As anniversary parties go, this must rank among the most eventful. A year to the day since Venky's completed their takeover of Blackburn Rovers, their manager left the pitch punching the air, celebrating an unlikely leveller in an exhilarating, extraordinary game.
A match of controversy and clangers came to a suitably dramatic conclusion. With Blackburn trailing 3-2, their goalkeeper, at fault for what would have been Wigan's winner, went forward for a corner. Going to head the ball, Paul Robinson was kicked in the cheek by David Jones. Yakubu nervelessly converted the 99th-minute penalty that earned Blackburn a point.
The draw kept them off the foot of the Premier League and ensured Wigan remain there in what could be viewed as an early relegation six-pointer. Roberto Martinez's side arrested a run of eight successive league defeats but, as the manager said: "It feels like a defeat."
In the long run, it could be a damaging day for both sides, but Blackburn's immediate emotion was of joy on Saturday, Steve Kean seeing the comeback proof of their spirit.
"I think that's our lads," the embattled coach said.
Not that the Indian co-owners were there to see it.
The brothers Venkatesh and Balaji Rao had left at half time, pre-empting the vocal choruses of "we want Venky's out."
Yet high drama is not the perfect occasion for protest: there was too much else to occupy the mind.
Barely a minute in, Wigan's plight was both explained and exacerbated by the concession of an all-too-avoidable goal. Failing to clear Robinson's goal kick may not have mattered had Gary Caldwell reacted to Steven Nzonzi's subsequent header. Instead, he hesitated, Yakubu accelerated, and he lifted the ball neatly over Ali Al Habsi.
Wigan's response was swift.
Seven minutes in, Jordi Gomez rifled in a half-volley from the edge of the box. While the Rovers defence advanced, Conor Sammon remained behind them.
Was he interfering with play? The referee, Andre Marriner, thought not and, as he had denied Wigan a cast-iron penalty two minutes earlier when Morten Gamst Pedersen fouled Victor Moses, Athletic were entitled to argue that justice was done.
After Pedersen's ferocious free kick rebounded off the post, Wigan led through yet another goal that owed much to deficient defending. Nzonzi, initially marking Caldwell, was distracted and left the Scot on his own to head in Jones's corner
A goal down, Blackburn were soon a man short. Already cautioned for fouling James McCarthy, David Dunn hacked down Mohamed Diame and departed. "I thought he got a bit of the ball," Kean said.
It was not to be Marriner's most contentious moment, however. That came on the hour. Assuming Yakubu had rolled a corner to him, rather than merely putting the ball down in the quadrant, Pedersen ran infield and crossed.
Junior Hoilett applied the final touch from a yard out.
In effect, Pedersen had taken the corner to himself.
"I don't know what to say," Martinez said. "If I am going to be honest, I am going to get into trouble and it is going to cost me a lot of money. For a referee to allow that is really hurtful."
His players were too dumbstruck, or too polite, to protest.
Instead, they mounted the right sort of response. After a brilliant saving challenge from Steve Gohouri after Yakubu had rounded Al Habsi, Jones almost scored. Then Albert Crusat did, opening his Wigan account with a shot that Robinson should have saved.
"I felt we deserved at least something at the end," Kean said.
Wigan believed they merited victory.
It is an argument that, come the second anniversary of Venky's' ownership, they may be reopening in the Championship.
sports@thenational.ae
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.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Shipsy%3Cbr%3EYear%20of%20inception%3A%202015%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Soham%20Chokshi%2C%20Dhruv%20Agrawal%2C%20Harsh%20Kumar%20and%20Himanshu%20Gupta%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20India%2C%20UAE%20and%20Indonesia%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20logistics%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%20more%20than%20350%20employees%3Cbr%3EFunding%20received%20so%20far%3A%20%2431%20million%20in%20series%20A%20and%20B%20rounds%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Info%20Edge%2C%20Sequoia%20Capital%E2%80%99s%20Surge%2C%20A91%20Partners%20and%20Z3%20Partners%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
