Croatian international and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has been named the best footballer for the year 2018 by football’s world governing body, FIFA. Modric beat off competition from Egypt and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and his former teammate and Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Modric, was an integral part of Madrid’s Champions League winning team, before leading his national side to runners-up position at the 2018 World Cup. He has adjudged the best player at the tournament in Russia.

It is the second major award that Modric has beaten the duo to. In August this year at an event in Monaco, Modric was named Europe’s best player.

The awards were presented at this season’s Champions’ League group-stage draw. The trophy returned to Madrid given that the holder till then was Ronaldo, who left Madrid to join Turin side, Juventus.

The Portuguese, who has three wins in total, and is the only player to have made the shortlist every year since UEFA created the award in 2011.

Salah’s one win, double loss

Egyptian international Mohamed Salah won the best goal award at the 2018 FIFA top awards ceremony. The event took place in London on Monday evening.

The Liverpool player’s goal against Merseyside rivals, Everton, in the Premier League was adjudged the best goal and winner of the Puskas Award.

The FIFA Puskás Award is an award established on 20 October 2009 at the behest of then-president Sepp Blatter, in order to award the player, male or female, judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant, or “most beautiful”, goal of the year.

Others awards given out so far are:

Didier Deschamps, Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men’s Coach 2018

Thibaut Courtois, Winner of #TheBest FIFA Goalkeeper 2018

Reynald Pedros, Winner of #TheBest FIFA Women’s Coach 2018

Kylian Mbappe, Winner of #TheBest FIFA Young Player 2018

Peru fans, Winner of #TheBest FIFA Fan Award 2018

Lennart Thy, Winner of The FIFA Fair Play Award 2018

Marta, Winner of #TheBest FIFA Women’s Player 2018

Culled from Africa News

Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has set a new marathon world record, winning the Berlin race in 2 hours, 1 minute and 39 seconds on Sunday.

The Kenyan defended his title in the German capital, pulling ahead of his competitors early on amid perfect running conditions.

He broke the previous world record set in Berlin by fellow Kenyan Dennis Kimetto in 2014 by 1 minute and 18 seconds. Race organizers initially timed Kipchoge a second slower, but later corrected the time.

Berlin debutant Amos Kipruto came second in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 23 seconds, followed by a third Kenyan, former world-record holder Wilson Kipsang, who was 25 seconds behind.

“I lack words to describe this day,” Kipchoge said after winning the race.

“They say you miss two times but you can’t miss the third time,” he said in reference to his two previous failed attempts to break the world record in Berlin.

Shogo Nakamura of Japan narrowly missed setting a new national record with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 16 seconds.

Gladys Cherono won the women’s race in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 11 seconds, a new women’s record for the Berlin marathon. The Kenyan finished ahead of Ethiopians Rutia Aga and Tirunesh Dibaba.

(AP)

An Australian cartoonist faced withering criticism on Tuesday for portraying tennis superstar Serena Williams using — what Harry Potter author JK Rowling described as — “racist and sexist tropes”.

Mark Knight’s caricature, published in Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper on Monday, showed a butch and fat-lipped Williams throwing a temper tantrum at the US Open.

In the midst of losing Saturday’s final, the 23-time Grand Slam champion smashed her racquet and called the umpire a “thief” and a “liar”.

She was deducted a point and received a US$17,000 fine, stirring the tennis world and sparking a broader debate about double standards toward men and women in the sport.

In Knight’s cartoon, Williams was seen jumping up and down having spat out a dummy as the umpire asks Haitian-Japanese tournament winner Naomi Osaka “can’t you just let her win?”.

Knight, who has a reputation for controversial cartoons, was pilloried from far and wide for his portrayal — including by a member of the US Congress and a large portion of the 22,000 people who commented on his Twitter post showing the drawing.

The detractors included author JK Rowling, who said: “Well done on reducing one of the greatest sportswomen alive to racist and sexist tropes and turning a second great sportswoman into a faceless prop.”

Knight responded to the criticism by pointing out that he had drawn an unflattering portrayal of Australian male tennis star Nick Kyrgios “behaving badly”.

“Don’t bring gender into it when it’s all about behaviour,” he said. Michael Miller, executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, which publishes the Melbourne’s Herald Sun, defended his cartoonist.

“Criticism of Mark Knight’s Serena Williams cartoon shows the world has gone too PC & misunderstands the role of news media cartoons and satire,” he said.

“Poor behaviour in any sport needs to be called out.”

The Washington Post ran a searing post about Knight’s cartoon, calling it “racist” and reminiscent of the era of racial segregation in the United States.

“Knight draws facial features reflecting the dehumanizing Jim Crow caricatures so common in the 19th and 20th centuries,” commentator Michael Cavna wrote.

Other US media pointed out that Osaka was portrayed as petite and feminine with jet blonde straight hair — in real life she has dark curly hair with blonde streaks and is taller than Williams.

Australia is a highly multicultural country, but also sees frequent public dust-ups about the use of racially and sexually loaded language. William’s loss cost her a chance to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles.

During the match she was given three code violations by Carlos Ramos — the first for receiving coaching, the second for racquet abuse and the third for verbal abuse of the umpire. The second and third violations earned Williams a point penalty and then a game penalty, giving Osaka a 5-3 second-set lead that effectively gifted her the title.

AFP

Voices in the tennis world have spoken out both in support and condemnation of US tennis champion Serena Williams after the angry outburst that cost her a game, and possibly the match, during her US Open final on Saturday.

Williams’ behaviour divided the tennis world after she called the chair umpire a “liar” and a “thief” and said he treated her differently than male players during her loss to Naomi Osaka of Japan.

Rallying in support of the 23-time Grand Slam champion, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) on Monday called for the equal treatment of all tennis players, male or female.

“The WTA believes that there should be no difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men vs. women and is committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that this was done last night,” CEO Steve Simon said in a statement.

Williams, who was seeking a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title on Saturday, was given three code violations by chair umpire Carlos Ramos in her 6-2, 6-4 loss to Osaka. The six-time US Open champion was handed a warning for a coaching violation before being deducted a point for smashing her racquet. She then had a heated argument with Ramos, which cost her a game.

Williams, who has since been fined $17,000 by the United States Tennis Association for the violations, vigorously disputed each of them during the match.

Support and condemnation

In the wake of Osaka’s first Grand Slam triumph, there were messages of support for Williams as well as those condemning her behaviour and agreeing with the umpire’s calls.

Tennis great Billy Jean King wrote on Twitter: “When a woman is emotional, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalized for it. When a man does the same, he’s ‘outspoken’ and there are no repercussions. Thank you, @serenawilliams, for calling out this double standard. More voices are needed to do the same.”

Yet Australian Margaret Court, whose tally of Grand Slam singles titles is being chased by Williams, had little sympathy for the 36-year-old American former world number one.

“We always had to go by the rules,” Court, who dominated tennis during the 1960s and early 1970s, said according to a report in The Australian.

“It’s sad for the sport when a player tries to become bigger than the rules. “Because the young player outplayed her in the first set, I think pressure got her more than anything.”

Racquet smash

The drama started when Ramos handed Williams a coaching violation early in the second set because of hand gestures made from the stands by her coach Patrick Mouratoglou. He later admitted the offence, which is not allowed in the sport but is rarely punished.

When the violation was announced Williams approached Ramos to insist she never takes coaching and would rather lose than “cheat to win”.

Things seemed to settle down as Williams went on to break Osaka for a 3-1 lead, but she gave the break right back in the next game with a pair of double faults, prompting the former champion to smash her racquet on the court.

That resulted in a second violation, meaning Osaka was awarded the first point of the sixth game. Williams, who was under the impression the first violation had been rescinded, returned to Ramos to seek an apology for saying she had received coaching earlier.

During a changeover, Williams resumed her argument with the umpire, this time saying he was attacking her character and was a “thief”. That triggered a third violation, which resulted in a game penalty that gave Osaka a 5-3 lead.

From there, Williams summoned the tournament referee to the court and said male tennis players are not punished for similar offences.

‘Williams was wrong’

Tennis great John McEnroe, one of the game’s most tempestuous characters in his playing days, said the sport must find a way to allow players to express feelings and inject their personality into the game while adhering to certain rules.

According to McEnroe, Ramos should not have given Williams a violation for breaking her racquet and should have warned her early on about what would happen if she did not move on.

“I’ve said far worse,” McEnroe, a seven-times Grand Slam singles winner, said on ESPN. “She’s right about the guys being held to a different standard, there’s no question.”

Yet Richard Ings, a former professional chair umpire who also used to be the ATP Tour Executive Vice-President, Rules and Competition, felt it was Williams who needed to apologise.

Ings once issued a warning, point penalty and a game penalty against McEnroe at the 1987 US Open for obscenities directed at the umpire.

“We should not let her record, as glowing as it is, overshadow the fact that on this day, in this match Williams was wrong,” Ings wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The decisions made by Ramos had nothing to do with sexism or racism. They had everything to do with observing clear breaches of the grand slam code of conduct and then having the courage to call them without fear or favour.”

(FRANCE24 with Reuters and AP)

Tiger Woods was named to the United States’ Ryder Cup team on Tuesday as captain Jim Furyk also added veteran Phil Mickelson and in-form Bryson DeChambeau to his line-up.

Former world number one Woods had already been assured of a trip to Paris for the September 28-30 showdown with Europe after being named as one of Furyk’s non-playing vice-captains.

However Woods’ form since his return to golf this year prompted Furyk to award him one of the four captain’s picks set aside for players who did not qualify automatically for the team.

Mickelson and DeChambeau filled the other two captain’s picks announced by Furyk on Tuesday.

The US captain will announce his final place on the defending champions’ team next week, with Tony Finau regarded as the front-runner for the position.

There had been little suspense surrounding Furyk’s announcement on Tuesday.

Woods, 42, will be playing in his eighth Ryder Cup and makes his first appearance since the 2012 event.

The 14-time major champion signalled his return to form last month with an electrifying second-place finish at the PGA Championship.

Mickelson meanwhile was regarded as a likely pick for what will be his 12th Ryder Cup appearance.

The 48-year-old reminded Furyk of his quality with a dazzling eight-under-par 63 in the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship on Monday.

DeChambeau, 24, had virtually guaranteed himself one of the captain’s picks after storming to victory in the opening two legs of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff series, winning the Northern Trust and Dell Technologies Championship.

The United States will be chasing their first Ryder Cup victory on European soil in 25 years when they face Europe at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines outside Paris.

 AFP

Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova crashed out of the US Open on Monday in back-to-back seismic shocks under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights.

Federer, the five-time champion and looking to end his 10-year wait to add to his total in New York, was beaten by Australia’s world number 55 John Millman 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/3).

It was 20-time major winner Federer’s first loss against a player outside the top 50 in 41 meetings at the US Open.

He finished with 77 unforced errors and 10 double faults.

“It was very hot. I felt I couldn’t get any air and I was sweating more and more and became more and more uncomfortable,” explained Federer.

“I guess I was happy when the match was over.”

He added: “John dealt with it better — he’s from Brisbane, one of the most humid places in the world!”

It was the world number two’s earliest defeat at the tournament since a fourth round loss to Tommy Robredo in 2013.

The result meant there would be no quarter-final showdown with old rival Novak Djokovic who will now face Millmann instead.

“I have so much respect for Roger and everything he’s done for the game. He’s been a hero of mine,” said Millman.

“Today he was definitely not at his best. But I’ll take it.”

Sharapova, the 2006 champion, suffered a second successive last-16 exit in New York, blasted off court by Carla Suarez Navarro.

The Spanish player marked her 30th birthday in style with a memorable 6-4, 6-3 win over the five-time major champion whose last Slam title was in Paris in 2014.

Federer had cruised through the first set against Millman who was appearing in his maiden last-16 at the majors.

But the Swiss, who lost in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon where he was defending champion, began to look every bit the 37-year-old he is as he struggled in the suffocating humidity.

He squandered two set points in the second set and another in the third set tiebreak as the errors piled up.

Federer was 4-2 up in the fourth set but was reeled in and two back-to-back double faults sent him 1/4 down in the tiebreak.

– ‘Break a leg’ –

The contest was over shortly before 1 a.m. when he hit a weary forehand wide.

Djokovic reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over unseeded Joao Sousa.

Djokovic, who ended a 54-week title drought with his 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, said he was relieved to get past 68th-ranked Sousa in straight sets as temperatures soared again.

“Very happy to get this one done in straight sets,” said Djokovic, who left the court for a medical evaluation early in the third set but returned to wrap things up in exactly two hours.

Marin Cilic, seeded seven, beat David Goffin of Belgium 7-6 (8/6), 6-2, 6-4 and next takes on Japan’s Kei Nishikori who saw off German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

Cilic defeated Nishikori in the 2014 final when he won his only Slam title.

Sharapova, the 2006 champion who was trying to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012, hit 38 unforced errors and dropped serve six times.

The defeat also ended the former world number one’s perfect record of 23 wins — 22 of them on Arthur Ashe Stadium — in night sessions at Flushing Meadows.

“I thought she played really well. I thought in today’s conditions, her ball was getting up on me a little bit more, much more than my previous three opponents that I played,” said Sharapova.

“I didn’t take care of the chances that I had. By ‘chances,’ I mean the balls that were a little bit shorter.”

Suarez Navarro, who was also a quarter-finalist in New York in 2013, goes on to face American 14th seed Madison Keys, the runner-up in 2017.

“Maria has played here at night many times so I knew I needed to be aggressive, focussed and play solid,” said the 30th seeded Spaniard.

Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final, beating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, tearfully admitting she was prepared to “break a leg” to win the match.

The 20-year-old became the first Japanese woman in the US Open last-eight since Shinobu Asagoe in 2004.

Osaka, seeded 20, came back from a break down in the final set to take the tie on a fourth match point when Sabalenka served up an eighth double fault.

“I would never have forgiven myself if I had lost that match,” said a tearful Osaka.

“When I was a break down in the final set I thought I would even break a leg if needed so I could get to every ball.”

Osaka will next face Lesia Tsurenko, the 36th-ranked Ukrainian who beat Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-2.

 AFP

Fifa has granted Cameroon’s five-man Normalisation Committee a three-month extension to continue managing the country’s football federation (Fecafoot).

Fifa says this second extension will enable Cameroon’s caretaker body to hold elections and manage Fecafoot’s affairs before 16 December 2018 when the mandate expires.

Set up in September 2017, it has been tasked with drafting new statutes for Fecafoot to hold free and fair elections.

However, elections can only happen if Cameroon’s sports laws – written in 2011 – are modified.

A new sports charter was brought into law in July 2018, but the election of a new executive committee has still not taken place.

Fifa stated that it was allowing the normalisation committee to stay on after Cameroon sports minister Bidoung Mkpatt wrote to them on 28 August 2018, establishing that elections could not be organised at Fecafoot because “it coincided with the holding of presidential elections in the country”.

Mkpatt added that the decision not to convene elections in August was to avoid “predictable interferences that could have marred both (presidential and fecafoot) elections”.

The caretaker committee is expected to forward a road map of activities to Fifa for validation before voting will take place.

Following the extension, Normalisation Committee member Kevin Njomo told BBC Sport the decision is in the best interests of Cameroon’s football fraternity.

“Three months is enough time for us to complete our job. Six months ago we had finished reviewing the statutes but elections weren’t held because of an audit.

“After the first prolongation, we had set dates with the adoption of texts and elections to take place from 23 June – 31 August 2018 but Fifa asked us not to proceed until the sports laws were adopted.”

“Fifa have our road map so if they decide to give us three months it’s because they know we can complete our mission. In the last 6 months we’ve met Fifa’s benchmark. Unfortunately elections just couldn’t be held under such conditions,” Njomo concluded.

Source: BBC

Thierry Henry will not be the next coach of Bordeaux, with the French club’s president confirming to AFP on Tuesday that negotiations had broken down.

“Yes, we can confirm the end of those negotiations,” Stephane Martin told AFP, following earlier reports in France and England that Henry had turned the job down.

Sky Sports, the channel for whom Henry worked as a pundit for four years before quitting last month, said late on Monday that he had refused the offer to take his first managerial role since retiring as a player.

According to French sports daily L’Equipe, Henry felt that he had not been given sufficient guarantees by General American Capital Partners (GACP), the American consortium expected to take over Bordeaux at the end of September from current owners, the media conglomerate M6.

Despite his lack of experience as a coach, appointing the 41-year-old would have been a remarkable coup for Bordeaux, the six-time French champions.

They are looking for a replacement for the Uruguayan Gustavo Poyet, whose departure from the club is expected to be made official later on Tuesday.

Poyet was only appointed in January and led the club to European qualification at the end of last season, but he was suspended earlier this month after a very public outburst at directors over transfer policy.

Henry, who had been working as an assistant coach to the Belgian national team, met GACP in New York at the end of last week having come to an initial agreement with M6.

According to reports, however, Bordeaux were surprised by his salary demands given his lack of experience as a coach. Reports say he also wanted three new signings before the transfer window closes at the end of this week.

Bordeaux had already been turned down by former coach Laurent Blanc and Remi Garde, another ex-Arsenal player who is now at Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer.

As their search for a successor to Poyet goes on, interim coach Eric Bedouet is set to take charge of the team in their next game, the Europa League play-off, second leg at home to Belgian club Gent on Thursday.

(AFP)