WORLD OF SPORT
▷▷▷ Bathing bowls are used for Kawasaki celebration Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale were left with a bittersweet taste after retaining their J-League title at the weekend but celebrated in unusual style – by waving bathing bowls at their fans. The Swarovski-designed wooden buckets, used by Japanese to pour water on themselves and remove soap before entering a bath, cost around US US$10,000 (Dh36,700) each. They were used after Frontale wrapped up backto-back championships, despite losing 2-1 at Cerezo Osaka. “It feels totally different to last year’s championship,” admitted Kawasaki veteran Kengo Nakamura. Kawasaki’s players joyfully raised their buckets – an inside joke punning the Japanese word “furo” (bath) with “Frontale” – but their title win was overshadowed by Japanese rivals Kashima Antlers, who won the Asian Champions League final in Tehran on Saturday. “Gorgeous buckets,” purred Nakamura nonetheless. “This club thinks of everything!”
▷▷▷ A-League sides unite in anger at racial abuse Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers united in condemnation after their A-League action was marred by the racial abuse of goalkeeper Jamie Young by a fan. Roar keeper Young, who is of Sri Lankan and Scottish descent, was abused by a Wanderers supporter during their clash in Sydney, which ended 2-2 after Brisbane staged a comeback from two goals down. “Brisbane Roar Football Club condemns the incident of racism directed at goalkeeper Jamie Young,” the club said in statement. The Wanderers said supporters nearby alerted security officials and the perpetrator was thrown out of the stadium and would be banned from future homes games. It was not clear what he said. “This behaviour is deplorable and not acceptable at any Wanderers event, just like it should not be accepted anywhere in society,” the club said.
▷▷▷ West Ham must do better, says Snodgrass West Ham United midfielder Robert Snodgrass feels his side should be challenging much higher up the Premier League table. The London club are mid-table after an inconsistent start to the season and had to rely on a goal 16 minutes from time from Felipe Anderson to earn them a 1-1 draw with struggling Huddersfield Town on Saturday. “We want to be looking further forward and up the table, that’s where we need to be looking,” said Snodgrass. “We need to win these games. No disrespect to Huddersfield, but we need to win them. We must push forward and believe we can go and win it.”