At the end of a wintry schoolday in February, a teacher in Bergamo, northern Italy opened up a note from a parent. It raised a smile. “This is to inform you Edoardo will be away from class for a socio-historic commitment,” it read. The teacher posted it online for locals to enjoy. Among them was the mayor of Bergamo, Giorgio Gori, who cheerfully told his constituents that he thoroughly approved of young Edoardo playing truant for a day.
Young Edoardo’s "socio-historic commitment" would be a family trip to a football match, a landmark occasion for Bergamo’s leading club, Atalanta. They had reached the knockout stage of the Uefa Champions League for the first time ever, an against-the-odds achievement that captivated a city of 120,000. Atalanta versus Spain’s Valencia represented a once-in-a-childhood "I was there" moment. Edoardo would be travelling in a vast convoy to the match, and the journey itself would be an adventure. The game was staged at San Siro, Milan, some 70 kilometres away because Atalanta’s stadium, built for a middle-ranking team in a small city, was not deemed sufficiently large or modern.
Forty thousand, equal to one-third of Bergamo's population, were supporting Atalanta in Milan as they beat Valencia 4-1 – a community united in the sort of civic pride that a crowd at a sports event can display just as vividly as any street march. In the context of modern elite, pan-European football, where the connection between the mighty, wealthy clubs and their locale often seems diminished by ever-shifting ownership and corporate branding, Atalanta's underdogs were refreshingly old-fashioned.
Atalanta's Italian goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini and teammates celebrate their Champions League win against Valencia. AFP
Atalanta delight at the San Siro stadium in Milan. AFP
Atalanta fans cheer during the match at the San Siro stadium in Milan. AFP
Atalanta's coach Gian Piero Gasperini during the match. AP
Atalanta's Hans Hateboer, right, scores his side's opening goal. AP
Josip Ilicic (C) celebrates with his teammates after making it 2-0. EPA
Remo Freuler scores the third. EPA
Hans Hateboer scores their fourth goal past Valencia's Jaume Domenech. Reuters
Hans Hateboer (L) celebrates with teammates after scoring his second goal. Atalanta won 4-1. EPA
Valencia's Denis Cheryshev gets one back. Reuters
Fast-forward a matter of days, and the thrilling result on the evening of February 19 had become a socio-historic event for very different, terrible reasons. Bergamo was suddenly the centre of Europe's coronavirus contagion, and as medical experts struggled to understand the disease and its fatal grip on a prosperous Italian city, they cited the amassing of so many people at exactly the wrong time. "That football match," Mayor Gori concluded, "was a ticking time-bomb." In Spain, the soaring Covid-19 crisis was being traced to the very same match. Some of Spain's first diagnosed infections were patients who had been among the 2,000 who travelled to Milan to follow Valencia.
Covid-19 would abruptly alter attitudes to all public spaces. Our habits in sporting arenas turned out to tick almost every high-risk box: the close contact with strangers, who you might spontaneously high-five or embrace; the shouting and chanting, releasing all those aerosol droplets; the cramming into packed trains, busses or shared cars to and from stadiums.
The habits of major events, meanwhile, directly confront any notion of safe confinement: the Olympic Games, World Cups, continental championships are celebrated precisely for the way they hurdle national borders, gathering fans from all corners of the planet. In a pandemic, the glorious frivolity of sport as we know it quickly looks irresponsible. It needs to tread sensitively, as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix did last weekend, when a small number of spectators was allowed in at Yas Marina – 600 spread over the two days of practice and race day. Priority for tickets was given to frontline workers.
For the past six months, most of the popular spectator sports that have returned to the calendar have done so to emptied stadiums, as television-only events driven back into action largely by the need for the sports involved to honour television contracts. It has created a very different landscape, and for all the inventiveness of broadcasters – using simulated crowd noise, interactive Zoom interludes with on-screen fans – it is a decaffeinated version of live sport. But it has been part of life in 2020 for long enough that readjusting to crowds will take some getting used to.
In some parts of the world, spectators have now begun to trickle back into arenas, with governments aware that having fans on site is a strong symbol of a "return to normality", a sort of political triumph. In the English Premier League – the most watched domestic football competition in the world – that normality means ordered, regimented, socially distanced rows and lines of masked fans, no more than 2,000 in stadiums built for 50,000-odd, in certain towns and cities.
Premier League games such as this one between Southampton and Brighton have been played inside empty stadiums. Getty Images
Taking a knee had become a powerful statement of sport's power to unite
London was one, for a brief two weeks. There, the first weekend of limited attendance at football produced not unconfined joy but controversy. In the Championship, the second tier of English football, with fans let in under the same regulations as the Premier League, Millwall's match against Derby County kicked off to loud booing, a premeditated response from a portion of the 2,000 home supporters directed specifically at players taking a knee to mark their rejection of racism.
Since elite English football resumed after the spring lockdown, players from a vast majority of clubs have been taking a knee, symbolically, for a few seconds at the sound of the referee's whistle at the beginning of each game. The gesture has become a powerful statement of sport's power to unite, articulate a cause and send it, via television, across the planet. With fans back on site in south-east London, that unity fractured. Those who booed at Millwall very purposefully gained a platform, some of them later arguing that they booed not as racists but in protest against a Black Lives Matter movement that had become "politicised".
Derby County's Colin Kazim-Richards raises his right fist as Millwall players take the knee ahead of their Championship match. Getty Images
Ahead of Millwall’s next home match, the club issued a letter to all those attending, arguing that there should be no repeat of the booing. It spelled out “your duty and responsibility”, that “the eyes of the world are on this football club – your club – and they want us to fail". It worked in as far as there was applause as players from visiting Queens Park Rangers took a knee after both teams’ players had linked arms; it struck a sour note in that the letter suggested very clearly that Millwall felt that its fans in the stands needed to be corralled into decency by the threat that the world “wants us to fail".
Importantly, across dozens of stadiums in England, the Millwall booing was a rarity; but it was not quite unique. There have been similar incidents when players took a knee at Cambridge United and Colchester United, clubs lower down the hierarchy of the English professional game. The Colchester chairman, Robbie Cowling, condemned the booing, told those who had booed to “at the very least stay silent, or just stay away from our club".
“I will be happy," he added, “to refund anyone for the remaining value of their season permit if that is the reason they feel they can no longer attend our games."
Shirts of amateur clubs on the Malieveld in The Hague, Netherlands, this week. The sports association wants to use the campaign to draw attention on the issue that amateur football players are temporarily unable to play sports due to the coronavirus measures. EPA
In 11-a-side sports, competitors refer to on-site supporters as 'our 12th player'
How long taking the knee remains part of the matchday remains to be seen. What happened at Millwall reminded that sports stadiums are public spaces that some spectators occupy with a sense of entitlement, of antagonism, and a feeling that in a crowd there is a safety in numbers to act disruptively and abusively.
The continuing health emergency means it will be a while yet before large numbers are deemed safe enough to be filling big stadiums. And when they are, many may fill more slowly than they did pre-pandemic. Surveys show a public reluctance, after nine months of restrictions, to re-enter crowded spaces. But sport needs them. At sport's richer summits, money from television, and the sponsorship and advertising that feeds off big TV audiences mean ticket-sales are only one pillar of the sport's income. But for most teams and clubs, the traffic through the turnstiles is what keeps the business afloat.
Liverpool's Joe Gomez concedes a penalty after holding back Manchester City's Raheem Sterling during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, while fans watch on Zoom. PA
Broadcasters, anxious that a generation of fans prefer consuming their matches in brief highlights, via smartphone, also need crowds as part of their 24/7 live show. Skilfully staged though major behind-closed-doors events like the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in the UAE, or the one-venue conclusion to the Uefa Champions League in Lisbon have been in 2020, there is nothing like an audience to stimulate the adrenaline.
In 11-a-side sports, competitors refer to on-site supporters as “our 12th player". He or she is often unruly, frequently biased, occasionally obnoxious. But almost every elite athlete will recognise a piece of themselves in every crowd. They were once just like young Edoardo of Bergamo, enchanted at being part of a special occasion that meant so much to so many.
Ian Hawkey is a European football correspondent for The National
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
Marriage Story – 1
Rocketman – 1
The Neighbors' Window – 1
Toy Story 4 – 1
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
Drones
Animals
Fireworks/ flares
Radios or power banks
Laser pointers
Glass
Selfie sticks/ umbrellas
Sharp objects
Political flags or banners
Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples. Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts. Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Daniella Weiss and Nachala Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
