DUBAI // Quique Sanchez Flores said Luiz Jimenez lost his composure after the Chilean forward was sent off for butting the referee last night.
Jimenez was shown a straight red card in the 76th minute after he thrust his head into that of Ammar Ali Al Junaibi, the Emirati official. He nows faces a lengthy suspension. His manager felt his side were on the receiving end of a series of questionable decisions and said "the situation got to Jimenez".
"I think the situation got to Jimenez," Quique Sanchez Flores, the Ahli coach, said. "I did not like the officiating of the referee. We have been facing problems with the refereeing for the last few weeks and it is difficult to fight for good positions in such a situation."
Franky Vercauteren conceded Al Jazira wasted a great opportunity to stay on the tail of Pro League leaders Al Ain after their 2-1 defeat at Al Ahli on Sunday night.
Luis Jimenez gave the home side a second-minute lead and doubled it just past the hour mark before receiving a red card 15 minutes from time for butting Ammar Ali Al Junaibi, the referee, over a decision.
Three minutes after the send-off, Bare pulled one back for the champions, but Ahli survived the closing minutes for a hard-fought win, which takes their tally to 17 points. Jazira remain on 23, four behind Al Ain, who play Al Nasr (21) on Monday night.
"I told the players before the game that if we win today, one way or the other, we could be the big winner of the weekend," Vercauteren said. "Even if Al Ain win, you stay close to them. So the competition would have been between two teams.
"Now we have given this away, but the opportunity stays. Of course, the distance [between Al Jazira and Al Ain] can become big as well. That is no good.
"It all depends on what Al Ain does [at Nasr]. If they win, they will increase their lead at the top. On the other hand, if the result is not positive for them, it opens up the championship race to more than two teams."
The first goal for Ahli came off a forceful first-touch by the debutant Achille Emana. Receiving the ball out wide on the left, he muscled his way into the box and passed for Ismail Al Hammadi, whose shot bounced off the crossbar. Amer Mubarak blasted in the rebound and Jimenez deflected the ball home.
A contentious penalty in the 31st minute gave Jazira an opportunity to equalise, but Obaid Al Taweela, the Ahli keeper, dived to his right to keep out Matias Delgado's tame spot kick.
A goal would have been harsh on the hosts as Bare appeared to go down under minimal contact from Ahli's Lebanese defender Youssef Mohammed.
As Jazira searched for the equaliser, Jimenez doubled Ahli's tally in the 61st minute with another deflection, this time guiding in Ali Hussain's volley.
In the 76th minute, however, the Chile international midfielder was given his marching orders after losing his cool over a decision.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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