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In the world of football, the Chelsea women’s team manager Emma Hayes stated that women in the sport have to routinely deal with systemic misogyny and bullying. Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated the 1200th professional match of his career with a goal and an assist. From the NBA, the American legend Shaquille O’Neal mistook Tyrese Haliburton’s name with Trae Young after the NBA In-Season tournament semifinals between the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Read on to know the major highlights of the sporting world in today's sports wrap.
Football
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates 1200th professional match with goal and assist
Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated the 1200th professional match of his career with a goal and an assist. Ronaldo guided his side Al-Nassr to record a 4-1 win over Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League 2023 on Friday, December 8. With the game, Ronaldo moved closer to the record of Peter Shilton who leads the list of male players with most official appearances.
The former Real Madrid player scored shortly after the opening of the game after he tapped in a cross from Sadio Mane. Earlier, Mane had had a goal disallowed in the first minute into the game. The game also saw Ronaldo becoming the league’s top scorer with 16 goals from 16 matches as it helped Al-Nassr bounce back from a 0-3 loss against the table toppers Al-Hilal last week.
Delhi High Court issues stay order against AIFF general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran’s removal
The Delhi High Court issued a stay order against the removal of All-India Football Federation Chief Shaji Prabhakaran. The Indian football governing body removed Prabhakaran from the post of general secretary last month for breaching the trust. The decision was ratified by the AIFF executive committee. Prabhakaran took the matter to the High Court and asserted that his removal by the AIFF President was illegitimate as only the Executive Committee had the authority to terminate his services.
Emma Hayes states women in football routinely deal with systemic misogyny and bullying
The manager of the Chelsea women’s team, Emma Hayes stated that the women in football are used to dealing with systemic misogyny and bullying in football regularly, while feeling that “sport is the last place in society where that male privilege exists.” The comments from the 47-year-old came after Joey Barton, the former Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers player, stated that women “should not be talking with any kind of authority” about men's football.
Erik ten Hag says it’s up to Jadon Sancho to facilitate his return to Manchester United’s first team
Erik ten Hag, the Manchester United manager, stated that it is up to Jadon Sancho to do what’s required of him for a return to the first team of the club. After being sidelined from the first team training due to a disagreement with Erik ten Hag, the English winger Jadon Sancho is rumoured to be moving away from Manchester United, to which the manager said, “What will happen there, he knows what he has to do, if he wants to return it is up to him. It is about a culture and every player has to match certain standards and it was about that.”
Barcelona want £12.8m for Clement Lenglet from Bayern Munich: Reports
Barcelona are reportedly looking for £12.8m for Clement Lenglet from Bayern Munich after the French defender shared his interest in a move to Germany in the January transfer window if his current club Aston Villa cut short his loan deal with them. The Sport in Spanish has reported that Clement Lenglet could become an unexpected new source of income for Barcelona after Bayern Munich are looking for defenders in the market following the knee injury to Matthijs de Ligt.
Tottenham to consider selling Richarlison during January transfer window: Reports
Tottenham are reportedly considering a move to sell Brazilian striker Richarlison during the January transfer window amid the interest shown by the Saudi Pro League clubs. As per the Football Insider, the 26-year-old could leave Tottenham in January after the club’s board made a U-turn on his future recently after they were looking to reject all offers coming their way for him.
Some major results in football are as under:
La Liga 2023-24
- Getafe 1-0 Valencia
Bundesliga 2023-24
- Hoffenheim 3-1 VfL Bochum
Serie A 2023-24
- Juventus 1-0 Napoli
Ligue 1 2023-24
- Montpellier 0-0 Lens
Eredivisie 2023-24
- FC Twente 4-2 Excelsior
Saudi Pro League 2023-24
- Al-Tai 1-2 Al-Hilal
- Al-Nassr 4-1 Al-Riyadh
NBA
Shaquille O'Neal mistakes Tyrese Haliburton's name with Trae Young; blames on cannabis
American NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal mistook Tyrese Haliburton’s name with Trae Young after the NBA In-Season tournament semifinals between the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. O’Neal said to Haliburton, “I don’t get to see you play a lot. It was a joy watching you today. “I came in the green room, and I told Kenny, I said Kenny, Trae is the real deal.” Realising that his co-host had created a blunder, Johnson quickly quipped back and said, “So is Tyrese.” Shaq corrected himself and putting the entire blame on the cannabis, he said, “I mean Tyrese, excuse me. Ernie, it ain’t me. It’s that damn cannabis behind me. ”
Olympics'24
Russians and Belarusian players to participate at Paris Olympics as neutrals
The International Olympic Committee announced that the Russian and Belarusian players will participate in the Paris Olympics as neutrals. The IOC said that only eight players from Russia and three from Belarus qualified as neutral athletes. Earlier, Russians and Belarusians had been banned from competing internationally following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.
The IOC said, "The Executive Board (EB) of the IOC has decided that Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations (IFs) on the field of play will be declared eligible to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024."
Tennis
Nick Kyrgios withdraws from Australian Open for 2nd consecutive year
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the Australian Open for 2nd consecutive year. Continuing his struggles with a wrist injury, Kyrgios decided to pull out of the tournament. He said in a statement, "Hey guys, Nick Kyrgios here. [I have] obviously had a really tough year with injury, had that knee surgery and came back a little too soon, [which] set me back a little bit [and I have] had some wrist issues. So, this is a very disappointing time for me, but I won’t be able to compete at the 2024 Australian Open. "
