01/10/2024

TUESDAY | OCT 1, 2024

31

SPORTS

VAR gets thumbs up A TOTAL of 80 matches involving the Super League, Malaysia Cup, FA Cup and Challenge Eighty matches have used video assistant referee: Sivasundaram

City Boys bounce back to beat PFC KUALA LUMPUR (KL) City FC came back from a goal down to register a 4-2 win over Penang FC in the 2024/25 Super League match at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Cheras on Sunday night. Miroslav Kuljanac’s side had conceded a goal as early as the third minute when Penang defender Muhammad Adib Abdul Ra’op finished off a fine move from a corner to beat Muhammad Azri Ab Ghani in goal. However, five minutes later, KL City hit back to equalise through skipper Paulo Josue while another import, Jovan Motika gave the City Boys a 2-1 first lead in the 22nd minute. National Youth squad striker Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli who was brought in after the break, made it 3-1 in the 56th minute from a pass by Josue. The 21-year-old added to Penang’s misery by adding his second of the night by scoring KL City’s fourth goal in the 74th minute before coach Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli’s boys managed to reduce the deficit through Rodrigo Dias in the 83rd minute. The win by KL City was their fifth this season a climbed three positions to 8th spot in the league table with 11 points. – Bernama

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Ipswich 2 (Delap 8, 72) Aston Villa 2 (Rogers 15, Watkins 32) , Manchester United 0 Tottenham 3 (Johnson 3, Kulusevski 47, Solanke 77) . P W D L F A PTS Liverpool 6 5 0 1 12 2 15 Man City 6 4 2 0 14 6 14 Arsenal 6 4 2 0 12 5 14 Chelsea 6 4 1 1 15 7 13 Aston Villa 6 4 1 1 12 9 13 Fulham 6 3 2 1 8 5 11 Newcastle 6 3 2 1 8 7 11 Tottenham 6 3 1 2 12 5 10 Brighton 6 2 3 1 10 8 9 Nottm Forest 6 2 3 1 6 5 9 Brentford 6 2 1 3 8 10 7 Man Utd 6 2 1 3 5 8 7 Bournemouth 5 1 2 2 5 8 5 West Ham 6 1 2 3 6 10 5 Ipswich 6 0 4 2 5 10 4 Everton 6 1 1 4 7 15 4 Leicester 6 0 3 3 8 12 3 Crystal Palace 6 0 3 3 5 9 3 Southampton 5 0 1 4 2 9 1 Wolves 6 0 1 5 6 16 1 LA LIGA: Celta Vigo 1 (Aspas 81) Girona 1 (Herrera 38) , Athletic Bilbao 1 (Jauregizar 36) Sevilla 1 (Padilla 90+3 og) , Real Betis 1 (Lo Celso 85) Espanyol 0, Atletico Madrid 1 (Correa 90+5) Real Madrid 1 (Militao 64) .

Cup for the 2024-2025 season have used video assistant referee (VAR) so far. Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) referees’ committee chairman, Datuk S. Sivasundaram said the referee’s performance and handling of VAR was rated as excellent, with an average of 0.57 “On-field Review” (OFR) per match and an average of 2.27 minutes of additional time used for VAR review. “According to the guidelines of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the number of OFRs and extra time ‘VAR Review’ in our league is at the lowest level. “This means that the use of VAR in the Malaysian League is currently on the best track as per the standard of VAR operation set by Fifa,” he said in a statement yesterday. Meanwhile, Sivasundaram

said FAM and the Malaysian Football League (MFL) will begin the “2nd Batch” of VAR training starting in October 2024 and expected to end in February 2025. He said the lineup of VAR referees in the second phase is made up of young and potential referees and assistant referees. “A total of 21 referees will be trained as VAR referees, 21 assistant referees as ‘Assistant Video Assistant Referee’ (Avar) and 12 people trained as ‘Replay Operators’ (RO). “This time three female referees will also be called to participate in this exercise, namely Nurul Ain Izzatty Zainal as VAR referee, Nur Akmal Anuar and Munirah Ha Ali as Avar referee. These three are recognised as ‘AFC Women Elite Referee,’” he said.

According to him, every referee development programme and its operation is based on the benchmarks set by AFC and the International Football Federation (Fifa). “Accordingly, the implementation of the referee development programme and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) operation in the Malaysian League is based on the operational standards and VAR protocol recognised by Fifa. “FAM will always continue with measures to strengthen the quality and dignity of football referees,” he said. Meanwhile, Sivasundaram also congratulated national referee Muhammad Nazmi

Nasaruddin on his outstanding performance in refereeing local and international football matches. – Bernama Malucelli takes LTdL second stage win

TOP 5

P W D L F A PTS 8 7 0 1 25 9 21

Barcelona RealMadrid

8 5 3 0 17 6 8 4 4 0 12 4 8 4 2 2 12 8

18 16 14

Atletico Bilbao Mallorca

8 4 2 2 8 6 14 SERIE A: Torino 2 (Adams 67, Coco 90+2) Lazio 3 (Guendouzi 8, Dia 60, Noslin 89) , Roma 2 (Cristante 74, Pisilli 83) Venezia 1 (Pohjanpalo 44) , Como 3 (Cutrone 43, 72, Belotti 89) Verona 2 (Lazovic 53-pen, Lambourde 90+4) , Empoli 0 Fiorentina 0, Napoli 2 (Poli tano 22, Kvaratskhelia 33) Monza 0.

TOP 5 Napoli

P W D L F A PTS

6 4 1 1 11 4 6 3 3 0 9 0 6 3 2 1 14 7 6 3 2 1 13 7 6 3 2 1 10 8

13 12 11 11

Juventus AC Milan Inter Milan

JCL Team Ukyo rider Metteo Malucelli flanked by Polti Kometa rider Manuel Penalver (left) and Tudor Pro Cycling’s Arvid De Kleijn after the 2nd stage of the Le Tour de Langkawi yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

Torino 11 BUNDESLIGA: Hoffenheim 3 Werder Bremen 4, Holstein Kiel 2 Eintracht Frankfurt 4.

TOP 5

P W D L F A PTS

B. Munich E. Frankfurt RB Leipzig

5 4 1 0 17 4 5 4 0 1 11 6 5 3 2 0 8 2

13 12

11 B. Leverkusen 5 3 1 1 14 10 10 B. Dortmund 5 3 1 1 11 9 10 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Toulouse 1 Lyon 2, Nantes 2 Saint-Etienne 2, Angers 1 Reims 3, Strasbourg 1 Marseille 0.

JCL TEAM UKYO rider Matteo Malucelli emerged as the champion of the second stage of Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) 2024 from Arau to Butterworth yesterday, covering a distance of 154.5km. The 30-year-old Italian cyclist remained composed as he sprinted through a narrow path in the final m4ass finish, crossing the finish line first with a time of three hours, 34 minutes and 58 seconds (s). Malucelli edged out Polti Kometa rider Manuel Penalver and Tudor Pro Cycling’s Arvid de Kleijn, who finished second and third respectively. Earlier, he narrowly avoided a crash involving

several riders just 100m before the finish line. “I still can’t believe winning this stage. It was the first time winning a race with 2.Pro status and it was a wonderful moment. “I don’t know how to express the feelings of this victory. We (team) are in a good position to go through this race, especially for my three teammates from Japan. “We really hope to win the competition here because it is important to improve the team’s ranking,” he added. The Green Jersey as the overall leader (GC) and

the Orange Jersey (Sprint King) remain with Astana Qazaqstan Team rider Gleb Syritsa. Malaysian rider Muhammad Nur Aiman Rosli, representing Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG), continues to hold the title of Best Asian Rider (White Jersey) despite finishing 87th yesterday. Today’s third stage, from Taiping to Cameron Highlands, will cover a distance of 175.7km, featuring three sprint zones in Kuala Kangsar, Sungai Siput and Ipoh, along with three climbing zones in Kuala Kangsar, Kampung Raja and Brinchang, which is classified as Hors Category. – Bernama with Pahang, Johor, Selangor, Penang, Perlis and Singapore. Group B has last year’s runners-up Melaka, Perak, PDRM, ATM, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan and Sabah. In the women’s competition, last year’s beaten finalists Selangor are in Group A with Penang, Pahang, Perak and Johor while Melaka, KL, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, ATM and Young Tigress are in Group B. – Bernama

TOP 5

P W D L F A PTS

Paris SG Monaco Marseille

6 5 1 0 20 5 6 5 1 0 12 3 6 4 1 1 15 7 6 3 2 1 10 8 6 3 1 2 11 7

16 16 13 11 10

Reims

Lille

Cash-strapped Sabah withdraws from Razak Cup

REIGNING women’s champions Sabah have withdrawn from the 2024 Tun Abdul Razak Cup Hockey Championship, which will be held at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru tomorrow. Malaysian Hockey Confederation Competitions Committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Anil Jeet Singh said Sabah were pulling out due to financial constraints. He said the national junior squad, Young

Tigress, will replace Sabah in the tournament and use it as part of their preparation for the women’s Junior Asia Cup, which will be held in Muscat, Oman, from Nov 11 to 19. “As we all know, compared to other teams, Sabah and Sarawak need more funds to send teams to the tournament. “Sabah lack allocations and can afford to send only one team,” he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Anil, who is also Sabah Hockey president, said Sabah would send a men’s team and he is confident that they can do well. “Sabah have won the men’s title before, and I hope they can enter the semifinals this time,” he added. A total of 14 men’s teams and 11 women’s teams will participate in the championship. In the men’s category, defending champions Kuala Lumpur have been drawn into Group A