Man United raid rival Man City to hire Omar Berrada as new CEO
Manchester, Jan 21: Manchester United announced Omar Berrada as its new CEO on Saturday night after raiding rival Manchester City in a dramatic statement of intent. Man United had been looking for a successor to Richard Arnold, who left the club in November, and Berrada appears to fit the bill following his success both on and off the field with City Football Group. Berrada has been at Man City for nearly a decade, most recently as the chief football operations officer. Britain’s PA news agency said it understands that United owners Joel and Avram Glazer appointed Berrada in consultation with Jim Ratcliffe, whose Ineos firm has agreed a deal to buy up to a 25% stake in the Premier League club. Berrada’s start date with his new club will be revealed in due course by United, who confirmed Patrick Stewart will continue as interim chief executive for the time being. (AP)
AC Milan goalkeeper Maignan walks off field after racist chants
Udine (ITALY), Jan 21: AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan walked off the field after being subjected to racist chants by Udinese fans during a top-tier Italian league game on Saturday – prompting the match to be suspended briefly during the first half. Shortly after Milan had scored to take a 1-0 lead and Milan was about to take a goal kick, Maignan signalled to his teammates to stop, walked to the referee and then to the sideline. Teammates attempted to console Maignan on the sideline but then the France international took his gloves off and walked down the tunnel leading off the field. Maignan, who is Black, had also told the referee about monkey chants earlier during the match, prompting an announcement in the stadium asking fans to stop. The Serie A game resumed about five minutes after the suspension when Maignan and teammates came back out. Milan won 3-2. Udinese will likely be hit with a partial stadium closure for its next home match. Maignan says too many people are “complicit” in allowing racism to continue blighting football, and urged authorities to take stronger action. (AP)
Man Singh wins gold at Asian Marathon Championships
Hong Kong, Jan 21: Man Singh became only the second Indian man to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Marathon Championships as he won the race with a personal best time here on Sunday. The 34-year-old Man Singh clocked two hours, 14 minutes and 19 seconds (2:14:19) to win the competition. His earlier best was 2:16:58, which he had clocked while finishing 11th in the Mumbai Marathon last year. China’s Huang Yongzheng took the silver with a time of 2:15:24 while Kyrgyzstan’s Tiapkin Ilya came third in 2:18:18. Another Indian in the fray, AP Belliappa finished sixth with a time of 2:20:20. In the women’s marathon race in Hong Kong, Ashvini Madan Jadhav finished eighth with a time of 2:56:42 while Jyoti Gawate ended at 11th in 3:06:20. Gopi Thonakal was the first Indian man to win the Asian Marathon Championships title in 2017. He had clocked 2:15:48 to win the gold in Dongguan, China. Man Singh’s time on Sunday was below the Paris Olympics qualifying mark of 2:08:10. He had finished eighth in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year in 2:16:59. (PTI)
Raiza-Gurjoat pair wins bronze in skeet mixed team in Oly qualifiers
Kuwait City, Jan 21: Young Raiza Dhillon, who had secured a Paris Olympics quota for India, partnered with Gurjoat Khangura to clinch a bronze in the skeet mixed team event and pick up her third medal of the Asia Olympic Qualification Shotgun competition here on Sunday. The Indian pair outshot local favourites Abdullah Alrashidi and Eman Al Shama 41-39 in the second bronze medal match. The 19-year-old Raiza had won a silver and a Paris Olympic berth in the women’s skeet individual event on Saturday, as did Anantjeet Singh Naruka in men’s skeet. Raiza had also won the women’s skeet team gold. India concluded the competition with one gold, three silver and four bronze medals for a fourth place finish on the overall standings. The skeet mixed team event will make its debut in the Paris Olympics and India has done quite well in the build up to it. (PTI)
Burkina Faso rue Bounedjah’s late goal as Algeria draw in Africa Cup
Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Jan 21: Baghdad Bounedjah scored very late to lessen the danger of Algeria’s second straight Africa Cup of Nations group-stage exit by salvaging a 2-2 draw against Burkina Faso on Saturday. Burkina Faso fans were already celebrating what they thought was their team’s progress to the last 16 when Bounedjah rose high to head Adam Ounas’ corner past goalkeeper Hervé Koffi in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time. It was Bounedjah’s second goal after he cancelled Mohamed Konaté’s first-half header by equalizing shortly after the break. Burkina Faso substitute Bertrand Traoré scored with another penalty for “The Stallions.” The Aston Villa forward, who also scored late in the 1-0 win over Mauritania, sent his spot kick down the centre of the goal in the 71st minute. Bounedjah’s late equalizer left Burkina Faso on four points after two games, behind group leader Angola. Gelson Dala scored twice to help Angola defeat Mauritania 3-2 in the other Group D game. (AP)