Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League opener against Everton has been postponed due to recent violence in London, but remaining fixtures this weekend will go ahead as planned.
The Premier League said in a statement all games, except Tottenham’s fixture with Everton at White Hart Lane, had been given the all-clear to kick off as planned after consultation with the police and local authorities.
“The Premier League has worked closely with the authorities and London-based clubs throughout the recent civil unrest to ensure matches are staged in accordance with supporter safety,” the statement read.
“While all efforts were made to try to facilitate the Tottenham Hotspur v Everton match by the Metropolitan Police and the local authority, the situation on the Tottenham High Road proved too difficult to overcome.
“Acting on current information from the authorities there is no reason to believe that matches outside of London will be affected at this time.”
Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, said football authorities had fully supported the Spurs postponement.
"The Tottenham game is a real shame, but we support the police in what they are doing," Scudamore said. "They want these games to go on as much as we do."
The two other Premier League games in the England capital – Queens Park Rangers versus Bolton Wanderers and Fulham against Aston Villa – will go ahead though David Cameron, the British prime minister suggested yesterday they could kick off earlier than scheduled to assist the police.
Tottenham said the club had been powerless to prevent the postponement.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to supporters due to matters outside of the control of the club. We shall update fans on when this fixture will be rearranged in due course,” Spurs said in a statement.
Michael Dawson, the Spurs defender, expressed disappointment but backed the decision.
"The most important thing is the safety of the fans," Dawson said.
Tottenham was one of the worst hit areas in the rioting that rocked London for several days, before a massive influx of police restored calm.
England's friendly international against Holland on Wednesday had already been cancelled because of the violence, along with several other League Cup matches in London.
In a separate development, England’s lower leagues confirmed all matches scheduled for this weekend would go ahead as planned.
Johny Heitinga, the Everton defender, admitted the week has been an odd one after he saw two of his matches postponed within three days as a result of the unrest.
The 27-year-old defender was due to play for Holland on Wednesday and has now been made to wait to commence the Premier League season after yesterday’s postponement.
And while Heitinga is frustrated at being denied a lack of action, he fully backed the decision made by the authorities.
“It has been a strange week. On Monday morning we were in camp training with the national team and then on Tuesday after breakfast we heard the game was cancelled,” he told the Everton television channel.
“I wanted to play at Wembley against England, but if you look at what is happening it is not good and hopefully it will be better soon.
“Everybody was looking forward to the Premier League starting and it was disappointing that this game was also cancelled.
“Our league will start next week and we can only wait until the whistle goes. We understand the decision. We have to let the police do their job and I hope everywhere is quiet and there’s no more damage.
“We are professionals and the most important thing is that everything is quiet and good in the city centres of England.”
Heitinga’s sentiments were echoed by his teammates Tim Cahill, Phil Neville and Louis Saha, who used Twitter to express their disappointment.
Cahill, returning from international duty with Australia, having scored against Wales on Wednesday, tweeted: “If the game’s called off then it’s understandable due to sad events.
“It’s more important that the people are safe as much as we all love footy.”
Neville, the club captain wrote: “Although I’m gutted it’s the right decision in the circumstances.”
Saha, the striker, tweeted: “Game off vs Spurs. Surely for a very good reason.
“Hope the one who suffered from the war zone will recover quick. My prayers are with them.”
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani