Jumu’ah mubarak! The Friday Fill-in is The Athletic Ummah’s weekly news roundup. If you have a story or athlete you’d like to pitch for it, email us at TheAthleticUmmah@gmail.com.
The Headlines
New York to host India-Pakistan clash in 2024 T20 World Cup: India and Pakistan’s marquee group stage game at the 2024 T20 World Cup will be played in New York, one of the most famous cities in North America, according to a report by The Guardian. Those countries will be among 10 teams who will play their opening group stage games in the U.S., which is co-hosting the international cricket tournament with the West Indies in June.
Europe’s top court rules in favour of European Super League: More than two years after a European Super League (ESL) proposal rocked the foundations of the soccer world, the ESL has found its way back to the forefront of the sport following a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). On Thursday, Europe’s top court ruled that FIFA, the sport’s international governing body, and UEFA, the continent’s governing soccer body, acted contrary to EU competition law by blocking plans for a breakaway ESL. To learn more, read our co-founder’s piece about the ESL for CBC News, Canada’s national broadcaster.
Detroit Pistons lose 25th-straight game: The Detroit Pistons basketball team lost to the short-handed Utah Jazz on Thursday night, extending their winless streak to 25 losses in a row — one short of the NBA single-season record. The 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers share the record at 26. The 76ers hold the overall mark at 28, a skid that started in the 2014-15 season and carried over into 2015-16. The Pistons, who last won on Oct. 28, fell to 2-26 on the season and could match the record when they play the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
What You Might’ve Missed
In this week’s edition of “What You Might’ve Missed”, we’re covering a story from Turkey, about a club president who reacted severely in protest of an officiating decision during a Süper Lig football match.
Wait, didn’t we cover this story last week? *Checks notes.* Nope, Turkish club presidents just really like protesting calls by the referee using unconventional methods.
Turkish football had taken a brief pause after the country’s “night of shame” last week, when Turkish politician and former MKE Ankaragücü club president Faruk Koca punched a referee for what he believed was a bad call.
Koca had since resigned, been arrested and permanently banned from football, and it looked like Turkish football could finally move past what was a severe blemish on the sport’s reputation in the country.
Matches in the Süper Lig, Turkey’s top football division, kicked off again on Tuesday, Dec. 19 — and among the first games to be played was İstanbulspor vs. Trabzonspor.
Although Trabzonspor appeared to have the edge, the hosts İstanbulspor were holding their own and were tied 1-1 at one point — until a Paul Onuachu finish put the favoured visitors up by a goal in the 68th minute.
That shouldn’t have been the end of the world for the hosts, as there was still plenty of time to come back and draw the match. Yet, in the 74th minute, İstanbulspor president Ecmel Faik Sarıalioğlu came to the field and ordered his players off, upset that the referee hadn’t awarded İstanbulspor a penalty prior to Onuachu’s goal.
Personnel tried to get Sarıalioğlu to rethink his decision, including Trabzonspor’s president Ertuğrul Doğan. Several İstanbulspor players also attempted to convince Sarıalioğlu to keep them on the pitch — defender Simon Deli was seen on one knee pleading with Sarıalioğlu.
But the Turkish club president’s decision was final. İstanbulspor abandoned the field and the game was suspended.
“It is a sad day for football,” said Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avcı.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) hasn’t yet decided on the match, though according to their rules, “a team that leaves a competition will be declared a loser by default, and in addition, the number of points awarded in case of victory will be deducted from its existing points.”
İstanbulspor is currently bottom of the table and five points behind 19th-placed Pendikspor, and what happened on Tuesday could significantly endanger the club’s hopes of avoiding relegation.
Muslim Athlete of the Week
The UFC is experiencing a golden age of talented Muslim mixed martial artists — and if you tuned into last Saturday’s UFC 296 event, you saw one of those talents continue to hit new heights.
On Dec. 16, Kazakh welterweight fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov stepped into the octagon for one of his toughest fights yet, against respected UFC legend and two-time title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
The 29-year-old went into the bout with a perfect 17-0 record, including an undefeated 5-0 record in the UFC. But while Rakhmonov was the favourite, Thompson was no slouch — he had won three of his last five fights, and TKO’d Kevin Holland in his last fight in Dec. 2022.
Furthermore, Thompson had never been submitted in his 19-fight UFC career, which was an interesting challenge for the submission artist that is Rakhmonov to navigate.
Throughout the fight, Rakhmonov forced Thompson to work to remain upright. He’d pin the American against the fence, pulling his leg away to get Thompson to focus on keeping himself balanced.
In the first round, this didn’t amount to much other than some control time and points on the scoresheet. But in the second round, Rakhmonov was able to use that pressure to actually get Thompson to the ground.
From there, Rakhmonov methodically worked to get Thompson into a few submission attempts: first, a rear-naked choke that Thompson squirmed out of, and then d’arce choke that Thompson escaped.
But as Thompson scrambled out of the d’arce choke, Rakhmonov locked him into a rear-naked choke. There was no escape for Thompson this time, even with seconds left on the clock. Thompson tapped out at 4:56 of the second round, securing the victory for Rakhmonov.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, Rakhmonov revealed that he wasn’t fully fit when he stepped into the octagon with Thompson.
“I had a very serious injury and I was even close to pulling out from the fight, but I decided to risk it all,” Rakhmonov said through a translator on the UFC post-fight show, “and that’s why I didn’t kick it with my legs, just used my knees. But thanks God, I got the victory.”
With the win, Rakhmonov improved his overall record to 18-0 and his UFC record to 6-0. He’s now finished every opponent he’s stepped into a UFC octagon with, almost all by submission. It’s also the third time in his last five fights that Rakhmonov submitted an opponent using a rear-naked choke.
Rakhmonov received a hero’s welcome after returning to his native country, which is unsurprising given he’s already one of Kazakhstan’s greatest athletes of all time. Rakhmonov also jumped two positions in the UFC’s welterweight rankings, to 3rd behind Kamaru Usman, Belal Muhammad and the division champion Leon Edwards.
For his top-class performance against one of the UFC’s most admired fighters, Rakhmonov is The Athletic Ummah’s Muslim Athlete of the Week.
Headline image credit: mmafighting.com