Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola set the scene.
“It is more than a symbolic match,” he said on Catalan radio ahead of Tuesday’s unofficial friendly between the Catalan national team and Palestine in Barcelona.
“Nowadays everything is known and with this confrontation, the Palestinians will see that there is a part of the world that thinks of them. The world has abandoned Palestine. We have done absolutely nothing. They are not to blame for having been born there. We have all allowed an entire people to be destroyed.
“I can’t imagine anyone in this world who could defend the massacres in Gaza. Our children could be there and be killed simply for being born. I have very little faith in leaders. They’ll do anything to stay in power.”
In a separate video message, Guardiola added: “This match is a moving tribute to the souls of more than 400 Palestinian athletes who were martyred in Gaza.”
Palestine played two friendly games for the first time in Europe this week, on Saturday against the Basque Country where 51,396 filled Athletic Club’s ground in Bilbao to see a defeat for the visitors. And on Tuesday when a crowd of 30,000 saw a 2-1 win in Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium.
There were concerns that a 6.30pm kick-off time was too early on a working day and fans were still filing in 20 minutes into the game. But ticket prices were as low as €5 for adults.
All proceeds went to Act X Palestine to be used for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Gaza, providing tangible relief to those affected by ongoing conflict.
Billed as ‘Football for Peace’, flag waving fans climbed up the hill of Montjuic as the sun set behind it. The Catalan national team plays a couple of friendlies per year. They are unrecognised by Fifa, but the calibre of players has dropped since Catalans, including Lamine Yamal, are representing Spain during the international break.
Seven Catalans - Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Joan Capdevila, Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fabregas – won the 2010 World Cup with Spain. They all featured for Catalonia at one time or another, during games where many fans who don’t normally watch Barcelona’s big two get a chance to see their heroes.
The crowd profile was noticeably younger than regularly seen at league matches. Almost all waved Catalan flags – mostly the ones representing independence in support of the region’s historical drive for self-determination.
That peaked in 2017 and while there were songs for Catalunya, there were just as many of “Freedom, Freedom Palestine” and “Liberty for Palestine” in the cold air.
Gaza’s Sol Band performed the Palestinian anthem on the opposite side of the Mediterranean Sea, while the man on the public address system shouted “Visca Catalunya, Visca Palestina” in Catalan, which translates to “forever Catalonia and forever Palestine".
The hosts took a two-goal lead, their players lacking the big names of yore. Many started out at Barcelona and progressed as far as the reserve team before making their living in professional football elsewhere.
Coached by former Barcelona midfielder Gerard Lopez, the team included the likes of Barcelona’s highly-rated 18-year-old midfielder Marc Bernal, who started the first three games of last season before suffering a serious knee ACL injury.
This meant his manager Hansi Flick was in attendance and it gave a reason for FC Barcelona to publicise the game. Barca also supported the logistics behind the event, but club president Joan Laporta was absent.
Three Espanyol and three Girona players were involved, as was Sergio Gomez, formerly of Manchester City and now Real Sociedad. They played their part as Ilie Sanchez, the Catalan currently at Austin FC in MLS, put his team ahead after four minutes. That became 2-0 after 27 minutes following an own goal past goalkeeper Rami Hamadeh, who plays his club football in Qatar.
Palestine are preparing for an Fifa Arab Cup playoff match against Libya on November 25 in Doha. Palestine’s football team was not recognised by Fifa until 1998 and their team haven’t played at home since 2019, spending periods of exile in Chile where there is a large Palestinian diaspora.
That they’re ranked 99th in the world well ahead of football-mad countries with huge populations including Indonesia, India and Malaysia shows the talent of the players.
Flags flew in support of Palestine, cheers greeted their every attack. Their own coach had described them as “a team of refugees playing for Palestinians all over the world. We don’t play just to win; we play to exist”.
Their players soaked up applause from fans at the end as the voice on the loudspeaker announced: “This is more than a football match.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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1. Featherweight 66kg
Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg
Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
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Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
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Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
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Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
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Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Abdipatta Abdizhali (KGZ)
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Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
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Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
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The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
YEMEN: “The developments we have seen are promising. We really hope that the parties are going to respect the agreed ceasefire. I think that the sense of really having the political will to have a peace process is vital. There is a little bit of hope and the role that the UN has played is very important.”
PALESTINE: “There is no easy fix. We need to find the political will and comply with the resolutions that we have agreed upon.”
OMAN: “It is a very important country in our system. They have a very important role to play in terms of the balance and peace process of that particular part of the world, in that their position is neutral. That is why it is very important to have a dialogue with the Omani authorities.”
REFORM OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL: “This is complicated and it requires time. It is dependent on the effort that members want to put into the process. It is a process that has been going on for 25 years. That process is slow but the issue is huge. I really hope we will see some progress during my tenure.”
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
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