SAUDI REFEREE BANNED FOR FIXING

RIYADH: The Saudi Football Federation have banned referee Fahad al-mirdasi for life over bribery and urged FIFA to remove him from the pool of referees for the 2018 World Cup. Mirdasi was suspended for offering to take a bribe to influence the outcome of a match, the federation’s disciplinary panel said on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old is one of Saudi’s most prominent referees, having earned a FIFA badge in 2011 and officiating at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the Confederations Cup in Russia in 2017.

Mirdasi was chosen to referee Saudi Arabia’s Kings Cup final between top clubs Al-faisaly and Al-ittihad on Saturday but was pulled from the roster just a few hours before the game.

“The Ittihad president Hamad Al-sanayeh called the Saudi Football Federation to state there was evidence that Fahad Al-mirdasi had reached out via text messages on Whatsapp. He asked for an illegal sum of money in exchange for helping his team win the game,” it said. As IPL enters its business end and teams sprint around the final bend, it is anybody’s game. Teams that earlier surged ahead have lost momentum; others who gasped for breath initially have got second wind.

This season, only CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad have been consistent; Delhi Daredevils too, but in a different way. CSK is a settled team led by an astute captain who knows how to win. Sunrisers have solid bowling and a captain who keeps finding new ways to win. The difference between the two captains is that MSD is a legend, permanent member and chairperson of IPL’S club of icons. Kane Williamson is a fresher who would have sat on the bench in Hyderabad had Warner been present.

It is interesting how the fortunes of teams change, and what causes these changes. DD underperformed