising star Chiara Tamburlini led her team to equal the record of 23-under-par
RIYADH: A strong opening day of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Riyadh saw three players share the clubhouse lead as Charley Hull, Pia Babnik and Luna Sobron each finished at seven-under-par.
Hull came out at a blistering pace, with four birdies and an eagle wrapping up her front nine of six-under-par, as she began the hunt for her first win since 2022 at this week’s Golf Saudi organized event
The English star, who has finished in second place twice on the series this year, added a further two birdies to her scorecard, before walking off with a bogey on the 18th, after just missing a short putt.
“It's a very, very scoreable golf course,” said Hull reflecting on her day. “You could shoot 60 – I was looking to shoot a 58 after the front nine - but yeah, I played well.
“It was a shame about my putt on the last, it just bobbled. It went straight down like a line on the green, but I played pretty decent.”
When asked about her increased length off the tee this year, adding 10 yards, Hull was unfazed – explaining this is just a biproduct of her own personal fitness drive.
“I don’t train for golf,” she explained. “I have no interest in doing golf training like I just trained for me. In my mind that’s what's happened. I’ve hit it a bit longer, it’s bit of a bonus.”
Also in the clubhouse at seven-under-par was Slovenian Pia Babnik, winner of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF in Jeddah in 2021, aged just 17. After bursting onto the scene, Babnik finished 2022 ranked 67th in the world, but has since struggled for form, dropping as low as 512th.
Coincidentally, Babnik was introduced to her new coach, Matt Belsham, through Charley Hull – who has helped Babnik to rebuild both her confidence and her technique.
“I’ve been working with him since last August,” said Babnik. “It’s just been amazing. He helped me a lot. I still have my dad as a coach, but it’s just good to have Matt. He completely changed my swing to be more compact and, yeah, just more stable.
“My technique was just terrible, so we’re still working on that, and then the power will come back as soon as I get the feel of the new technique.”
Spaniard Luna Sobron found herself at the top of the leaderboard early in the day, finishing the day at seven-under-par. Following a year battling injuries and losing her LPGA tour card, it’s a welcome return to form for Sobron – made all the more impressive by the fact it was her course debut.
“It’s a really good course,” said Sobron following her round. “I only had nine holes of practice on Tuesday and nine on Wednesday, but you can really score low with the right shots.”
“My putting was on fire, I made nearly all of them. I have changed up my putter, and now I’m using aimpoint – so I feel like everything has become much clearer to me.”
There was also a hole-in-one early in the day, as South Africa’s Cassandra Alexandra walked off with an ace on the sixth hole – a 165-yard par-three. The magical moment was actually missed by Alexandra, following on from some debate with her caddie on what club to use.
“I didn’t see it!” she admitted. “It was Anabel Fuller’s mum who told me, and I was like, ok cool! My caddie had a nine iron in mind, but I thought a chippy eight would be good… and chippy eight it was. I missed a few putts, if I could have made one or two more, I would have been even happier, but three under for the day, I’ll take it.”
In the team element, the Ladies European Tour’s rising star Chiara Tamburlini led her team to equal the record of 23-under-par, a single day scoring record for the series. After winning the team event in Shenzhen, Tamburlini is keen to become the first ever captain to win successive titles.
Tamburlini’s group is made up of Anne-Charlotte Mora, Mimi Rhodes and amateur Teniel Chu – who contributed with an incredible 11 net birdies to the team score.
“We had a great team again, and we all played well,” said Tamburlini. “But to be top again, it just shows as well how much I love this format and how well it suits my game and my mental game especially. Hopefully we’ll get it done tomorrow.”
Day two of the tournament begins on November 1, at Riyadh Golf Club. For more information, visit www.aramcoteamseries.com.
Pakistan’s Noman Ali, Saud Shakeel move into top 10 Test rankings after England heroics
- Saud Shakeel moves to seventh spot in Test batters ranking while Noman Ali secures ninth spot in bowlers ranking
- Shakeel scored match-winning 134 against England in Rawalpindi Test in which Ali took nine wickets to script Pakistan win
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani cricketers Saud Shakeel and Noman Ali moved into the top 10 Test batter and bowlers’ rankings for the first time in their careers, the International Cricket Council (ICC) reported this week, based on their heroic performances against England this month.
Pakistani spinner Noman Ali and Sajid Khan spun Pakistan to a series victory against England this month, taking 39 wickets in two Test matches against the visiting side.
In Rawalpindi, Ali took nine wickets to spin Pakistan to victory over England in the series decider while Shakeel bagged the Player of the Match award for his stellar knock of 134 that helped Pakistan pile on an impressive lead.
“Left-handers Saud Shakeel of Pakistan and Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand have moved into the top 10 for the first time in their careers,” the ICC wrote on its website on Wednesday.
“Shakeel has advanced 20 slots to reach seventh position after his knock of 134 won him the Player of the Match award.”
Ali also made “huge progress” in the ICC bowlers’ rankings, as per the ICC.
“Noman is in the top 10 for the first time, moving up eight slots to ninth position after finishing with nine wickets in Rawalpindi as Pakistan won by nine wickets to clinch the WTC series 2-1,” the ICC said.
Pakistan’s series victory over England came after the South Asian side suffered a humiliating 2-0 loss to Bangladesh at home. This marked the first time Pakistan won a Test series at home after defeating South Africa in 2021 nearly four years ago.
Test cricket hat-tricks highlight an outstanding group of bowlers
- The feat has been achieved 46 times in men’s test cricket and three times in women’s Tests
It seems only fair and balanced that, after last week’s coverage of triple centurions, attention should focus on players who have taken hat-tricks in test cricket.
This feat constitutes the bowler taking wickets with three consecutive deliveries, not necessarily in the same over, although this is usually the case. The feat has been achieved 46 times in men’s test cricket and three times in women’s tests. A hat-trick may be considered an equivalent feat to scoring a triple hundred, although the latter may involve greater levels of endurance. This could be reflected in the smaller number of triple centuries — 32 — compared with hat-tricks.
Cricket folklore has it that the term originated in 1858. H. H. Stephenson achieved the feat when playing for the All England Eleven against Hallam and Staveley in Sheffield. By this time, a practice had emerged of taking a crowd collection for professional players who achieved an outstanding feat. On that day, the collection was used to purchase a white hat, which was presented to Stephenson. Records suggest that it was not his first hat-trick that season. Stephenson had already taken two others, both for England, but no award was recorded. His victims were either “veterans” or in the lower order, called rabbits, so perhaps the feats were not deemed outstanding.
The first hat-trick in a test match was claimed by Fred “The Demon” Spofforth for Australia against England in January 1879, in only the third ever test match. This was 50 years before the first triple hundred was scored. It was not long before the next hat-trick was achieved.
Billy Bates of England claimed one at Melbourne in January 1893. By the turn of the 19th century, three more had been taken, all by Englishmen. Johnny Briggs of England at Sydney in February 1892, George Lohmann at Port Elizabeth in February 1896 and Jack Hearne at Leeds against Australia in June 1899, all bowled themselves into cricketing history.
The five hat-tricks at the back end of the 19th century were followed by four in the early part of the 20th. They were remarkable in that only two bowlers were involved. In January 1902 and March 1904, Hugh Trumble of Australia became the first bowler to claim two hat-tricks, both against England. Even more remarkably, he was followed in achieving this feat by Australia’s Jimmy Matthews who claimed two hat-tricks on the same day, May 28, 1912. This was against South Africa at Manchester in a triangular series with England.
Only two other players have taken two test match hat-tricks. In March 1999, Wasim Akram of Pakistan took a hat-trick in successive tests against Sri Lanka, played as part of the Asian Test Championship. Akram’s first occurred in a group stage match in Lahore, the second in the final, played in Dhaka, a neutral venue. Stuart Broad staged hat-tricks for England against India at Nottingham in July 2011 and against Sri Lanka at Leeds in June 2014.
His achievement in 2011 may not have stood had the Decision Review System been in place. India had not accepted its use at that point. Broad’s first wicket was MS Dhoni caught behind. The second trapped Harbhajan Singh in front with a perfect full-length delivery but replays suggested that Singh had got an inside edge on his bat before the ball hit his pads. The third bowled Praveen Kumar. Broad’s second hat-trick was spread over two overs, the last ball of one and the first two of his next over. The umpire had to remind Broad of his achievement.
Other hat-tricks have generated their own quirks. The first one since 1912 was taken by Maurice Allom in 1930 on his test debut. Two players have achieved the same feat, New Zealand off-spinner Peter Petherick in 1976 and Australian pace bowler, Damien Fleming in 1994, both against Pakistan. One player has taken a hat-trick off the first balls of a test match. This incredible feat was achieved by Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Zoysa in November 1999 against Zimbabwe. Indian pace bowler, Irfan Pathan claimed a hat-trick in the first over of a test match against Pakistan in 2006.
Although a hat-trick is usually considered as three consecutive balls in the same over, there have been exceptions. Australia’s Merv Hughes claimed one when the wickets fell over three overs. At Perth in 1988, he took a wicket with the final ball of an over. In his next over he took a wicket with the first ball to end the West Indian innings. When the second innings began Hughes claimed a wicket with the first ball. There have been two other occasions when a hat-trick has been taken over two innings, both against Australia by West Indians in 1998 and 2003.
Prior to 1939, eleven hat-tricks out of the 46 had been taken. It is no surprise that as the volume of test cricket increased the potential for hat-tricks increased. It did take until 1957 for the 12th one to be taken — Peter Loader for England against the West Indies. Thereafter, there is no pattern to the frequency. Since 2000, 20 of the 46 have occurred, the latest by Keshav Maharaj for South Africa against the West Indies in June 2021. The most recent one in women’s test cricket was by Rene Farrell for Australia against England in 2011. This was seven years after Shaiza Khan for Pakistan and 53 years since the first one by Betty Wilson for Australia against England in 1958.
It should be no surprise that some of the game’s finest bowlers have claimed a hat-trick. Shane Warne did so in 1994 and Glenn McGrath in 2000. It is also a surprise that others did not, most notably James Anderson and Muttiah Muralitharan, two of the leading wicket takers in test history. It seems that a specific set of circumstances need to align for the feat to be achieved. There will have been many occasions when two wickets have been claimed in two balls, but the bowler has failed to take a wicket with the next delivery. It is a common feature of both hat-tricks and triple centuries that they are rare and unexpected. Predicting when the next ones will occur is a fool’s game.
