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WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016 SPORTS Dortmund fans turn on want-away skipper Hummels BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund’s Germany up to the reality of losing a third star to some solidarity from his Dortmund Borussia Dortmund that no player in our only by money. “Everyone has seen how star Mats Hummels is facing the wrath of Bayern in three years. World Cup winner team-mates. “It wasn’t easy to hear for jersey should be insulted or whistled.” good our team is, I just think that there is his team’s angry fans, bitter that their Mario Goetze left for Bayern in 2013 to the whole team, and must have certainly But Hummels can expect a similar reac- little reason to leave us from a sporting club’s captain has admitted he wants to be followed by star striker Robert been harder for him,” said Borussia tion from Dortmund fans for their last perspective,” Hummels said three years play for rivals Bayern Munich. Despite Lewandowski a year later. defender Marcel Schmelzer. “Mats two league matches at Eintracht ago. But news of Hummels possible helping Dortmund to a 5-1 rout of Several signs at Dortmund’s Signal deserves praise for handling it well.” Frankfurt and home to Cologne, plus the arrival at Bayern has not gone down Wolfsburg, Hummels was booed and Iduna Park stadium during the Micky Beisenherz, a columnist for cur- cup final against Bayern on May 21. entirely well in Munich either. Morocco whistled by a section of home fans in Wolfsburg match simply read “Why?”- rent affairs magazine Stern and a Bayern’s ex-president Uli Hoeness did captain Mehdi Benatia, also a centre- their 81,359 sell-out stadium each time directed at Hummels. One huge banner Dortmund fan, wrote: “Dear Mats, you not help matters on Friday when he said back, has threatened to leave should he touched the ball on Saturday. on the stadium’s packed south terrace weren’t really surprised by the mass tin- it was Hummels who had approached Hummels arrive and rejoin Roma. Bayern The 27-year-old told Dortmund last read “The captain is the first to go over- nitus (whistling) from the south stand, the Bavarians, something Bayern then paid Dortmund 37 million euros Thursday that he wants to leave at the board - best to do it immediately!” and were you? “Real disappointed love”, he denied on Saturday. “On Friday there was (US$42.63m) for Goetze three years ago, end of the season, with a year left on his the loudest jeers came from that area. added, referring to the club motto “Echt oil thrown on the fire from Munich,” said while Lewandowski left on a free transfer. contract, to join Bayern, who he left for Hummels brushed off the whistles in Liebe” (Real Love). Zorc in the wake of Hoeness’ claims. “I Dortmund chief executive officer Hans- Borussia in 2008. Bayern’s chairman Karl- post-match interviews, but his face told Dortmund’s bosses have defended don’t know what was behind it, but you Joachim Watzke has said Bayern will have Heinz Rummenigge wants to agree a a different picture during the game. Hummels’ want-away wish. “It was only can come to some conclusions.” to “dig deep in their pockets” to meet the price with Dortmund for Hummels “I want to make it clear it wasn’t a few of the fans who did that. I found it To compound Hummels’ situation, the undisclosed asking price. Hummels has a before the clubs meet in the German 80,000, more like 8,000 or probably even shameful and hope it won’t be repeated,” German media has dragged up his com- market worth of 38 million euros. “Either Cup final on May 21. But Dortmund’s fans less,” he said. “I saw where they (the said Dortmund’s director of sport ments from 2013, in reaction to Goetze’s they pay the asking price or forget about made their feelings known as they face whistles) came from.” Hummels received Michael Zorc. “We have a basic rule at departure, implying it was motivated it,” said Watzke.— AFP WCup - Qatar testing turf able to survive desert sun DOHA: Critics say Qatar will be too hot to November when temperatures still reach host the 2022 World Cup but it is deter- the mid-20 degrees Celsius (75 Fahrenheit) mined to prove the grass is no greener but the grass will run their stress tests elsewhere. Beyond the air-conditioned sta- through the Gulf summer. This is when diums now slowly rising from the greyer temperatures typically range from 40 to 50 dust, how to keep the football pitches from degrees Celsius (104 to 122 degrees withering away in the desert sun is a chal- Fahrenheit) and the turf will absorb an lenge that a motley group of botanists is Olympics swimming pool worth of desali- trying to solve. Among date palms and nated water every 10 days. Not everything empty warehouses in the scrubland out- is sunshine and seed sprouts, however. The side the capital Doha, Yasser Abdulla Mulla tiny Gulf Arab nation’s bid has grappled manages a research centre where a with corruption allegations and concerns botanist from New Zealand and several about abuse of laborers taking part in the south Asian workers are nurturing 12 $200 billion drive to lay down roads linking breeds of grass with water and fertiliser. glittering new hotels to hulking stadiums. Wielding scythes and rakes, they are A gardening company involved in the testing the mettle of the grass sprigs which turf search has faced some of the same the lab has flown in from around the world kind of allegations that have dogged the in 50-kilogram boxes. “We want a grass that wider construction boom for the Cup. The is durable, attractive to the eye and can sur- 16 laborers working on the turf farm are vive heat and humidity,” said Mulla, the turf employed by Nakheel Landscapes, a Qatari manager with Qatar’s World Cup organiz- firm accused in a March Amnesty ing committee. “Yes, we have summer International report of housing workers in winds and dust storms but all grass really squalid accommodation and confiscating needs is sun, water and fertilizer. We are their passports. Asked about the criticism, looking for turf that can survive here in Mulla said it was important to work with Doha and in the region.” A current frontrun- contractors to improve their labor practices ner, Mulla said, is a Bermuda called Latitude - but as with the sporting extravaganza, the 36. Used by an American football team in show must go on. “It’s not about kicking Kansas City, it has fine blades so the ball someone out of your facility, you need to skids smoothly across the grass. improve your contractors. What’s the point Qatar’s World Cup will be held in if you kick them out?”—Reuters UEFA admits Kosovo in a step toward World Cup BUDAPEST: UEFA admitted Kosovo as 27. Can we really keep them away from its 55th member in a narrow vote yester- this privilege.” Switzerland, which has day, boosting its hopes of competing in several ethnic Kosovo players in its the 2018 World Cup despite warnings national team, including Xerdan from former ruler Serbia. The UEFA con- Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Valon SAN ANTONIO: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder scores over Danny Green #14 of the San Antonio Spurs during game Two of gress voted 28 to 24 with two votes Behrami, also opposed the vote. the Western Conference Semifinals for the 2016 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center Monday in San Antonio, Texas. —AFP declared invalid to accept Kosovo, which Though FIFA statutes would have to will also have a team at the Olympics for be changed, Switzerland and Albania the first time at the Rio de Janeiro fear they could lose players to the Games in August. FIFA will now decide Kosovo national side. “It is unfair to put Thunder outlast Spurs at its congress in Mexico City on May 13 pressure on players,” said Swiss whether to become the last major sport- Football Association general secretary ing federation to admit Kosovo. The Alex Miescher. “They will not have to OKLAHOMA: Russell Westbrook scored 29 13. Aldridge paced San Antonio with 22 points 4:48 mark of the period. But the Spurs surged Kosovo Football Federation hopes that if choose for a country, but against one,” points and handed out 10 assists as the on 9-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes of play. back again, ending the quarter on a 12-2 run to FIFA gives its green light, it will get a late he told the congress. European football Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the San Oklahoma City outshot the Spurs 56.4-48.9 per- cut the Oklahoma City lead to 77-76. Durant place in a European qualifying group for officials did not rule out action by Antonio Spurs 98-97 on Monday in Game 2 of cent and had a 23-14 edge in rebounding. San scored five of the Thunder’s first seven points in the World Cup in Russia in two years.”We opponents of the vote at the Court of the Western Conference semi-final and tied the Antonio was just 4-of-12 on uncontested shots the first four minutes of the fourth quarter while are very happy today of course,” federa- Arbitration for Sport. Kosovo was at the best-of-seven series at one win apiece. The series in the first half; it was 17-of-23 on such attempts the Spurs went almost five minutes without a tion president Fadil Vokrri said.

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