April 26, 2021 A shock 2-1 defeat at Mainz meant Bayern Munich will have to wait to seal a ninth consecutive crown, with the German giant needing just 7 one win from remaining three games, BBC reported.

Iran coach Nazemasharieh unveils preparation plans ahead of Futsal World Cup

Sports Desk late July, before announcing the 14- has already started its trainings and man squad for the tournament. Uzbekistan is to play Azerbaijan in a head coach Mohammad Naze- Nazemasharieh believes Iran – friendly.” masharieh said his team will play Ja- which has not played in an official Iran made history in 2016 by be- pan in a friendly on August 17 as part event since 2018, when it lifted a coming the first Asian side to reach of the preparations for the FIFA Futsal record-extending 12th Asian trophy the last-four of the World Cup, finish- World Cup. – is behind the schedule as “Japan ing third in Colombia. Iran was picked among the five Asian teams – alongside Uzbekistan and Ja- pan – by the Asian Football Confedera- tion (AFC) to represent the continent at September’s competition in Lithuania. The decision came after the Asian football governing body was forced to call off last March’s Asian Futsal Championship – which was to serve as the World Cup qualifiers – in Ku- wait due to the coronavirus pandemic. The other two spots will be decided through playoff matches featuring Iraq, , Vietnam, and Thailand. Speaking to IRNA on Sunday, Nazemasharieh added Iran will par- ticipate in a couple of friendly tourna- ments in Thailand and will also host the-afc.com Iran’s Tractor will take on Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan in Group B of the AFC Champions League. Hungary before heading to Lithuania. The Iranian said he will call out 25 players to start the training camp in IRNA Sports Desk Foolad Khuzestan, third in Group D on Uzbekistan. five points, suffered a first defeat of the A six-goal thriller saw Tractor and ll four Iranian clubs will be head- campaign against Saudi side Al Nassr last Pakhtakor share the points in the group ing into their final two games time out and will take on Qatari giant Al opener. Zidane insists Real has not thrown in towel Aof the AFC Champions League Sadd, which is second with seven points. A win today will seal the runner-up (ACL) group stage, starting today, chas- ’s side was con- place for Rasoul Khatibi’s side before the ing a place in the last-16 round. sidered an underdog before the group all-important battle against the Emirati on hopes A historic campaign is on the cards for matches got underway in group leader Sharjah decides the top spot. the Iranian football as it could turn out to but has been preforming beyond expecta- Esteghlal, which settled for a 2-2 draw be a clean sweep of qualification for the tions so far. against Group C leader Al Duhail on Zinedine Zidane insisted Real Madrid’s title hopes are not over “He can contribute. I think he played 15-20 minutes with sides, come the A victory in today’s encounter will Sunday, is second with seven points but despite being held to a goalless draw by . spark, with energy. Most importantly, nothing bothered him. final day of the group phase. take the southern Iranian side back to the feels Al Ahli breathing down its neck as Los Blancos dominated possession and managed 17 shots He is going to contribute and we are going to need him.” Five West Zone groups’ winners as second spot, leaving Nekounam’s men in the Saudi side beat Iraq’s Al Shorta 2-1 at goal, but the closest they came to breaking the deadlock Real Madrid has little time to dwell on its frustrating evening well as three best runners-up will ad- firm contention with qualification, with earlier in the day to go equal on points was Rodrygo’s miss-hit cross that struck the bar, goal.com against Betis, with Chelsea next up in the first leg of the Cham- vance to the knockouts of the Asian a fixture against bottom side Al Wehdat with the -based Blues. reported. pions League semifinal on Tuesday. clubs’ elite competition. of Jordan coming in the final day of the A repeat of the first-day victory over The draw means Real missed the chance to draw level on Los Blancos then host Osasuna in La Liga next weekend In Group E, Persepolis, on a perfect run group. Al Ahli on Tuesday will certainly boost points with leader Atletico Madrid, who can move five points before traveling to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their of four wins, is on the verge of securing a Elsewhere, Tractor, which claimed a Esteghlal’s hopes of advancing into the clear with victory over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Champions League semifinal on May 5.. place in the next round as a draw against first victory in the group on Friday, beat- knockout phase as ’s side When asked by reporters wheth- the second-placed UAE club Al Wahda to- ing Iraq’s Air Force Club 1-0, is second will be fancied to overcome Al Shorta, er the Liga title was now lost, Zi- day will see ’s men in Group B with six points, three points which Esteghlal easily beat 3-0 earlier in dane said, “I don’t think so. It’s true win the group with one game to spare. clear of today’s opponent Pakhtakor of the group, on the final day. that there are two points lost today but I don’t think so. “I think we have to continue, we’ve tried, we’ve missed some- thing offensively, with the ball, but English football to boycott social media I don’t think the league is decided.” Hazard boost

in mass protest over racist abuse The one bright spot of a largely frustrating evening for Real was the return to fitness of Eden Hazard, who came on as a 77th minute sub- stitute for just his second appear- ance since the end of January after a succession of niggling injuries. Reflecting on the former Chel- sea winger’s performance, Zidane added, “Well, it’s just a few min- managingmadrid.com utes. He’s been out for almost three Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane looks on as his team plays Real Betis in La Liga at months, but I see him fine. Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Madrid, Spain, on April 24, 2021

Timberwolves rally from 17 down to shock Jazz

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and the Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points, but the Jazz just Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 17-point deficit to stun didn’t have enough offense without injured All-Star Dono- GETTY IMAGES the Utah Jazz, 101-96, on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. van Mitchell (sprained right ankle) while losing for only the Anthony Edwards contributed 23 points with nine boards, fourth time at home in 30 games this season. Premier League, English Football League and Women’s Super Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry removed five steals and four assists, D’Angelo Russell scored 23 points, Though Utah jumped out to a 40-26 lead and seemed to be League clubs will join in a four-day boycott of social media himself from all social media in March because of racism and and Josh Okogie hit two clutch free throws with 6.2 seconds en route to an expected win over a team already eliminated platforms in an effort to combat abuse and discrimination. bullying across platforms. remaining to seal the upset for Minnesota, Reuters reported. from the playoffs, the Jazz only The boycott will start on April 30, BBC Sport reported. In an interview with BBC, the 43-year-old said “enough was scored 18, 16 and 22 points over The Football Association, as well as league bodies and other enough” and that he had to make a stand against racism on so- the next three quarters. organizations, including anti-discrimination charity Kick it cial media. Out, will also be involved. Earlier in April, Liverpool said racist abuse on social media Bucks win “This boycott signifies our collective anger,” said Kick it “cannot be allowed to continue” after Trent Alexander-Arnold, Out’s chairman Sanjay Bhandari. Naby Keita and Sadio Mane were targeted in April. Giannis Antetokounmpo col- “Social media is now sadly a regular vessel for toxic abuse. A joint statement from English football’s governing bod- lected 24 points, 14 rebounds “By removing ourselves from the platforms, we are making ies said the boycott is a way “to emphasize that social media and seven assists to lift host Mil- a symbolic gesture to those with power. We need you to act. companies must do more to eradicate online hate”, while also waukee Bucks over Philadelphia We need you to create change. “highlighting the importance of educating people.” 76ers. “We need social media companies to make their platforms a The FA’s director of equality and diversity Edleen John said Antetokounmpo moved into hostile environment for trolls rather than for the football fam- “English football will not tolerate discrimination in any form.” second place in franchise history ily.” “We are calling on organizations and individuals across the in points scored (12,023) passing The Football Supporters’ Association, League Managers’ game to join us in a temporary boycott of these social media Glenn Robinson (12,010). Ante- Association, Women in Football, Women’s Championship and platforms, to show solidarity and unite in the message,” she tokounmpo trails only Kareem its clubs as well as refereeing body Professional Game Match said. Abdul-Jabbar (14,211) for top Officials Limited (PGMOL) have also committed to the boy- The UK government has previously threatened social media honors on the Bucks. cott of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. companies with “large fines” which could amount to “billions Bobby Portis added 17 points, The move will come three weeks after Swansea City turned of pounds” if they fail to tackle abuse on their platforms. Bryn Forbes and Jordan Nwora off its social media accounts for a week to make a stand against Facebook said in February that tougher measures would be each had 13 and Jrue Holiday abuse following a number of its players being targeted. taken to tackle the issue. had 12 points and four steals. Pat

Championship rival Birmingham City and Scottish champi- Last week, Instagram – which is owned by Facebook – an- CHRIS NICOLL/USA TODAY SPORTS Connaughton and Donte DiVin- on Rangers followed Swansea’s lead in announcing a boycott nounced a tool to enable users to automatically filter out abu- Jazz center Derrick Favors (15) blocks the shot of Timberwolves’s Karl-Anthony Towns (32) cenzo contributed 11 points each of social media. sive messages from those they do not follow on the platform. during an NBA game at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT, US, on April 24, 2021. for the Bucks.