May 23, 2021 Colombia’s President Ivan Duque appealed to South America’s football governing body, CONMEBOL, over its decision to bar the country from 7 hosting Copa America after social unrest swept the nation, AFP reported. Yazdani sits out Iran team for Polish wrestling meet Sports Desk Iranian freestyle wrestling sensation Hassan Yazdani will not take part at the Ziolkows- ki, Pytlasinski, Poland Open, starting June 8 in Warsaw. The Rio 2016 gold medal- ist, who proved to be in a dif- ferent class at the Asian Wres- tling Championships in April, had said after cruising to the 86kg gold in Kazakhstan that he would be looking to par- ticipate in more international competitions to get better pre- pared for the Tokyo Olympics in July, Mehr News Agency reported. However, with Yazdani all but guaranteed a place in the Iranian squad at the Games, the coaching staff will eye the iawf.ir Polish event as perfect oppor- tunity to reach a final conclusion over the 74kg, 97kg, and Mohammadian, a 2014 world bronze medalist, secured 125kg representatives in Tokyo. the quota for Iran at the Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualifi- Younes Emami, Mostafa Hossein-Khani (74kg), Moham- cation Tournament in April, while Sha’bani marched to the mad-Hossein Mohammadian, Ali Sha’bani, Alireza Karimi gold at the Asian Championships in Almaty a week later. (97kg), as well as Amin Taheri and Amir-Hossein Zare’ Karimi, meanwhile, will be appearing in an international (125kg) will all be heading to Poland, looking for statement tournament for the first time in more than a year after recov- victories before Olympic team selection. ering from a knee injury, but will hope to build on the 2019 Head coach Gholamreza Mohammadi and his staff will world silver at the Olympics. have a tough decision to make over the 97kg spot as all Iran and Russia will be represented by a full six-man three believe they deserve to be in the squad for the Games. squad at the Olympic freestyle wrestling competitions. GETTY IMAGES City wouldn’t have won title Sports Desk Meanwhile, 16 league goals saw SofaScore pick Tare- mi in the Team of the Season. with similar injury issues: Liverpool’s Klopp hen Mehdi Taremi missed an absolute sitter in From a regular second-choice striker for manager the dying seconds of a 2018 World Cup 1-1 Sergio Conceicao earlier in the season, former Rio Ave also out for large parts of the season Wdraw against Portugal, no one thought the Ira- player went on to lead the frontline for Porto in the due to injuries. nian striker would one day take the stage by storm in the biggest stage of European club competition, where he “It is how I said before this year, European country. became the first Iranian to get on the scoresheet at the with the amount of injuries we have Three years on, the 28-year-old is probably the most knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League. had, it was not the year to become talked-about foreign player in Primeira Liga, after a A first-leg goal by Taremi led Porto to an aggregate champions. No chance. For nobody,” memorable debut season in Porto saw Taremi score 23 victory over Serie A giant Juventus in the last-16 round, Klopp said before today’s final league goals, coupled with 18 assists, across all competitions before his superb overhead strike against Chelsea won game against Crystal Palace. for the most decorated Portuguese club in history. global applause as a contender for FIFA Puskas Award. “As good as they are, if (Manches- To sum up a glittering campaign for Taremi, Portu- Next for Taremi, who once blew the chance to become ter) City have their three center-halves guese website GoalPoint named Iranian international as a national hero in the World Cup, is the Asian qualifiers out, no, they don’t win the league. the Player of the Month for the second time this season of the international football showcase in June, when Iran “Three center-halves of United, no.” after he scored four and made five assists in the last five will be facing a tough task to overcome Iraq and Bahrain Liverpool, which stormed to the title league games. in booking a place in the last round of qualifiers. last season, was eighth in March with Champions League qualification look- ing unlikely, but Klopp’s side went on a nine-match unbeaten run to move up to fourth. Chelsea (67 points), Liverpool and CLIVE BRUNSKILL /REUTERS Leicester City (66 points each) are FIFA to consider holding World Cup in a three-way battle for the last two Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp injuries, while Joel Matip was side- Champions League places ahead of to- said Manchester City would not have lined because of an ankle injury, Re- day’s final round of matches. every two years won the Premier League this season if uters reported. “We have fought back a bit, accept- it had had to deal with an injury crisis Fabinho, who was moved from mid- ed the difficulties and made the best of FIFA will investigate the possibility of Australia/New Zealand 2023 to fol- “It is important to review how the like that of the Merseyside club. field to central defense to help plug the it,” Klopp said. hosting the World Cup every two years low eight months later for the women’s global game is structured, which should Liverpool was without central de- gaps, also picked up a muscle prob- “And if we win on Sunday, and if instead of four, for both the men’s and game, but any potential future reshuffle include whether the current four-year fenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez lem, while forward Diogo Jota and we qualify for the Champions League, women’s tournaments, the governing would likely force widespread changes cycle remains the optimum basis for how for most of the campaign due to knee midfielder Jordan Henderson were then we made the best of it. That is it.” body acknowledged. in both the club game and with conti- football is managed both from a competi- tion and a commercial perspective as well as overall football development. “Having fewer yet more meaning- Grizzlies beat Warriors ful competitive national team matches could potentially address concerns regarding player welfare whilst at the to reach NBA Playoffs same time enhancing the value and merit of such competitions.” The Memphis Grizzlies claimed the final NBA playoff spot with a thrilling Set in stone? 117-112 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tourna- Any potential change to the way that ment. the existing system is run will likely Ja Morant scored 35 points for the take years, with no official end date for Grizzlies, including a two-pointer the feasibility study indicated by FIFA. with four seconds remaining, while President Gianni Infantino indi- Stephen Curry managed 39 for the cated that any investigation would not Warriors, BBC Sport reported. be rushed at the congress, saying, “We It is the first time the Grizzlies have have to go into these studies with an reached the playoffs in four seasons. open mind but we are not going to take “I like it when the pressure is on – I decisions which will jeopardize what got all the confidence in the world in we are [already] doing. We know about my game,” 21-year-old Morant said. the value of the World Cup, believe me. The Grizzlies will play the Utah Jazz “I would like to put this discussion in in the first game of the of the Western MARTIN MEISSNER/AP a much broader context, that of the in- Conference quarterfinals today. ternational match calendar. Are we re- The Warriors overturned a 17-point The organization will launch a fea- nental tournaments such as the Euro- ally convinced that playing qualifying deficit to send the game to overtime at sibility study into the ramifications of pean Championship and Copa America. games [across the year] is the right way the Chase Center in California. JED JACOBSOHN/AP such a decision after a proposal was put “We believe the future of football is at when we are saying that fans want more “It is a very tough way to end it, Grizzlies’ Ja Morant (12) passes against Warriors’ Stephen Curry during an NBA forth by the Saudi Arabia Football Fed- a critical juncture,” said SAFF president meaningful games? coming down to the wire and us giving Western Conference play-in game in San Francisco, CA, US, on May 21, 2021. eration (SAFF) at the annual congress, Yasser al-Misehal in presenting the plan. “All these points have to be consid- everything we had in the tank,” Curry goal.com reported. “The many issues that football has ered. But we will put the sporting ele- said. The play-in tournament was in- takes the seventh and eighth seeded The next men’s tournament will be faced have now been further exacerbat- ment as the top priority, not the com- “It is frustrating that this is the end troduced on a one-year basis for the positions in each conference for the held in Qatar at the end of 2022, with ed by the ongoing pandemic. mercial element.” and this is how we are going out.” 2020-21 season, to determine who playoffs..