Short Corner
Hakeem votes after getting Australian citizenship
AFP
A refugee footballer who was detained in Thailand and threatened with extradition to Bahrain said he “feels great” after voting in Australia’s election yesterday.
Hakeem al-Araibi, who became an Australian at a ceremony in Melbourne in March, shot to international fame when he was arrested during his honeymoon last year for alleged offences in Bahrain linked to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
Amid a worldwide outcry, Al-Araibi -- who was granted refugee status and residency in Australia in 2017 after fleeing Bahrain -- was eventually allowed to return to Melbourne, where he plays semi-professional football.
Al-Araibi posted photos on Twitter and Instagram showing him at a polling station as he made a “V for victory” sign with his left hand, while wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, a backwards baseball bat and sunglasses.
“Today I voted for the first time in my life, it feels great to be able to vote in Australia. I wish the best for Australia,” he wrote on Twitter.
Cannavaro breaks club rules
AFP
Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro flouted the rules of his club Guangzhou Evergrande to keep the seven-time champions in the Chinese Super League title race.
Evergrande declared prior to the season that they would field only two foreign players at a time to promote homegrown talent.
But with his side trailing 1-0 at newly promoted Wuhan Zall at half-time on Friday night, Cannavaro brought on English-born former Everton defender Tyias Browning.
That left Evergrande with three foreign players on the pitch in the second half -- Browning and the Brazilian midfielders Paulinho and Anderson Talisca.
Evergrande went on to win 3-2 -- Talisca and Paulinho both scoring -- and the team lie third in the table with a third of the campaign gone.
“Cannavaro broke the inside rules of the club and the appearance of the three players provided a signal that the team needed to win the game at all costs,” said the Guangzhou Daily.
Zlatan hit with ban after neck grab
AFP
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for two games after grabbing New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson by the neck during Los Angeles Galaxy’s defeat last weekend, Major League Soccer said Friday.
The MLS Disciplinary Committee announced in a statement it was sanctioning Ibrahimovic for violent conduct after the incident in the 86th minute of the game on May 11.
Ibrahimovic and Johnson wrestled each other to the floor after coming together in the closing stages of Galaxy’s defeat last week.
Both players received a yellow card for the incident for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It is the second retrospective sanction Ibrahimovic has received in recent weeks.
He was hit with an undisclosed fine on May 10 after being found guilty of diving during his team’s loss against Columbus Crew.
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