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
Newcastle United chairman faces lawsuit for carrying out ‘malicious’ instructions: Yasir al-Rumayyan, chairman for Newcastle United and governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is facing a $74m USD lawsuit for allegedly carrying out instructions with “malicious intent” for Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to reports. The claims also allege that al-Rumayyan acted with the aim of “harming, silencing and ultimately destroying” the family of Saad Al Jabri, Saudi’s former intelligence chief. According to The Athletic, the papers have asked a Canadian court for al-Rumayyan to be added to an existing case, and for a new claim to be brought against him and the others.
PFL vs. Bellator set for Feb. 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A massive crossover event between MMA promotions Bellator and the PFL has been scheduled for Feb. 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The card will feature four pairings of champions from each promotion, including a main-event fight between heavyweight champions Ryan Bader and Renan Ferreira. Two-time PFL champion Magomed Magomedkerimov will also participate; and Biaggio Ali Walsh, grandson of the iconic boxer Muhammad Ali, will make his pro MMA debut in the card.
Rafael Nadal becomes ambassador for Saudi Tennis Federation: Legendary tennis player and former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will serve as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation. Nadal’s new role, announced on Monday, includes promoting tennis in Saudi Arabia and plans for a Rafa Nadal Academy there.
What You Might’ve Missed
In November, we wrote about footballers who expressed support for Palestine. One of the footballers we highlighted was Karim Benzema, the famous French Muslim and one of the most iconic Real Madrid players of the 21st century.
In the piece, we mentioned that French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin had accused Benzema of having connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious and politicaql group that’s considered a terrorist organization in France.
Although no evidence was provided by Darmanin, his accusation led some people, most notably Senator Valérie Boyer, to call for the French-born Benzema to have his citizenship stripped.
Now, Benzema and his team have reportedly taken Darmanin to court. According to local media reports, Benzema has filed a defamation lawsuit against the French interior minister for his accusations.
In a 92-page complaint that was widely reported in French media on Tuesday, Benzema said he “has never had the slightest link with the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, nor to [his] knowledge with anyone who claims to be a member of it.”
“I am aware of the extent to which, because of my notoriety, I am being used in political games,” he continued. “Which are all the more scandalous given that the dramatic events since October 7 deserve something quite different from this type of statement.”
His lawyer, Hugues Vigier, told French outlet RTL that the footballer is the victim of “political exploitation” and accused the interior minister of “sowing division in France”.
He also said Darmanin’s comment “undermines” Benzema’s honour and reputation.
Darmanin’s accusation came fter Benzema posted a supportive social media message for the people of Gaza, saying: “All our prayers for the residents of Gaza who are once again victims of these unjust bombings which spare no women or children.”
At the time, a week had passed since Israel started its devastating attacks on the region — which has since killed 24,000 Palestinians, including 10,500 children.
But Darmanin was astonished that Benzema hadn’t shown support for Israelis killed on Oct. 7, telling French TV channel CNews: “We are fighting the hydra that is the Muslim Brotherhood, because it creates an atmosphere of jihadism. “
As Vigier points out though, Benzema was expressing “natural compassion” with “what many today describe as war crimes being committed in Gaza”.
Furthermore, the footballer’s comments do not “detract from the horror of the terrorist acts of Oct. 7,” he added.
Darmanin is yet to comment on the complaint, though he has previously targeted Benzema for other reasons, including his refusal to sing the French national anthem and his “proselytising on social networks.”
I’m not a legal expert, so I’m going to avoid speculating about a potential result. Nevertheless, I can’t help but applaud Benzema for sticking up for himself and not letting Darmanin’s accusation go unchallenged.
In my opinion, the best way to tackle hate speech is to challenge it, to let the person making it know they’re not going to be let off of the hook so easily. When they’re put in the uncomfortable position where they have to defend an indefensible position — especially publicly — I think the humiliation that causes will force them to rethink what they say in the future.
That’s to say I’m glad to see Benzema doing this, and I hope others follow Benzema’s example when faced with the kind of attack he had to deal with.
Muslim Athlete of the Week
The group stage may not even be over yet, but I think it’s safe to say the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been a roaring success so far, especially for neutrals.
In the week or so that this tournament has been going on for, we’ve been treated to heroic performances from unexpected teams and players, like Cape Verde topping a group with Egypt and Ghana, and Equatorial Guinea’s hat-trick hero Emilio Nsue.
Furthermore, nearly every big African team, from Egypt and Tunisia to Cameroon and Ghana, has experienced some upset at the hands of a lower-ranked nation. It’s a neutral’s paradise — and we still have three more weeks to go until the final. How spoiled we are!
Speaking of Ghana, the Black Stars have been one of the most consistent participants in AFCON in the 21st century. They most notably finished in the top 4 spots in every tournament between 2008 and 2017 (though they never won it in that timespan.) And while they have regressed in the past two editions, hiccuping in 2021 with a group stage exit, they are a team expected to make it out of the group this time around.
But as mentioned earlier, Cape Verde has surprisingly been bossing their group — at the expense of Ghana in the opener. A 2-1 loss for Ghana put their survival hopes in serious jeopardy after just a game played, and with a giant clash against Egypt looming on Thursday, Jan. 18, Ghana had to find a hero somewhere.
Enter 23-year-old midfielder Mohammed Kudus.
Kudus is probably Ghana’s top player today, and he currently plies his trade with West Ham United in England. But Kudus had missed the opener against Cape Verde with a hamstring injury, and there were concerns that he wouldn’t be back in time for the pivotal clash against Egypt.
Alhamdulillah for Ghanains though, when the clock struck kick-off, Kudus was healthy enough to start — and he made sure to make the most of it.
The first half was evenly contested, with chances for both sides. But in third minute of stoppage time, it was the Muslim midfielder that opened the scoring with a splendid goal.
After a failed challenge by an Egyptian player, Kudus accelerated between two other defenders about 25 yards away from Egypt’s goal, taking a touch to squeeze through them. Then, Kudus ripped a shot that curved inwards, between goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy and his right post. Two Egyptians slid to try to stop him, but they could only watch as Kudus scored his first ever AFCON goal and 10th in Ghanain colours. 1-0 Ghana and Kudus at the break.
21 minutes later and moments after Egypt had equalized, Kudus was hungry for another goal. This time, he received a pass from Denis Odoi on the left edge of Egypt’s box. Taking a touch to open the angle a bit more, Kudus snapped a shot to El Shenawy’s right side again. The shot appeared to be comfortable for the Egyptian goalkeeper to handle, but a slight deflection off of Mohamed Abdelmonem’s surprised El Shenawy and gave Kudus his second goal of the game.
For the 23 year old, it was his 11th goal for the senior national team and his first multi-goal game for Ghana since their 3-2 win over South Korea in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Despite the goals, Egypt would equalize again shortly after, and the two sides would have to settle for a 2-2 draw. It wasn’t a good result for Ghana, as they now sit 3rd in Group B with just a single point and one game to go.
Nevertheless, Kudus’ performance — which landed him the official Man of the Match award and a 9.4 rating out of 10 on WhoScored.com — is one of the best from this year’s AFCON so far, and it showed just how important he is to Ghana’s success. And while Ghana are still in a pinch, they’re certainly a more dangerous team with a healthy, happy Kudus in their ranks.
For these reasons, Kudus is our Muslim Athlete of the Week.
Headline image credit: english.alarabiya.net