Al Jazira’s 2-0 victory over league champions Al Ahli last Saturday proved the Arabian Gulf League is no longer the two-horse race it once was.
Al Ahli and Al Ain were expected to be the top contenders for the title before the season began, having shared the past five championships between them, but last week’s result has thrown Al Jazira – as well as Al Wasl and Al Shabab – firmly into the mix.
League leaders Al Wasl can enjoy another week at the top of the table if they leave Ras Al Khaimah with a win over struggling Emirates on Wednesday.
Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s side had a poor start to the season, losing to Al Jazira 3-1, but they have since won six on the trot – their last game an impressive 4-0 thrashing of Baniyas.
Al Wasl are the obvious favourites to return with three points against second-from-bottom Emirates, but the former Boca Juniors manager warned his players against complacency.
“We are at the top of the league table but that doesn’t guarantee us a win against any opponent,” the Argentine said. “As always, we take one game at a time.
“This game right now is the most important for us. Emirates have nothing to lose and we expect another tough game against a side that want to record their first win in the league.”
Tenth-placed Sharjah travel to Kalba, who are a place below them, for the late game on Wednesday.
Fourth-placed Ahli will be eager to rebound from their defeat to Jazira when they host Al Dhafra on Thursday, before Baniyas welcome Al Wahda. Dibba take on Hatta in the early game on Friday and Al Nasr will be at home to Al Shabab in the late fixture.
Jazira have the weekend off as their scheduled game with Al Ain has been postponed due to the Garden City club’s second leg of the Asian Champions League final against South Korean club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Saturday at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
apassela@thenational.ae
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
UAE SQUAD
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Results
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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
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