16/07/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JULY 16, 2025

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of “soccer” to “football.” “They would call it football, but I guess we call it soccer,”Trump said, refer ring to the sport’s name throughout much of the world. The interviewer asked: “What if we make an executive order that we can only say football?” “I think we could do that,”he added.“I think I could do that.”

“Laughing stock!!! The New York Post is getting clowned online after falsely claiming Trump received “huge applause” at the Club World Cup Final – when in reality, he was loudly booed by the crowd,”anti-Trump digital media out let MeidasTouch tweeted. “Is the ‘huge applause’ in the room with us now? Because here’s what actu ally happened,” liberal podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen snarked, sharing a field-level video from AFP correspondent Danny Kemp of the stadium raining down boos on Trump. “By‘huge applause,’they mean‘lots of boos,’” finance journalist James Surowiecki quipped, while author Tom Watson added: “He was brutally booed.” Leipzig from RB Salzburg two years ago and has gone on to bag 39 goals in 87 appearances for the German club. He netted four goals in the Champions League last season, despite the fact that his team lost seven of their eight matches as they exited the competition at the group stages. The player’s imposing frame, pace and eagerness to press oppo sition defenders would make him an ideal fit for the Premier League, and his eye for goal has clearly attracted plenty of suitors. Arsenal attempted to sign Sesko last year, but the star opted to stay in Germany and sign a fresh contract. And the forward explained at the time: “I thought it through very well. I believe I made the right decision. I wanted to gain more experience, learn more, and not rush things. “Leipzig is an excellent club that can provide what I need for the next step. Leipzig’s vision is clear – everything is geared towards growth, progress, and high goals. I felt it was right to decide this way.” If United could get

“They said, ‘Could you hold this tro phy for a little while?’ We put it in the Oval Office,”Trump said. “And then I said, ‘When are you going to pick up the trophy?’ He says, ‘We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one.’” “And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting… It’s in the Oval right now,” he added. This meant that, despite upsetting the odds with their triumph over European champions Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea had to make do with the replica trophy. Trump also quipped he “could” write an executive order changing the name

“huge applause” at Monday’s Fifa World Club final, which saw the president roundly booed both before and after the contest. While there was a smattering of cheers and chants of “USA! USA!” from nearby attendees when the president and First Lady Melania Trump were first spotted in their suite, the stadium erupted in jeers when the jumbotron showed him during the national anthem, prompting the camera to quickly pan away. With the right-wing tabloid promot ing the article on social media, it didn’t take long for critics to call out the paper for trying to cover for the president while misleading its readers. top-flight matches. They also suffered heartache in the Europa League final as they lost to Tottenham. And Amorim will be desperate to bring in more fresh faces after signing Matheus Cunha as his side’s only major transfer of the summer so far. According to TBR Football , Sesko is disappointed to be missing out on a transfer to Arsenal and is now consid ering his options. And Sesko’s team have Chelsea and Newcastle have also been contacted, while the Slovenia interna tional could even decide to remain at Leipzig beyond the end of the sum mer transfer window. Sesko joined been in contact with United to keep the Red Devils abreast of his situation. Meanwhile, Liverpool,

SHORTS

Trump keeps trophy, Chelsea lifts replica

PRESIDENT Donald Trump revealed that Fifa officials gave him the Club World Cup trophy ahead of Chelsea’s win in inaugural competition’s final. Before the showpiece game at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, Trump told broadcaster DAZN that he was gifted the trophy, and that it currently sits in the Oval Office. Fifa President Gianni Infantino visited the White House, along with the trophy, in March.

… as paper mocked for ‘huge applause’ claim

THE New York Post is currently facing online ridicule from liberals and progres sives after the conservative tabloid claimed that Donald Trump received

Triumph could prove costly While Liverpool, Arsenal enjoyed extended break, Chelsea’s Club World Cup exploits might come back to hurt them F OR CHELSEA, victory in Monday’s Club World Cup decider completed a fine first season under Enzo Maresca, since arrived from Borussia Dortmund and fellow winger Estevao Willian now joins from Palmeiras in Brazil.

Devils ‘in talks with Sesko’

MANCHESTER are reportedly in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. The 22-year-old striker agreed terms with Arsenal earlier this year, but the Gunners made a transfer U-turn after Leipzig’s asking price rose to as much as £86 million (RM499m). United endured UNITED

a miserable cam paign last time out as they struggled in the Premier League under Erik ten Hag and his suc cessor, Ruben Amorim. The Red Devils ultimately finished the season in 15th position after winning just 11 of their

Chelsea will hope those signings, added to a squad led by the likes of Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, can make a real push for the Premier League title off the back of their impressive triumph at Fifa’s new tournament. Chelsea have also pocketed a stunning US$115 million (RM483m) in prize money from the Club World Cup, but what if there comes a point in 2025/26 when their exploits of this season catch up with them? While Chelsea have been competing at the Club World Cup in draining weather conditions, Premier League champions Liverpool and runners-up Arsenal have enjoyed extended off-season breaks. Manchester City were also at the Club World Cup but they went out over a week earlier. Global players’ union FifPro has been the leading voices expressing concerns about the demands on the game’s biggest stars in an ever expanding calendar. One of the safeguards it proposed in a study published before the tournament was a mandatory four week off-season break, along with four-week retraining periods before returning to competition. Chelsea’s off-season is drastically reduced, with their first match of the next Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace slated for Aug 17, exactly five weeks after the Club World Cup final. They have a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on Aug 8. “Tomorrow I have three weeks of holiday which is all I want right now because I have not stopped in 15 months,” said Maresca on Monday. It remains to be seen if Maresca and his players come back sufficiently refreshed before attacking a season in which they hope to go far in the Champions League, and which will end with the World Cup in North America. – AFP

and also finally brought the curtain down on a marathon campaign that they must hope does not catch up with them down the line. The Cole Palmer-inspired 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium outside New York was Chelsea’s 64th game of a season which lasted 11 months. By any measure it was one of Chelsea’s best ever campaigns, with their Club World Cup triumph – placed on a par by Maresca to winning the Champions League – following victory in the Conference League and a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League. Maresca, an ex-assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion. “It has been a fantastic season but I am especially happy for the players,” said the Italian, who has succeeded in putting together a coherent team out of the endless line of new signings being brought in by the club’s owners. “We have said many times that talent alone is not enough. You need to find a way for them to all fit together.” It all represents considerable progress from just two years ago, when the Stamford Bridge side finished in the bottom half of the Premier League. Maresca incorporated more new faces during the Club World Cup, with Joao Pedro making a remarkable impact – the Brazilian forward cut short a holiday to complete a £60 million (RM348m) transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion, and went on to score twice in the semifinal against Fluminense and once in the final. Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos all joined up ahead of the month in the United States, while Jamie Gittens has

RB Leipzig Benjamin Sesko.

their hands on Sesko, he w o u l d s u r e l y become a key

part of Amorim’s starting team immediately. –

Express Newspapers

Yamal’s 18th birthday party to be investigated LAMINE YAMAL is set to be investi gated by the Spanish government after allegedly hiring people with dwarfism for his 18th birthday party. The midfielder celebrated the milestone over the weekend, throw ing a party which was attended by family, friends and Barcelona team mates. It has also been claimed that organisers tried to recruit women based on their hair colour and breast size. Now, the Spanish government have demanded an investigation to establish whether any rules were bro ken. According to Marca , they are look

cerned that people with money, peo ple with power, believe themselves to be unpunished. The law is for eve ryone, for the humble and for the powerful.” It comes after Claudio Calvo, a Spanish model, claimed that she was contacted by organisers of the party to invite her to attend. She also alleged that she was asked to recruit 12 other women who met specific physical standards. “They focused mainly on breast size or hair colour, whether they were blonde.” The celebration was reportedly have been held on a boat with Yamal spotted enjoying the party with friends and family on the Mediterranean coast. – Express Newspapers

ing into the possibility that Yamal may have violated a law against shows that mock or denigrate people with disabilities. The law in question has prohib ited such activities for nearly three years and the report states that Yamal could be fined up to £867,000 (RM5.1m) if he is found to have bro ken it. Jesus Martin, General Director for Disability Rights, expressed con

He shared a one-minute clip on Instagram in which he greeted guests and posed for the camera. However, a number of concerning claims have been made in the after math of the event. Yamal has been accused of “hiring people with dwarfism as part of entertainment” by the Association of People with Achondroplasia and Other Skeletal Dysplasias with Dwarfism (ADEE).