Diego Costa and Willian both received yellow cards for dives at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes an independent panel retrospectively punishing divers would be a “disaster”. Darren Walsh / AP Images
Diego Costa and Willian both received yellow cards for dives at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes an independent panel retrospectively punishing divers would be a “disaster”. Darren Walsh / AP Images
Diego Costa and Willian both received yellow cards for dives at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes an independent panel retrospectively punishing divers would be a “disaster”. Darren Walsh / AP Images
Diego Costa and Willian both received yellow cards for dives at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes an independent panel retrospectively punishing divers would be a “disaster”.

Jose Mourinho says independent panel to investigate diving would be a disaster


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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes an independent panel retrospectively punishing divers would be a “disaster”.

The west Londoners have found themselves at the heart of the simulation debate this week after several high-profile incidents during last weekend’s 2-0 win against Hull.

Diego Costa and Willian both received yellow cards for dives at Stamford Bridge, where City boss Steve Bruce claimed Gary Cahill went down “like something out of Swan Lake” in the penalty box.

Those incidents, along with a smattering of others, have brought the topic of diving to the fore, with former referee Mark Halsey suggesting the “only one real solution” is to have an independent panel review such decisions retrospectively.

That, Mourinho says, would be a terrible development.

“The independent panels don’t do their job well in any case,” the Portuguese said.

“When you go to an independent panel to analyse and suspend players by video evidence, it is a disaster. It is a disaster.

“I remember last season, and I don’t want to say the names of clubs or players, you had players and clubs punished by panels and you had clubs and players protected by panels.

“I saw somebody kick a player on the floor, hit him in the back - no suspension. I saw others with minor things being suspended.

“Players are punished for silly comments on Facebook, Instagram and this kind of thing, and players are not punished for other things.

“You speak one week about one dive that, for me, was not even a dive - you don’t speak about Filipe Luis who could be in this moment in the hospital having big surgery on his knee or in his leg.

“Independent panels are the same ones that last season analysed my situation against Aston Villa and I was punished and suspended because I tried to help, so for me panels only favour the ones who always have the favours.”

Refereeing was the main talking point in the press conference ahead of Monday’s trip to Stoke, where Mourinho repeatedly underlined the need for referee Neil Swarbrick to control the game.

“I like [the test of going to Stoke],” he said. “I like, but it’s no problem with a good referee that can understand what is aggressivity, or when the aggression finishes and start the rules of the game. No problem at all.

“We need a good referee, yes. I think we need a good, experienced referee who can understand exactly that.

“What happened in both boxes in this kind of matches needs important decisions.

“What is aggressivity and what goes beyond, go beyond the rules of the game. That is important, but I like it, yes.”

The referee’s performance was a theme Mourinho kept revisiting, from being asked about Thibaut Courtois dealing with crosses to and whether Mark Hughes’ side is as aggressive as that of the Tony Pulis era.

“We have our own identity,” the Chelsea boss said. “We want to play football.

“We play beautiful football and that’s what we want to do, but we can compete with physicality.

“That’s no problem for us. The referee is there and I’m not worried because the referee is there.”

English Premier League results & fixtures

Saturday

Hull City 0 Swansea City 1

Queens Park Rangers 3 West Bromwich Albion 2

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Burnley 1

West Ham United 2 Leicester City 0

Sunday (in UAE time)

Monday

Stoke City v Chelsea, midnight

Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE

ATP WORLD No 1

2004 Roger Federer

2005 Roger Federer

2006 Roger Federer

2007 Roger Federer

2008 Rafael Nadal

2009 Roger Federer

2010 Rafael Nadal

2011 Novak Djokovic

2012 Novak Djokovic

2013 Rafael Nadal

2014 Novak Djokovic

2015 Novak Djokovic

2016 Andy Murray

2017 Rafael Nadal

2018 Novak Djokovic

2019 Rafael Nadal

MATCH INFO

Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')

Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')

MATCH INFO

Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)

Euro 2020

Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Wales, Turkey 

Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland

Group C: Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, 
Georgia/Kosovo/Belarus/North Macedonia

Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic, 
Scotland/Israel/Norway/Serbia

Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden, 
N.Ireland/Bosnia/Slovakia/Ireland

Group F: Germany, France, Portugal, 
Iceland/Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary

TOURNAMENT INFO

Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri

THE SPECS

Engine: 3.6-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 285bhp

Torque: 353Nm

Price: TBA

On sale: Q2, 2020

Feeding the thousands for iftar

Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth 

Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people

The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box

350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley

Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Superliminal%20
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Pillow%20Castle%20Games%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Pillow%20Castle%20Games%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20One%20%26amp%3B%20X%2FS%2C%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PC%20and%20Mac%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS

Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Deryan, Ioritz Mendizabal (jockey), Didier Guillemin (trainer).
Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Subjectivist, Joe Fanning, Mark Johnston
Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1million (T) 1,200m
Winner: Extravagant Kid, Ryan Moore, Brendan Walsh
UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $1.5million (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zenden, Antonio Fresu, Carlos David
Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden
Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
Winner: Mishriff, John Egan, John Gosden

Abu Dhabi traffic facts

Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road

The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.

Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.

The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.

The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.

Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019

 

UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world

New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.

The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.

Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.

“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.

"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The bio

Favourite vegetable: Broccoli

Favourite food: Seafood

Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange

Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania

Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.

Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes

Saudi Cup race day

Schedule in UAE time

5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)

RESULT

Arsenal 2

Sokratis Papastathopoulos 45 4'

Eddie Ntkeiah 51'

Portsmouth 0