Sport news in brief
Families of Saudi captives ‘beg’ Premier League to block Newcastle takeover
The families of human rights campaigners held in Saudi jails have written to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters with a personal plea that the takeover of Newcastle United is not allowed to go ahead while their loved ones remain imprisoned. The letter, organised by human rights charity Grant Liberty, “begs” the competition to “do the right thing” and use its “unique opportunity to demand change”.
It is signed by the families of: Loujain al-Hathloul, a 30-year-old women’s rights activist under arrest since 2018; Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, a 36-year-old Saudi humanitarian worker and employee of Red Crescent, held since 2018; Aida al-Ghamidi and her sons Sultan and Adil, held since March 2018 because her son is a prominent opposition leader; Dr Salman Alodah, a 63-year-old scholar and campaigner for democracy potentially facing the death penalty after calling for peace on Twitter in 2017.
“In short, we are begging you to do the right thing – Saudi Arabia must not be allowed to buy its way into
the Premier League while our loved ones languish in jail under the most dreadful of circumstances,” the letter read. “They have been beaten, tortured, threatened with murder and sexual assault, held in isolation – and we fear they could die at the hands of their captors just as many, including Jamal Khashoggi, have died before them.”
Clubs hope for 40% crowds at start of new season
Premier League clubs are aiming for stadiums to be at 40 per cent capacity for the start of the 2020-21 season, as they continue to try and get supporters back amid the Covid-19 crisis. The competition has set up a working group on the issue with the government, and the latest plans would see crowds back at close to half capacity. The return of supporters is similarly seen as potentially influential for lower leagues, whose budget restrictions mean they can’t come back to play until they can generate match day income. The current plans involve at least a seat between each person, but there are some logistical issues to be worked out. The biggest area of discussion revolves around people sitting diagonally to each other, where there is a greater risk of Covid-19 infection than if someone is sat to the side or directly behind.
UK Sport denies endangering athletes at 2012 Olympics
UK Sport has denied putting athlete’s welfare at risk after a national newspaper claimed British Olympians had been given an experimental substance ahead of London 2012. The Mail on Sunday reported public money was used to provide a select band of athletes with an energy drink called DeltaG, claiming there were no guarentees the product did not cause side-effects and nor was it certain to be cleared by WADA (World Anti-doping Agency). But, in a statement issued in response to the story, UK Sport said they had consulted with both WADA and UK Anti-Doping before using the product to make sure it complied with guidelines – and that the health of athletes would not be put on the line for the sake of an improved medal haul.
“UK Sport does not fund research projects aimed at giving our national teams a performance advantage at the expense of athlete welfare,” the statement read.
Usman defeats Masvidal at UFC 251
Kamaru Usman has defeated Jorge Masvidal to retain his welterweight championship in a unanimous decision at UFC 251 in the United Arab Emirates. Masvidal, who was called in as a last-minute replacement after Gilbert Burns tested positive for coronavirus, had called Usman “mentally weak” prior to the fight. But the judges found Usman too strong as they scored the fight 50-45 50-45 and 49-46 in his favour, allowing the American to equal Khabib Nurmagomedov’s record with 12 consecutive UFC wins.