Speak to many rugby league fans and they will argue one of the sport's great strengths is that it is hard but fair. What Ben Flower did in Saturday's Grand Final, the showpiece occasion of the season, was clearly hard but utterly, disgracefully unfair.
Supporters will sometimes accept punches being traded if they feel it is an even contest. So, to the bemusement of many, will certain officials.
Thumping someone does not bring the automatic expulsion that it really should. Yet referee Phil Bentham’s decision to dismiss Flower ought to only prove the start of the Wigan prop’s problems, and not just because he cost his side the chance of being champions.
His assault on St Helens’ Lance Hohaia was vicious and brutal. Some, wrongly, have tried to excuse Flower’s first punch. The former Wigan winger Martin Offiah claimed provocation, in the form of a late tackle, justified it. “If I had done what Lance did, I’d expect a slap,” he said. “Lance Hohaia will never attack Ben Flower again.”
Maybe not, but that was partly because he was unconscious on the ground before a second, shocking punch. This was not rugby, but thugby. The Welshman should count himself fortunate he did not wake up in a jail cell yesterday.
Rugby league, a closed shop of a sport that often protects its own, has a tendency to brush certain misdemeanours under the carpet. This cannot be another if the sport wants to retain any credibility. Talk of an eight-game suspension is unsatisfactory. Flower should not be permitted to play in 2015.
sports@thenational.ae
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The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
From exhibitions to the battlefield
In 2016, the Shaded Dome was awarded with the 'De Vernufteling' people's choice award, an annual prize by the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers and the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers for the most innovative project by a Dutch engineering firm.
It was assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to modify the Shaded Dome to make it suitable for ballistic protection. Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies which designed the dome, is an independent international engineering and project management consultancy, leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.
It is driving positive change through innovation and technology, helping use resources more efficiently.
It aims to minimise the impact on the environment by leading by example in its projects in sustainable development and innovation, to become part of the solution to a more sustainable society now and into the future.
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
