Human rights group wants Sheikh Salman barred from FIFA presidency race

October 27, 2015

Zurich, Oct 27: A Washington-based human rights group denounced Sheikh Salman`s bid for FIFA President on Monday (October 26), saying the Bahrani football official was involved in human rights abuses following the wave of pro-democracy demonstrations that swept that country in 2011.

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"We believe that he should not be allowed to run for the presidency of FIFA, primarily for his role in the crackdown against protesters and athletes in Bahrain in 2011. Sheikh Salman was complicit in aiding and abetting crimes against humanity against the players of the Bahrain National Football team as well as other sports staff and athletes some of whom remain in jail or suspended from the game until this day," Kate Kizer, spokesman for Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) told Reuters.

Kizer said Salman served as chairman of a Bahrain commission that identified athletes for punishment for taking part in the 2011 protests.

"Sheikh Salam has repetitively denied these claims against him. There is solid evidence that he aided these crimes that lead to their torture in 2011 and I really don`t think it speaks to the ethics or meritocracy that FIFA was set up to govern this world`s loved sport and so him actually being a competitive candidate for the presidency is absolutely concerning to the rest of the football world," she added.

The group tried unsuccessfully to include the charges in Michael Garcia`s ethics report that examined the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.

"In 2013, ADHRB (Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain) wrote to the FIFA ethics committee asking for an investigation to be opened into these specific claims. Michael Garcia, the president of the ethics committee at the time, corresponded that it was outside the purview of the ethics committee to investigate these claims. We hope that with his official bid for the presidency, that FIFA will reopen an investigation into these allegations," Kizer said.

In 2013, Sheikh Salman was elected president of the Asian Football Confederation with the backing of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and has previously denied the claims against him.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in a statement on Sunday it had offered overwhelming support to Sheikh Salman who had assured it "that his campaign will be entirely self-financed."

The Bahraini, closely allied to Kuwaiti Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the most powerful men in the Olympic movement, canvassed opinion from Asian associations last week.

Sheikh Salman will face another member of Arab royalty in the election as Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein has already submitted his nominations.

On Saturday, South African former Apartheid-era political prisoner turned businessman Tokyo Sexwale announced he would be standing in the election after winning backing from the South African Football Association.

Former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder David Nakhid says he has submitted his papers to FIFA along with former FIFA Deputy General Secretary Jerome Champagne and Platini. Zico, the former Brazilian World Cup player, has said he wants to stand but it is not known if he has been able to receive the necessary support.

FIFA has been rocked by the U.S Department of Justice`s decision on May 27 to indict 14 soccer officials and sports marketing executives in a corruption investigation. Swiss authorities are also investigating FIFA while FIFA`s Ethics Committee has handed out several bans.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Melbourne, Jul 21: Cricket Australia's chief executive Nick Hockley has said that the Indian players and staff will most likely be asked to face two weeks of quarantine before the four-match Test series.

This scenario will bring the Adelaide Oval and its newly constructed hotel firmly into view as the sort of biosecure bubble, ESPNCricinfo reported.

India and Australia are slated to face each other in a four-match Test series, which is to begin from December 4 at Brisbane.

"The two-week quarantine is pretty well-defined. What we are working on is making sure that even within that quarantine environment, the players have got the absolute best training facilities, so that their preparation for the matches is as optimal as it can possibly be," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hockey as saying.

"Certainly the fact that the Adelaide Oval has a hotel. It does provide a facility not dissimilar to Old Trafford or Ageas Bowl where the hotels are integrated into the venue," he added.

Hockley also said that an exacting standard of biosecurity and testing would be applied before the series against India as the coronavirus cases are spiking in the subcontinent.

"It's widely known and it's unlikely that international travel restrictions would have lifted by the time that India will be due to come into the country. Clearly there will be testing regimes. We will be able to test people before that they get on to the plane and it is the nature of the situation of making sure we have the quarantine arrangements in line with government and health authority protocols," Hockley said.

"The key thing for the players is that there's regular testing and that we appropriately quarantine them when they come in and all of those plans are currently in development," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced the postponement of the T20 World Cup 2020 slated to be held in Australia from October 18-November 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the announcement, the BCCI is likely to go ahead with the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the October-November window. However, it is known where the T20 tournament will be played as cases continue to rise in India.
"I think the BCCI has made no secrets that they are considering what that means for the IPL. For us, it's about getting a bit of an understanding and certainty around what that means. Clearly, in a normal course, some of our best players are obviously top picks for those IPL teams," Hockley said.

"It's a bit premature to speculate on that. We need to understand what the plans are if any and once we understand that we will make decisions accordingly," he added.

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels there are a lot of similarities between the Virat Kohli-led Team India and the Pakistan team when Imran Khan had led it as both captains instill strong self-belief in their respective teams.

Manjrekar also said that Pakistan under Imran had found different ways of winning matches even when it seemed all was lost.

"India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self belief is strong," Manjrekar tweeted.

The cricketer turned commentator expressed his opinion after India completed a rare 5-0 whitewash with a seven-run victory over New Zealand in the final T20 International in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Manjrekar also lauded KL Rahul, now also shouldering wicket-keeping duty, for his impressive showing in recent times.

"Samson & Pant... the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat's batting 'smarts' (mind) into their game," Manjrekar wrote.

The victory at the Bay Oval saw India stretch their record for most successive T20I wins.

This was their eighth win in a row, bettering the previous three instances when they won seven successive matches.

Kohli is the most successful Test captain in Indian cricket history, winning 11 consecutive series at home and are on top of the ICC rankings.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

Hamilton, Feb 5: Talented Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India dished out a clinical batting effort to post 347 for four against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday.

Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton. Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.

Iyer's knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 runs in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.

This was after Tom Blundell featured his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.

It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe.

Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls for the opening stand.

But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India were reduced to 54 for 2.

Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).

It brought Kohli and Iyer together, and they dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.

Kohli fell against the run of play as a wrong one from Ish Sodhi (1/27) got through his defence to clip the leg stump.

Rahul though didn't let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours.

But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.

The centurion fell shortly afterwards, caught off Southee even as Rahul took control.

He reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.

Rahul's carnage meant that New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul.

Brief Scores:

India: 347 for 4 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88 not out, Virat Kohli 51; Tim Southee 2/85).

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