BERLIN: Max Kruse scored twice for Union Berlin to leave Borussia Mönchengladbach in crisis on Saturday after a 2-1 defeat in the Bundesliga.
It was Gladbach’s fourth straight league loss at home, just days after their German Cup exit to second-division Hannover. The latest defeat piles the pressure on coach Adi Hütter, who was already under scrutiny after losing six of the last eight games across all competitions.
“Union scored with their only chances," Hütter said. “There's no way we deserved to lose.”
Gladbach are only three points above the relegation zone and Hütter said before Union's visit that his team will be “several weeks” without captain Lars Stindl, who injured his knee in training on Friday.
Union, which were only promoted to the Bundesliga in 2019, moved fourth, the last qualification place for the Champions League.
“Today we had a bit of luck, but it can't be just luck that we have 34 points after 20 rounds. It's hard work that's paying off,” Kruse said. “For that you have to compliment the whole club for what we've delivered in the last years.”
Kruse opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a penalty awarded through VAR for a hand ball from Denis Zakaria on his comeback. Zakaria’s arm was high as Andreas Voglsammer’s cross grazed his hand.
Gladbach struck back five minutes before the break, when Breel Embolo played the ball between Robin Knoche’s legs and then found Jonas Hofmann, who waited before playing the ball in to Kouadio Koné. The French midfielder let fly inside the right post for his first Bundesliga goal.
Luca Netz had Gladbach's best chance for a winner, but fired over from close range.
Kruse made no mistake with Union’s only chance of the second half, squeezing the ball inside the far post in the 84th after Niko Gießelmann played him in.
DORTMUND RELIEF
Borussia Dortmund bounced back after their German Cup exit to second-division St. Pauli with a clinical display in Sinsheim, where the visitors scored three goals with two shots on target.
Donyell Malen set up the three as his team edged Hoffenheim 3-2 and cut the gap on Bayern Munich to three points. Bayern visits struggling Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
Erling Haaland, who scored the opening goal for Dortmund, went off in the second half with an apparent groin injury.
Haaland got the visitors off to a great start in the sixth minute after a fine one-touch move from his teammates. Raphaël Guerreiro played the ball back with his heel for Malen, who had a one-two with Jude Bellingham before crossing for Haaland to score his 16th goal of the season.
But Dortmund failed to press their advantage. American defender Chris Richards hit the crossbar and Hoffenheim missed several other chances before Andrej Kramarić scored a deserved equalizer before the break.
Malen set up Marco Reus to score with Dortmund’s second shot on goal in the 58th. Hoffenheim had had 11 goal efforts by then.
Malen set up Dortmund's next goal, too. The Dutch winger crossed for Davin Raum to turn the ball inside his own net in the 67th.
Hoffenheim’s Munas Dabbur set up Georginio Rutter in the 77th for an exciting finale, but Dortmund held on.
LEVERKUSEN FLYING
The 18-year-old Florian Wirtz starred, and Moussa Diaby scored a hat trick, as Bayer Leverkusen routed Augsburg 5-1 to consolidate third place.
Freiburg moved fifth with a 2-0 win over relegation candidate Stuttgart, and last-place Greuther Fürth claimed their second win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Mainz.
Midfielder Takuma Asano salvaged a 2-2 draw for Bochum against visiting Cologne in the late game.
Gladbach in crisis after 2-1 loss to Union, Dortmund wins
https://arab.news/mktg5
Gladbach in crisis after 2-1 loss to Union, Dortmund wins
- It was Gladbach’s 4th straight league loss at home, just days after their German Cup exit
- Borussia Dortmund bounced back after their German Cup exit to second-division St. Pauli with a clinical display in Sinsheim
Fury and Usyk fuel tensions ahead of ‘Ring Of Fire’ showdown in Riyadh
- Fury dominates press conference with his larger-than-life personality and wit as he dances on stage and generally pays little attention to his rival
- In stark contrast, Usyk displays stoic calm and unwavering determination, speaking quietly but firmly and ignoring Fury’s attempts to rattle him
RIYADH: Ahead of their highly anticipated showdown in Riyadh on Saturday, boxing titans Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk exchanged words on Thursday, setting the stage for what promises to be an electrifying encounter billed as the “Ring Of Fire.”
Their press conference ahead of the clash, which took place at Boulevard City in front of a packed audience of media representatives and fans, underscored the intense rivalry between the fighters and the high stakes of their clash.
Both men are at the pinnacle of their careers: Fury holds the WBC heavyweight title, while Usyk is the unified WBA, IBF and WBO champion. The bout on Saturday is not only a battle for individual supremacy but also represents a historic moment in boxing, with the winner set to be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999.
True to form, Fury dominated the press conference with his larger-than-life personality and razor-sharp wit. The British fighter took the opportunity to entertain the crowd with his trademark banter, danced on the stage and generally paid little attention to his rival. Clad in a striking suit, he exuded confidence and made bold predictions about the outcome of the fight.
“I’m gonna make this short and simple,” he said. “Thank God for the victory that I’ve received already. And I want to thank everybody involved in this massive event. And I want to thank Oleksandr Usyk for turning up and challenging me.”
He also thanked the fans who have traveled from around the world to support him at the event “because I know it’s tough times at the moment. Money is hard.”
He added that he is fully prepared for the challenge, saying: “I’m ready for a good fight and if it’s tough or easy, either way I’ll be ready.”
In stark contrast to Fury’s flamboyance, Usyk displayed stoic calm and unwavering determination. Known for his technical prowess and agility, the Ukrainian ignored Fury’s attempts to undermine his confidence, speaking quietly but firmly as he expressed his respect for Fury and confidence in his own abilities.
“I’m happy to be here,” he said, adding that he is excited to visit the Kingdom. “Let’s make history”
Despite the verbal jabs and competitive spirit on display, both fighters expressed mutual respect for each other’s accomplishments. Fury acknowledged Usyk’s remarkable rise through the heavyweight ranks, while Usyk lauded Fury for his resilience and fighting spirit.
This respect did little to ease the palpable tension, however, as the fighters faced off for the cameras. Though Fury refused to take part in the traditional stare-down finale, the steely gazes nonetheless served as the precursor to a fierce battle.
Usyk’s manager, Alexander Krasiuk, said: “There is only one task left. It is to take this green belt and return it to Ukraine, the country it belongs to.”
In response, Spencer Brown, Fury’s manager, said: “We have come from Britain here to win the belts and take them back.”
Fellow fighters and boxing pundits also took the stage on Thursday to share their perspectives on the big fight. Press conference host Dev Sahni noted the historical significance of the bout, saying: “Both (fighters) are going to let their fists do the talking on Saturday night. It is the fight of the century; the first undisputed world heavyweight champion will be crowned right here in Riyadh on Saturday. Do not miss it.”
American boxer Ryan Garcia described Usyk as a “hell of a man” but added: “Fury is the man. I think he is the best heavyweight of all time.”
Messi’s record $20.4 million salary dwarfs entire MLS teams
MIAMI: Lionel Messi’s record $20.45 million annual salary from Inter Miami makes him by far the best paid player in Major League Soccer but also puts him ahead of the entire squads of 25 of the league’s clubs, according to data released by the MLS Players Association on Thursday.
The players union regularly releases the full pay details of the entire league and while it was no surprise to see the eight-times Ballon d’Or winner at the top, the gulf with other players and indeed teams is striking.
Messi has a guaranteed compensation of $20,446,667 made up of a base salary of $12 million plus various bonuses.
The figures from the players’ union do not include the huge income the Argentine World Cup winner receives in commercial deals, endorsements and sponsorships from companies such as Adidas and Apple.
Messi signed his last contract with Spanish club Barcelona in 2017, a four-year deal that gave him the potential to earn 138 million euros per season including salary and add-ons.
Messi moved to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, after his contract with Barca ended and was reported to be earning between 30-35 million euros with the French club.
The 36-year-old joined Miami in July last year on a deal which runs until the end of the 2025 season but he may still be receiving payments from Barca.
Joan Laporta, the Barca president, said in January 2022 that the club were scheduled to make deferred salary payments to the player until 2025.
Toronto’s Italian striker Lorenzo Insigne, who was MLS’s best-ever paid player until Messi’s arrival, was second on the list with a guaranteed income of $15.4 million from the Canadian club.
Messi’s Spanish team-mate, Sergio Busquets, the 35-year-old former Barca midfielder, is the third top earner in the league on $8.8 million guaranteed.
Miami’s former Barca duo of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez and Spanish full-back Jordi Alba each earn $1.5 million per year.
Inter Miami’s total wage bill is $41.68 million with Toronto second on $31.41 million. Current league champions, the Columbus Crew, had a total salary cost of $15.19 million, ranked 21st in the league.
Messi shares a dressing room with a number of team-mates earning just a tiny fraction of his income — defender Noah Allen, a regular part of the matchday squad, earns a total of $91,383.
The average MLS salary is $594,390 in 2024 which is up 12.1 percent from last year.
Miami are able to pay Messi such a high salary because of the ‘Designated Player’ rule which was brought in to allow Los Angeles Galaxy to sign David Beckham in 2007 on a base salary of $6.5 million a year with his total deal earning him around $50 million in five years.
While Messi’s income is huge by MLS standards it is well below the levels of top performers in other major sports in the USA.
Last year Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow signed a five-year deal worth $55 million per season, a new league record.
The NBA’s top earner Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors makes $51.9 million.
World judo championship in Abu Dhabi attracts record entries
- 682 athletes from 110 countries set to perform at Mubadala Arena from Sunday
- World Championships will feature one of the legends of the sport, Frenchman Teddy Riner, who holds the distinction of having been both the youngest and oldest world champion
ABU DHABI: A record number of judokas will be seen in action at the Abu Dhabi World Championships Seniors 2024 Individuals and Mixed Teams to be held at Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Arena from May 19-24.
Organized by the International Judo Federation in coordination with the UAE Judo Federation, the week-long competition witnessed last-minute registrations from all parts of the world, with the number of athletes standing at 682 from 110 countries.
A total of 362 men and 320 women will compete in seven weight categories each, all vying for a share of the €1 million ($1.09 million) prize money.
The last World Championships, which were held in Doha, attracted a field of 657 judokas from 99 countries.
In Abu Dhabi, the women will compete in the -48 kg, -52 kg, -57 kg, -63 kg, -70 kg, -78 kg and +78 kg weight categories, while the men will be in action in the -60 kg, -66 kg, -73 kg, -81 kg, -90 kg, -100 kg and +100 kg weight categories.
The UAE national team will be among the leading favorites along with strong contenders from France, Japan, Brazil, Canada along with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Bahrain, Algeria and Tunisia.
The World Championships in Abu Dhabi will also feature one of the legends of the sport, Frenchman Teddy Riner, who holds the distinction of having been both the youngest and oldest world champion.
Riner became the youngest world champion when he won at the 2007 edition as an 18-year-old, and he also clinched gold at the 2023 championships in Doha last year to become the oldest champion at 34 years and 36 days.
Other world champions who will be seen in action include Yang Yung-wei of Taiwan (-60kg), Matthias Casse of Belgium (-81kg), Tajikistan’s Temur Rakhimov (+100 kg), all in the men’s competition.
Confirmed so far in the women’s categories are Italy’s Assunta Scutto (-48kg), the Canadian duo of Christa Deguchi (-57kg) and Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (-48kg) and Croatia’s Barbara Matic (-70kg).
Each gold medal winner will get almost $28,300, while the silver medal winner will get $16,000 and the bronze almost $8,700.
In the teams competition, the gold medal will fetch $98,000, the silver almost $52,200, and the bronze almost $27,200.
Mohammed Bin Tha’aloob Saleem Al-Darie, president of the UAE Judo Federation and chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee, said he is thrilled with the overwhelming response to the competition, which has given the UAE a new certificate of excellence in hosting international sporting events.
“The overwhelming response to the registration till the final hours of deadline reflects the keenness of all countries and players to participate in the competition. Not only have we been able to attract a record 110 countries, we have also managed to have most of the former and current world champions lining up for a slice of the action in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Teams from across the world have been landing in Abu Dhabi, and various national cadres have been working round the clock to ensure that everything works to precision during the build-up to the main competition on Sunday.
The draw of lots will take place on Saturday, May 18, while individual competitions will get under way from Sunday and go on till May 23. The final day of the championships, May 24, will be dedicated to the mixed teams competitions.
Hamilton says struggling Mercedes have found ‘North Star’
- “There is a long way to go,” said Hamilton
- “The energy in the team is amazing“
IMOLA, Italy: Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton offered an upbeat view on Mercedes’ future prospects on Thursday when he said the team had finally found their “North Star” in the prolonged effort to develop their car.
The Briton, without a win since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, said he was encouraged by the directional breakthrough and both the energy and resilience of the team.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the first race in Europe this year after six flyaway rounds around the world, Hamilton and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell said they were impressed by the durability of their team.
Mercedes have struggled for performance and have yet to register a podium finish this season.
“There is a long way to go,” said Hamilton. “But I am excited with what I know we have coming in the pipe-line now. We have found our North Star and we know what we want to do and what to change.
“The energy in the team is amazing. They are so resilient and continue to push all the time even though we have been knocked down quite a few times this year.”
Hamilton, who has won six of his drivers titles with Mercedes, is set to leave the team and join Ferrari next year.
FIFA urges soccer bodies to mandate racism as an offense
- Soccer’s world body detailed the tougher and more unified approach it wants to tackle racism on Thursday
- The crossed hands gesture was made on a medal podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by United States athlete Raven Saunders who won silver in women’s shot put
GENEVA: FIFA wants all 211 national federations to make racist abuse a disciplinary offense, and designate a crossed hands gesture by victims to alert referees to abuse.
Soccer’s world body detailed the tougher and more unified approach it wants to tackle racism on Thursday after months of consulting with victimized players including Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior.
The crossed hands gesture was made on a medal podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by United States athlete Raven Saunders who won silver in women’s shot put.
“It’s the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet,” Saunders said in Tokyo.
FIFA is encouraging players to copy the gesture that led to Saunders facing a disciplinary investigation by the International Olympic Committee, which has rules prohibiting political statements at medal ceremonies.
Teams whose fans or players racially abuse opponents could soon face disciplinary punishments such as forfeiting games, typically as a 3-0 loss, as part of a five-pillar pledge on tackling discrimination. They will be put to FIFA member federations on Friday at their annual meeting in Bangkok.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino promised months ago to make a worldwide proposal and has consulted with Brazil star Vinicius Junior, who is Black and has been repeatedly abused by opposing fans in Spanish stadiums.
He broke down in tears at a news conference in March before Spain hosted Brazil in a friendly organized in fallout of the persistent abuse he has faced in his adopted home.
“The time has come for football to unite to unequivocally commit as a global community to address the issue of racism in the game,” FIFA said in a letter to member federations.
FIFA also wants to create a panel of players who will “monitor and advise on the implementation of these actions around the world.”
Soccer has struggled for more than a decade to deal with racism in stadiums by agreeing and coordinating on-field responses by match officials and post-match disciplinary action by federations and competition organizers.
Calls for tougher sanctions, such as match forfeits, points deductions or even disqualification from a competition have been judged too difficult to enforce legally. They also risk enabling agitators to try and provoke incidents.
Soccer leaders in countries such as Italy and Spain have consistently denied the sport has a racism problem.
In some cases, investigations were dropped by soccer authorities including UEFA because there was no evidence beyond a claim by the player alleging abuse.
Black players who claimed they were racially abused by opponents or fans and tried to leave the field have themselves been shown a yellow card for their actions.
FIFA wants the crossed hands gesture to be the recognized signal for referees to start a long-standing three-step process at a game where racial and discriminatory abuse is heard: To pause the play and broadcast warnings in the stadium, to take teams off the field, then abandon games.
That three-step process should be mandatory across all 211 federations, FIFA said on Thursday. They also will be asked to lobby their governments to make racism a criminal offense and prosecute cases, plus promote anti-racism work in schools.
Before Saunders crossed her hands in Tokyo, the gesture was used by the men’s marathon silver medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Feyisa Lilesa raised his arms above his head and crossed his wrists at the finish line in Rio in protest against government oppression at home in Ethiopia.
Saunders initially was in trouble with the IOC for making the gesture which also was a broader statement celebrating diversity. The IOC investigation was paused days later after Saunders’ mother died.
