NBA | Page 3 ESPORTS | Page 6 Shaq urges NBA Soud al-Thani, to ‘scrap the Saeed al-Sulaiti season’ amid impress in virus concerns round one Tuesday, May 12, 2020 CYCLING Ramadan 19, 1441 AH Road race champ GULF TIMES Van der Breggen to retire after Olympics SPORT Page 5 MOTORSPORT SPOTLIGHT No elite sport in England until at least Al-Attiyah’s new June 1: government Reuters hoped to resume behind closed London, United Kingdom doors later this month. The government guidance con- cerning the easing of restrictions lite sport in England can- on elite sport is laid out in “step routine involves a not return until at least two” of the document, and will be June 1 and will have to made no earlier than June 1. Etake place without spec- Step two includes “permitting tators present, a government cultural and sporting events to document containing guidelines take place behind closed doors on easing lockdown restrictions for broadcast while avoiding the said yesterday. risk of large-scale social con- gaming simulator Most professional sport in tact,” the guidelines say. England has been suspended The resumption of elite sport since March due to the Covid-19 is contingent on the most up-to- Rally-raid star spends his time at home focussing on fitness and family relations pandemic. date assessment of the risk posed English Premier League clubs by the virus and the June 1 date By Sports Reporter are meeting on Monday to discuss will be delayed if certain condi- Doha Project Restart, which aims for tions are not met. top-flight football to resume next Reopening venues such as month. Cricket and rugby au- sports grounds “may only be atari star Nasser al- thorities in England have said their fully possible significantly later Attiyah has recently sports will not resume until July. depending on the reduction in been adjusting to a The news however, is a blow to numbers of infections”, the doc- Qnew routine. With British horse racing, which had ument adds. more time now being spent at home, it is important for the three-time Dakar Rally Cham- pion to maintain his fitness and La Liga aiming for June 12 focus throughout the break. “Staying at home, I’m work- restart: president ing on the physical side just to Reuters measures to protect health,” be prepared for once things get Madrid, Spain Tebas told Spanish television back to normal. There’s plenty network Movistar on Sunday. to do and it’s important to keep Tebas confirmed all matches yourself busy,” says al-Attiyah, a Liga president Javier will take place without specta- the three-time Dakar champion Tebas has said he hopes tors. He also said fixtures and Olympic shooting medal- LSpanish soccer will resume would be spread out so that list. on June 12 after being halted for there are matches every day. Quality time is meaningful to over three months due to the “Now that we are not going to the Qatari champion, especially coronavirus pandemic. have fans in the stadiums we when surrounded by supportive All clubs in Spain’s top two divi- are going to have some innova- family members. With a Gaming sions began testing players for tive ideas for broadcasting the Unit setup at the family farm- the virus last week and many games,” Tebas added. “There’s house, al-Attiyah is excited to including La Liga champions going to be football every day participate with his brothers in Barcelona started individual once La Liga returns.” new activities. training, the second step of the The league reported on Sun- “I’m always around family now, league’s four-phase protocol day that five players across the especially my brothers. I have six simulators. As a veteran of rally Middle East, also the 24-hours ence can give al-Attiyah a new Recently I have been watching for returning to action. Real two divisions had tested posi- brothers and there is a lot that and racing, he has had many and 6-hour races in Nurburgring perspective on his technique and and reflecting on how I managed Madrid resume individual tive for the virus and had been we get to talk about. I get a lot of encounters with virtual experi- Germany. I used simulators to adventure. But off the track, the my last Dakar and I learned a training yesterday. ordered to stay isolated at their support from them, both in and ences in preparation for main get the feeling and to learn the Qatari champion relies on foot- lot,” he says. “I’d like to restart on June 12 homes. Tebas added that three out of motorsports. So, it’s very events. With the Red Bull Gam- tracks. But this simulator is dif- age to study his highlights and Al-Attiyah is anticipating his but we have to be prudent and staff members had also tested special to be able to share a Rally ing Unit, al-Attiyah can find ferent. I can actually drive my reflect on his decision-making next opportunity to compete, it’s not just up to football, it’s positive for the virus but he simulator experience with them,” himself reenacting his rally-raid rally car from Dakar that we won during races. but until then he’ll be sure to also up to society, we all need said the number of cases was says al-Attiyah. driving experience. with in 2019,” he says. “When I’m away from the stay ready and prepared to get to focus on complying with far lower than expected. Al-Attiyah is no stranger to “The Porsche Club in the A simulated driving experi- track I go through all my replays. back on the track. COMMENT Allow bowlers to ball-tamper, says former Australia captain Chappell AFP bowlers spitting on the ball and London, United Kingdom rubbing it on their clothing. Test players have been accused of using lozenges, petroleum jelly ormer Australia captain and resin to shine the ball, and Ian Chappell says some also scuffing it with bottle tops, form of ball-tampering trouser zippers and grit. Fcould be allowed in crick- The most notorious recent case et, with saliva and sweat consid- was in 2018, when some Austral- ered health risks due to the coro- Ian Chappell (also right). ian players attempted to alter navirus crisis. the ball with sandpaper during a Bowlers regularly shine one side to be legal with all others being Test against South Africa in Cape of the leather-clad ball to make the punishable as illegal,” he wrote. Town, resulting in lengthy bans ball swing sideways in mid-flight “With cricket on hold, this is for those involved. and deceive the batsman. the ideal time to conduct the ex- Chappell also said administra- But rubbing spit or sweat into ercise. Using saliva and perspi- tors should make a change to the the ball’s surface is expressly ration are now seen as a health leg-before-wicket (LBW) law in forbidden under new Austral- hazard, so bowlers require some- favour of bowlers. ian Institute of Sport guidelines thing to replace the traditional “The new lbw law should sim- that set out the conditions for the methods of shining the ball.” ply say ‘any delivery that strikes game to resume. Australian ball manufacturer the pad without first hitting the Chappell has previously sug- Kookaburra is developing a wax bat and, in the umpire’s opinion, gested that international captains applicator that would allow would go on to hit the stumps is be asked to come up with a list of bowlers to shine the ball. out regardless of whether or not natural substances bowlers feel The innovation involves using a shot is attempted’,” the former would help them swing the ball. a sponge to apply small amounts batsman wrote. And, writing on the Cricinfo of wax to the ball. He added: “These law changes website, he said fans craved a gen- Current laws forbid the use of would help redress any imbal- uine contest between bat and ball. artificial substances to alter the ance and make the game, par- “From this list, the adminis- ball, but there is a long history of ticularly Test cricket, a far more trators should deem one method tampering that goes well beyond entertaining spectacle.” Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, May 12, 2020 FOOTBALL FOCUS German Cup final on July 4, women’s Bundesliga can restart on May 29: FA The men’s German Cup final has been rescheduled for July 4 and play can resume in the third division as well as the women’s Bundesliga pending a green light from local authorities, the Premier League German Football Association (DFB) said yesterday. With the men’s top two divisions set to start without spectators on May 16 after a two-month suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the DFB said the ball can also start rolling in the other competitions. But it will also be without fans with Germany having banned all major events until at least Aug. 31. The German Cup semi- finals between Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt and clubs hoping to avoid Saarbruecken and Bayer Leverkusen will be played on June 9 and 10. The DFB said its health and safety plan developed jointly Masters reveals clubs with the league for the Bundesliga will also apply for its own competitions. A restart of the third division is set for May 26-27 believe that season the earliest, it said. neutral venues can be finished Denmark’s Superliga to resume on Reuters tion if players refuse.