On a hectic night of sweaty proportions and wealthy Brazilians, all that mattered was Matar. This was an evening billed as the return of the UAE league, though not as we know it.
Several clubs have frosted themselves with some nifty names during the summer, but the pungent Ismail Matar's piercing run and shot for the equalising goal could have occurred at any time over the past five seasons. As far as the local fans are concerned, this is a man who has mercury in his boots.
The Etisalat Pro League has changed its name, but as Shakespeare once wrote, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Matar's goal to earn a 1-1 draw with their Abu Dhabi neighbours Al Jazira was so sweet it was coated in sugar, just the way the locals like their football and their tea. At such times, Matar and his Al Wahda side are a heady brew.
Abdul Salam Juma's goal in the 44th minute for Jazira also held some appeal, the ball finding its way into the net with some haste from long range.
The Wahda manager Ahmed Abdulhalim likes a smoke. This hoary old figure was clearly happy to be back for more on Saturday night.
He managed to rid himself of the tobacco before raising his hands in a grateful gesture after Matar's 86th-minute shot redeemed his side. He was probably happier for a drag afterwards to calm his nerves.
Nothing in these matches has altered all that much. Names on shirts are now painted in English as well as Arabic, but goalkeepers continue to guard their goal with some ghastly moments, players feign injury with some relish and an effective deadball planted in the box leaves defenders lost. Mayhem remains a pivotal stanchion of the new league. Whenever the home fans muster the energy to get along to such games, they continue to revel in the Emiratis, even if the UAE's aim of progressing to the World Cup finals lies as empty as the Al Wahda shopping centre during daylight hours this month.
Jazira shop at some exclusive outlets, but all gratuities went to Matar. Then there was the home side's very own Brazilian forward Pinga, who was unfortunate in slamming an early header into a post.
Wahda went at this game with some venom. One wonders what the new Jazira head coach Abel Braga and Rafael Sobis, his striker who was signed from Real Betis for a monstrous Dh65million, made of such shenanigans.
The home team also rattled the bar, and Pinga missed from close range only for an offside flag to spare him, and were denied a winning goal by an offside decision.
It must be said, Sobis was disappointing here. One cannot be too harsh after only one outing, but he seemed to sit too deep.
Having sampled the game at a more manic level than this in Spain, he appeared downtrodden, like he had run into misfortune in Pamplona's running of the bulls.
This must have seemed like a chess match by comparison to a derby between Sevilla and Real Betis, with plenty of air between the seats at both ends.
An irate Sobis was booked and substituted, but he will be back for more. We are now in professional times, but thank goodness the semblance of amateur nonsense remains with us. Let the mayhem continue.
@Email:dkane@thenational.ae
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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Results:
Men’s wheelchair 200m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 27.14; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 27.81; 3. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 27.81.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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