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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 May 1999 Issue No. 430
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Boycott threat
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Supplement Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters
SAUDI Arabia has joined Kuwait in threatening a boycott of the Arab Games due to be held from 12-31 August in Jordan if Iraqi athletes are allowed to compete as planned. "Saudi Arabia's position is clear. Iraq did not take part in the two previous tournaments, in Syria and Lebanon. The terms of its exclusion are still in force," the Saudi National Olympic committee vice president Prince Sultan bin Fu'ad said last Sunday. "There is no reason for it to take part in the Jordan Games.""Don't imagine there will be sports meetings between Saudis and Iraqis. We are not ready psychologically to meet the Iraqis in Arab tournaments," the prince said.
Kuwait has also threatened to boycott the event to which Iraq, which occupied the emirate in August 1990, has received an official invitation.
The new Saudi threat coincided with a Gulf tour which Jordan's Sports Minister Mohammad Khair Memser started in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to head off any boycott.
Iraq, meanwhile, has said it is determined to compete in the games. It was excluded in Syria in 1992 and Lebanon two years ago when Baghdad accused the oil-rich Gulf Arab states of buying out the host countries.
In a further twist, an Emirates newspaper, Al-Khalij, said in a report from Amman on Sunday that Jordan could now decide to abandon the 1999 Games altogether because of the boycott threats.
Another Ferrari win
GERMANY'S Michael Schumacher became the most winning driver in Ferrari's glorious history in Monaco last Sunday when he celebrated his 16th win in Ferrari colours in the Monaco Grand Prix -- his fourth win there in six years.Schumacher's Northern Irish teammate Eddie Irvine was second and reigning world champion Mika Hakkinen of Finland, who started on pole position, in a McLaren was third.
The 30-year-old German leads the championship on 26 points with Irvine second on 18 and Hakkinen third on 13 points. He broke Niki Lauda's record. He tied Lauda with his victory at the San Marino Grand Prix two weeks ago.
In all, counting his years at Benetton, where he won two
world championships, Schumacher has 35 career wins.
It was Schumacher's fourth win at Monaco. He had a tough time
last year when a wheel arm broke and he struggled to 10th as
Hakkinen won. The next race is the Spanish Grand Prix outside of Barcelona on May 30.
World's prophecy
ANDRE Agassi's start at the French open was threatened by a lingering shoulder injury last Sunday after he was forced to quit during a match at the world team cup in Germany.Agassi pulled out when the injury, bursitis, flared up again while he trailed 3-4 in the first set against Nicolas Escude during the United States tie against France.
He will skip the rest of the team tournament, which serves as a clay court warm-up for Roland Garros. The year's second Grand Slam event begins in a week.
The same injury had forced Agassi into a one-month layoff after he won a tournament in Hong Kong in April and caused him to withdraw at Monte Carlo three weeks ago. He made his return at last week's Italian open, where he was beaten by Australia's Pat Rafter.
On the other hand World number two Pete Sampras started his final warm-up for the French Open with a 7-5 6-4 win over France's Cedric Pioline at the World Team Cup last Sunday.
Sampras, who fell to Brazilian qualifier Fernando Meligeni in the second round of the Italian Open four days earlier, looked far from his brilliant best but still managed to give the United States a 1-0 lead.
Second fastest butterfly
AUSTRALIA'S world record holder Michael Klim swam the year's second fastest time in the men's 100m butterfly at a Grand Prix meet in Canberra last Sunday. Klim clocked 53.12 seconds to edge out William Kirby and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geoff Huegill in his fastest unshaved swim.But Klim, who had a disappointing Commonwealth Games last year in Kuala Lumpur, said, "I still won medals (in Malaysia) and I was
competitive. But it's another preparation and another goal so basically I'm on the road again and trying to climb the mountain."
Klim said he had done his best to forget about past disappointments and look for fresh goals from now on.
Soccer violence
A FIORENTINA fan was stabbed in the stomach and 20 others were injured in clashes between rival supporters after a Serie A match against Lazio in Florence, Italy last Saturday.A day which started with police charges at Rome's main railway station, and continued with one carriage of a train carrying Lazio fans being set alight, ended with further violence after the match.
The Fiorentina supporter was apparently attacked by Lazio fans in a street near the stadium shortly after the match ended 1-1. He was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery. Another 20 people needed treatment for minor injuries after bottles, stones and other missiles were thrown by rival fans, while police used tear gas and repeated charges to separate the two factions.
Only 2,500 Lazio fans had been expected for the match at the Franchi stadium, but instead 7,000 managed to find their way into the grounds for a decisive match in the Italian championship which ends next weekend.
Three year ban
THE AFRICAN Football Confederation (CAF) has banned Saneamento Rangol of Angola and Inter Stars of Burundi from its club competitions for three years.CAF also fined the clubs 1,500 dollars each following their late withdrawal from matches this weekend in the second round of the annual Pan-African championships.
Saneamento claimed lack of funds prevented them flying to Nigeria for a CAF Cup fixture against Kwara United of Nigeria. The
first leg was drawn 1-1 in Luanda two weeks ago.
Cash-strapped Inter Stars successfully appealed for their Cup Winners Cup tie with Power Dynamos to be reduced to one leg in Zambia only to pull out on Thursday.
A protest by Costa do Sol of Mozambique against their disqualification from the Champions League for failing to honour a
match against Daring Club Motema Pembe in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been rejected.
Dance to a different tune
TROUBLED women's tennis world number 12 Patty Schnyder hired American Brad Dancer as her new coach last Sunday. The 20-year-old Swiss woman, who made a huge impact last year winning five tournaments and was a finalist at the Grand Slam Cup, has taken on Dancer in a provisional role -- he will guide her through the Spanish Open, which she won last year, and the French Open over the next three weeks.Schnyder, who has lost four sponsorship deals and has been dropped from the Swiss Fed Cup team for refusing to practice with her teammates, took on 25-year-old Dancer on the advice of Canadian-born French number one Mary Pierce. Dancer, who also looks after Croatian Mirjana Lucic, had previously coached two South African players Joanette Kruger and Mariaan De Swardt.
Compiled from wire services
