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Many Real Madrid fans were disappointed when the club sold Angel Di Maria in 2014 and the Paris St Germain midfielder will be keen to remind them what they are missing in Champions League Group A on Wednesday.

Real offloaded the Argentine to Manchester United in part to fund president Florentino Perez’s policy of cherry-picking the standout performers at the World Cup, with Germany’s Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez of Colombia arriving shortly before Di Maria’s move to England.

Following a failed season at United the 27-year-old Di Maria, who is nicknamed “Fideo” (Noodle) due to his wiry frame, moved to the French capital in search of a new lease of life and has made a solid, if unspectacular, start to his Ligue 1 career.

He was a key figure for Real during his four years in Madrid and was named man of the match when they beat city rivals Atletico 4-1 to clinch the “Decima”, a record-extending 10th European Cup crown, in his final season.

Di Maria’s electric run helped set up Gareth Bale to put Real 2-1 ahead. He will also be remembered for the superb cross he sent over for Cristiano Ronaldo to head home and win the 2011 King’s Cup final against Barcelona.

“If I score against Madrid I will not celebrate because at the bottom of my heart I have not forgotten what I experienced there with the Decima,” Di Maria told French TV.

A depleted Real strolled to a 3-0 La Liga win at home to Levante on Saturday.

Coach Rafa Benitez is hoping some of the players who were missing through injury, including captain Sergio Ramos, midfielder Luka Modric and forward Karim Benzema, will be back for the clash at the Parc des Princes.

Forward Bale looks certain to miss the game after tests on Monday showed he has a calf injury.

PSG have been boosted by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s recent performances that suggest he is close to top form after injury disrupted his start to the season.

The Sweden striker has netted six goals in his last four Ligue 1 outings and PSG geared up for Wednesday with a clinical 2-0 win at Bastia on Saturday thanks to an Ibrahimovic double.

Coach Laurent Blanc rested his regular midfielders, with Thiago Motta coming off the bench on the hour and Di Maria, Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi not even in the squad.

PSG and Real have a maximum six points from two matches in Group A.

Manchester United return to the scene of their 2008 Champions League triumph looking for a second away win over CSKA Moscow in exactly six years on Wednesday.

United, who won their third crown when they beat Chelsea on penalties at the Luzhniki Stadium in May 2008, returned to the Russian capital on October 21, 2009 and beat CSKA 1-0 with a late goal by Antonio Valencia.

The Red Devils will be looking to repeat that victory at a different venue, the Arena Khimki, as the Luzhniki is under reconstruction for the 2018 World Cup finals.

United will travel to Moscow in good heart after an excellent 3-0 win away to Everton kept them third in the Premier League at the weekend.

Manager Louis van Gaal was delighted with that return to form following a defeat by the same score away to Arsenal in the previous game.

Morgan Schneiderlin, Ander Herrera and Wayne Rooney scored the goals, with Rooney once again playing just behind new young striker Anthony Martial, who has made a fine impression since joining from AS Monaco in the close-season.

“Maybe it is the start of many, many victories. I am not stupid, I won’t change too much on Wednesday,” said Van Gaal, who left out fellow Dutchmen Danny Blind and Memphis Depay at the weekend following the Netherlands’ failure to qualify for Euro 2016.

While United may have one eye on next Sunday’s local derby against Manchester City, they would do well not to underestimate a CSKA side who have been in excellent form domestically as well.

CSKA are unbeaten in their last 19 matches in the Russian Premier League, equaling a club record set in 2001, and beat Ural 3-2 on Saturday to stay five points clear of second placed Lokomotiv Moscow.

However, head coach Leonid Slutskiy has been critical of his team’s performance.

“Unfortunately we are unable to fully control the whole match,” said the 44-year-old, who in August also started to coach the Russian national team.

CSKA will be without Bibras Natcho who is suffering from a head injury, but fellow midfielder Roman Eremenko is expected to be fit following a groin strain. Experienced central defender Vasili Berezutski is also expected to return.

Russian international goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev will be hoping for an upturn in fortunes. CSKA’s captain is looking to end an unwanted record, having failed to keep a clean sheet in 33 consecutive appearances in the Champions League.

Man City wary

Manchester City will be almost as concerned to avoid further injuries as they are to take three Champions League points when Sevilla visit the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Four days later Premier League leaders City have a big local derby at third-placed Manchester United.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side are already without top scorer Sergio Aguero who hit six goals in two games, five of them in 20 minutes against Newcastle United, before suffering a hamstring problem playing for Argentina.

Playmaker David Silva was also injured on international duty and will miss Wednesday’s game against his fellow countrymen.

Captain Vincent Kompany was not considered fit enough to play in Saturday’s 5-1 win over lowly Bournemouth while midfielder Samir Nasri sustained a hamstring injury in that game.

“I prefer to play with Aguero and Silva,” Pellegrini told reporters before adding he was “very happy” with the performances of attacking players Raheem Sterling, who scored a hat-trick, Wilfried Bony and record signing Kevin De Bruyne.

ZURICH — The head of Asian football, Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain, says he has been “urged” to stand in the election for FIFA president but wants to gauge opinion from football federations in the region before he decides whether to run.

British media reports last week suggested Sheikh Salman had decided to run in the election but in a letter to members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee and the FIFA executive committee, which has been seen by Reuters, Sheikh Salman said those reports were based on a “misunderstanding”.

In the letter, dated October 18, Sheikh Salman said he had not “actively considered” running for president of world football’s scandal-hit governing body, adding: “More importantly, I am not a candidate today.”

“You and the AFC membership that you represent are the people that I am responsible to and whom I am elected to guide and serve. Without seeking your views, I would fail in my duties. It is largely in your hands if I accept the challenge.”

However Sheikh Salman added: “I have recently been urged by a growing number of senior football administrators, FIFA members and personalities of public life to become a candidate now that UEFA president Michel Platini faces obstacles on his path to the FIFA presidency.”

Sheikh Salman had initially backed Frenchman Platini to replace outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter. But Platini’s troubles, which originated with a 2011 payment of 2 million Swiss francs from FIFA for work done nine years earlier, have dramatically changed the electoral landscape.

Earlier this month both Blatter and Platini were handed a 90-day provisional ban from football by FIFA’s ethics committee — a decision which has quickly led to support for the Frenchman’s candidacy dissipating. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

Feedback

The deadline for nominations for the FIFA vote is October 26 and Sheikh Salman asked for feedback by Tuesday.

“Only after reviewing your comments and taking advice from close friends, advisers and after discussing all options with the people most important to me, my family, will I even consider such a major step,” he added.

HRH Prince Ali has already filed his nomination papers for the vote to replace Blatter. Former Trinidad and Tobago midfielder David Nakhid has also submitted the required five nominations from national associations.

Sheikh Salman promised he would not use any AFC resources in the event of any bid for the FIFA presidency.

FIFA has been rocked by the US Department of Justice’s decision on May 27 to indict 14 football officials and sports marketing executives in a corruption investigation. Swiss authorities are also investigating FIFA.

Blatter’s payment to Platini is part of a Swiss criminal investigation into the 79-year-old.

FIFA confirmed on Tuesday after a meeting of its executive committee that its presidential election would go ahead as planned on February 26.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident the Gunners can cause an upset against Bayern Munich and open their Champions League account when the German champions visit the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

Arsenal’s hopes of advancing from the group stage of the continent’s premier club tournament for a 16th straight season are dangling by a thread after damaging losses to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos Piraeus in their first two fixtures.

If the North London club were to lose again, it would be difficult to see them advancing and they cannot afford to drop any more points when Bayern visit for the third time in four seasons.

The home side’s defence will need to be at their very best to keep Bayern in check with in-form striker Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 22 goals for club and country this season leading the German side’s attack.

Arsenal, however, will be banking on their own red-hot marksman Alexis Sanchez to continue his fine run of form to give them the edge after the Chilean forward took his tally to 10 goals in six matches with a strike against Watford on Saturday.

Wenger believes his team have the right confidence levels after their run of impressive results in the Premier League, including a 3-0 win over Manchester United before the international break and an identical victory over the Hornets.

“It is true that [we have delivered big results] before, but we want to do it again because we feel a bit that the pain inflicted [in the Champions League] was a bit by ourselves,” Wenger told the club website.

“Maybe subconsciously we thought ‘anyway we will win these [first two games]’,” the Frenchman added.

“Now to correct that, we need a great performance. What we want to do is play up to our level — that will be needed because we play against a big team.

“The confidence level is there, the needed result is there as well — we know exactly what is required [because] a 0-0 is not even a good result. To score goals, we have to attack.”

Barcelona can take a big step towards the last 16 of the Champions League for a 12th consecutive season when they travel to face BATE Borisov in the cold of Belarus tomorrow.

The depleted Catalans will again be without Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, but can count on an on-fire Neymar after he smashed four past Rayo Vallecano in a 5-2 win on Saturday.

Barca boss Luis Enrique described the Brazilian star as “unstoppable” as he has taken on the responsibility of leading the European champions in Messi’s absence.

The player himself proudly declared his performance against Rayo as one of his best for the club, as he left the Camp Nou with the match ball signed by all of his teammates at the weekend.

“Hopefully Neymar doesn’t stop and we have to sign a lot more balls for him,” said midfielder Ivan Rakitic.

Messi scored twice when the sides last met in Belarus four years ago as Barca cruised to a 5-0 win.

However, the impact of injuries to the Argentine, Iniesta and Rafinha, allied to a one-year ban on registering new players has left Barca with a very stretched squad for a run of six games in 19 days.

A come from behind win against Bayer Leverkusen in their last European outing did at least put Barca back on course for the last 16 after opening their campaign with a 1-1 draw away to Roma.

Enrique’s men will be expected to pick up six points from their two clashes with BATE in the next fortnight with the safety net of knowing Messi will be fit for their final two group games at home to Roma and away to Leverkusen.

“We need to recover well, we have a lot of games in a row and that means we are doing well because you are in all competitions,” added Rakitic.

“We will prepare well for Tuesday [tomorrow] and if something hurts a little you just have to grit your teeth and keep going. That is all we can do.”

BATE go into the game against the Spanish giants full of confidence after sealing a 10th consecutive league title on Friday with 2-0 win over Vitebsk.

The Belarusians are also well in the fight to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time in their fifth year in the competition.

A 3-2 win over Roma last time out means Alyaksandr Yermakovich’s side are level with Leverkusen in second place in Group E, just a point behind Barca.

BATE also have Champions League winning experience in their ranks in the form of Alexander Hleb, who was part of the Barca squad that won the competition in 2008/09.

Fragile Chelsea face tough

Chelsea enjoyed a somewhat fortuitous return to winning ways when they beat Aston Villa on Saturday but their fragile self-confidence will face a far more severe test at Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday.

After their worst start to a domestic league season for 37 years, Jose Mourinho’s men travel to Ukraine for their Group G qualifier having won one and lost one of their two games.

Dynamo top the section with four points, the same as Porto, followed by Chelsea on three and Maccabi Tel Aviv on zero.

A win against Kiev will not only help swing the initiative in the group Chelsea’s way, but also prove they may be getting back on track after their below-par campaign so far.

Their unexpectedly poor form this season has been down to a lack of goals, the underperforming midfield partnership of Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard, unusually bad defending and Mourinho’s conflicted persona, which has seen him fall out with the club doctor, criticise his players in public and fined £50,000 ($77,195.00) by the English FA for comments about referees.

Whether they can retain their Premier League title after taking just 11 points from their opening nine matches, let alone reach the latter stages of the Champions League, is doubtful but they got lucky with both goals in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Villa.

However, on such things seasons turn.

ZURICH — Complaining that he is being “dragged through the mud” in the FIFA corruption investigation, Michel Platini believes he is “bullet proof” and has not lost support in his bid to replace Sepp Blatter as the head of world football’s governing body.

The UEFA president, who has been suspended for 90 days along with Blatter, confirmed in an interview published Monday in the French daily Le Monde that he had no written contract for the $2 million payment he received from FIFA in 2011.

Risking further FIFA ethics sanctions by breaking confidentiality rules, Platini gave a detailed defence in the case that threatens to end his presidential hopes.

The extra pay for his job advising Blatter from 1998-2002 was “a thing between two men”, Platini said, giving a new version of why FIFA could not pay him in full more than a decade ago.

“I think it’s shameful to be dragged through the mud,” he said, insisting the case was not a scandal.

Platini submitted his FIFA election application papers before being suspended and hopes that his provisional suspension will be lifted — by the FIFA appeal committee or Court of Arbitration for Sport — to allow him to run.

Platini must still pass an integrity check by FIFA’s election committee, which will scrutinise all applicants after the deadline closes next Monday.

“I don’t think I’ve lost many votes and those who know me know I can look myself in the mirror,” Platini told Le Monde. “I’m bullet-proof.”

On Friday, Blatter told a Swiss broadcaster the payment deal being investigated by Swiss prosecutors as a “disloyal payment” from FIFA funds was a “gentlemen’s agreement”.

Platini and Blatter are appealing against the suspensions imposed this month by the FIFA ethics committee while it investigates the case.

The ethics panel has in recent cases imposed strict bans when football officials discussed their cases in the media.

“What annoys me most is to have been lumped in with the others,” said Platini, who joins a long list of past and current colleagues on the FIFA executive committee who have been implicated in corruption allegations.

Platini told Le Monde that Blatter, newly elected as FIFA’s president in 1998, asked him to name his salary to work as a personal adviser.

“’How much do you want?’ Blatter asks,” Platini told Le Monde. “I reply: ‘One million.’ ‘Of what?’ ‘Whatever you want, rubles, pounds, dollars.’ There was still no euro then. He replies, ‘Agreed. One million Swiss francs per year.’”

The former France great has previously said FIFA did not pay him in full at the time because of the governing body’s financial problems.

Platini told Le Monde that Blatter suggested that FIFA’s salary policy prevented him from having a contract that paid the Frenchman more than then secretary general Michel Zen Ruffinen.

“I worked for several months without pay,” Platini said. “After a while, I went to Blatter: ‘You have a problem paying me?’ He says: ‘Yes, I can’t pay you 1 million because of the wage structure. You must understand that the secretary general gets 300,000 Swiss francs. You can’t get more than three times his salary. So we’ll write you a contract for 300,000 Swiss francs and pay the rest later.’ And that’s what happened. Only later never arrived.”

Platini said he invoiced FIFA for 2 million Swiss francs in 2011 because he mistakenly recalled that he had been paid 500,000 Swiss francs annually at the time and not 300,000.

FIFA paid Platini in February 2011, weeks ahead of a presidential contest between Blatter and Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar, who both sought Platini’s endorsement.

MADRID — One moment that perhaps best illustrates the difference between Cristiano Ronaldo and his greatest rival Lionel Messi was Ronaldo’s reaction when he won his third FIFA Ballon d’Or award in January.

With millions around the world watching the glitzy ceremony in Zurich, Ronaldo, who became Real Madrid’s all-time record scorer on Saturday, strode onto stage to collect the gleaming golden ball before clenching his fists in front of him and bellowing “Si!” (Yes!) at the audience.

It was the Portugal captain’s second consecutive success after he ended Barcelona forward Messi’s run of four straight awards between 2009 and 2012 and the latest skirmish in the prolific pair’s battle for domination of the world game.

Ronaldo’s aggressive victory cry, which prompted widespread ridicule in social media, mirrored the way he plays his football.

Always striving to be the centre of attention, his game is based around his superb athletic prowess, with lung-bursting runs, crashing shots and showy flicks and stepovers.

Argentina captain Messi, by contrast, appears like a shy schoolboy in public and clearly prefers to be playing football or be at home with his family.

When he is on the pitch and in full flow, he has the infectious joy of a youngster, scurrying past opponents with impossibly quick feet and sumptuous ball control before unleashing a telling finish.

Few would dispute that Ronaldo and Messi are two of the best players in history but the raging debate over which of them is better is unlikely to ever be satisfactorily concluded for supporters of either camp, or even admiring neutrals.

What does seem clear is that they drive each other on in rewriting the record books.

The raw statistics appear to favour Messi, who at 28 has two and a half years on the 30-year-old Ronaldo and is likely to end his career with most of the major scoring records.

Messi, Barca’s record marksman, has scored 418 goals in 493 games for his life-long club, while Ronaldo’s tally for Real is 324 in 310 matches, including a trademark long-range effort in Saturday’s La Liga game at home to Levante that took him past former Spain striker Raul.

Ronaldo also netted 118 times for Manchester United and five times for boyhood club Sporting Lisbon, giving him a career total of 447 goals in 633 appearances.

In terms of silverware, Messi has a clear edge.

He has amassed 25 titles with Barca, including four Champions Leagues, while Ronaldo won 10 with United and has a relatively meagre seven with Real since joining in 2009, winning Europe’s elite club competition once with each club.

Whichever side you stand in the debate, the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry is one of the most compelling in the history of sport, often compared to that between the likes of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe or Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

In one of his few public comments on Messi, Ronaldo also used a motor racing comparison.

“People are bound to compare us, like in Formula One they make comparisons between Ferrari and Mercedes,” he told Spanish sports daily Marca last year.

“There is a degree of rivalry with both of us trying to do the best for the teams we represent,” he said, adding that he hoped they could both laugh about it in the future.

“Football is a game, a pastime and something we like to do. We have to look on this rivalry with a positive spirit because it’s a good thing.”

Enjoy it while you can.

SHANGHAI — It proved all too easy once again for Novak Djokovic as the world number one continued his frightening dominance of men's tennis by blitzing past Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win another Shanghai Masters title on Sunday.

The Serbian, 10-times a Grand Slam champion, brushed aside the challenge of a befuddled Tsonga 6-1, 6-4 to claim his third Shanghai Masters and ninth title of a standout year that has left him being spoken of among the sport's all-time greats.

Djokovic won three Grand Slams this year, was runner-up at the French Open and since suffering a surprise quarter-final loss to Ivo Karlovic in Qatar in January has made the final of all 13 events he has played.

The 30-year-old Tsonga had shown his serving prowess in taking out Rafa Nadal in three tight sets in the semi finals on Saturday but against the imperious returning skills of Djokovic he had no answers.

The 28-year-old Serb nullified Tsonga's most potent weapon to break his three opening service games and take a first set, which the Frenchman played predominantly way behind the baseline.

Things improved for Tsonga at the start of the second set where he worked hard to fight off break points and stay on serve through the opening eight games as the Serb sauntered through his own service.

But the pressure proved too much, Djokovic pummelling balls to all angles with supreme court coverage at the expense of just eight unforced errors and he broke at the third attempt in the crucial ninth game and served out for victory.

Service returns

"Today the key was to get as many serves back into play to Jo because he has one of the biggest serves in the game," Djokovic told the ATP website (www.atpworldtour.com).

"He has shown that in the second set, with some break points early in the set. He came up with some aces, some big serves."

It was a second straight tournament Djokovic had won without dropping a set after he landed his sixth China Open title in Beijing last week. The Serb now boasts a 38-1 win loss record on the Chinese hardcourts.

"Generally I felt always in control of the match. I felt like I've done everything right. I didn't allow him to get into the rhythm, get into the match," he said.

Tsonga will be comforted by his strong showing in China, which helped move him up to ninth in the race to qualify for the eight man end-of-season ATP Tour Finals in London next month.

"The first set went quick," Tsonga said. "It's not easy to stop him. He is really consistent on his return. Today I didn't serve well enough, especially in the first set.

"After that, in the second, I served a little bit better, and it gave me the opportunity to have a chance on his serve. But finally I was not able to do it."

The victory was Djokovic's 57th ATP Tour title, moving him within two of Nadal's mark of 27 Masters Series crowns and took his prize money for the year past a record $16 million.

DEAD SEA — Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah  on Friday cruised to victory and secured an 11th regional title in 13 years after winning the Jordan Rally, Round 6 of the 2015 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC),  with the participation of 14 teams.

Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel took control of the rally after clocking 3h07m51.2s in their Ford Fiesta RRC, leaving Qatar’s Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and co-driver Marshall Clarke in their Ford Fiesta RRC in second place (3h37m22.2s).

Meanwhile, Jordan’s Husam Salem and co-driver Nancy Majali delivered on their promise and took the third spot on the podium after clocking 3h41m37.6s in their Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Salem’s podium finish follows Ameer Najjar’s historical moment when he came second in the 2008 version of the Jordan Rally and closes the host’s six-year dry gap.

Jordan’s Khaled Juma and co-driver Faris Al Tal came fourth in their Mitsubishi Evo 7 (3h43m30.6s), followed by Ihab Al Shorafa and co-driver Rakan Khair in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (4h06m11.4s). Asem Aref and co-driver Moad Arja came in seventh in their Fiat Stilo (5hr 21min 27.8sec).

Attiyah proved to be worthy of the title after winning 18 of the 21 rally stages. Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Rajhi overcame Attiyah and placed himself in front of the MERC champion in SS17 Syagha (9.6km) and SS18 Rama 2 (8.55km).

The last stage SS12 Baptism 2 (11.68km) was won by Kuwari.

HRH Prince Feisal, president of Jordan Motorsport kept a close eye on the event with visits to the service park encouraging drivers on their achievements and efforts. 

“Several Arab drivers were absent from this year’s rally which gave other drivers the opportunity to move forward and have a chance to be on the podium,” the prince said.

And regarding hosting a round of the WRC. 

“We are in negotiations with the FIA and the WRC promoters regarding hosting a WRC round so maybe we will have it next year or the year after. The economic situation is hard on everyone, but we hope for the best,” the prince said.

Attiyah expressed his happiness and satisfaction with the event saying: “There were many retirements but some returned and took part in the rally. I am happy to win the rally which proved to be a very challenging, especially the heat and the slippery track but we managed to overcome all these and take the win,” he said.

“On Friday I chose soft tyres for the first five stages and Saturday I used harder tyres on the front and soft on the rear. The problem is that with the soft tyres there is a lot of movement and it does not suit the stages, especially the later stages. But this is another fantastic win for me and another Middle East Championship title. I am very happy,” Attiyah, who clinched the FIA World Cup in Morocco last week, added.

WRC Promoter Managing Director Oliver Ciesla, told The Jordan Times that it is quite impressive to see the Jordan Rally fulfilling its objectives.

“As long as the rally secures the different elements of being a successful event then it is a good thing despite all the conditions such as desert stages or tough terrain, and this is what makes the rally special,” he said.

Salem told The Jordan Times that it was really a very “solid rally”.

“The rally was solid in all its aspects. We had a modest beginning, but managed to be on the podium. We are proud of our achievement this year and proud of the strategy we adopted. We aimed for the podium and we got it. The stages were so challenging and inviting at the same time and this put us in a much focused mode regarding the 21 stages,” he said.

Veteran Majali, who said she is enjoyed every minute in this very competitive rally, was happy to have such a great achievement.

“We had a great rally and although our results did not come out as we expected, our overall results are good and we did finish in second place on Friday,” she added.

The event on Friday witnessed exciting action with Attiyah finishing first in a day plagued with retirements and mechanical issues.

Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Rajhi’s Ford Fiesta RRC did not start on Friday due to the damage his car sustained on Thursday, but he clocked 4h58m20.6s and finished in sixth place overall.

Qataris Khalid Al Suwaidi and Rashid Al Naimi suffered mechanical issues and Abdulaziz Al Kuwari lost 23 minutes in the fifth timed test, when he clouted a small rock and broke a wheel rim. 

Naimi told The Jordan Times that it was a very challenging event.

“We did our best during the challenging first stages but this is a very difficult rally and I can easily say it is very hard and tough and really hot and that car could not take it. We hope to come next year and continue what we started,” he said. 

“There were a lot of blind crests and I saw a ditch and we hit it hard and we damaged the engine. We are out of the rally. This is rallying and anything could happen,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kuwari’s car hit small rock and damaged the wheel.

“We stopped after it happened and went out of the car to change the tyre, but we got stuck between stones and rocks. I tried to drive and could not until some spectators came. They were watching and then they helped get us out. I drove on the tyre until the tyre went out. Then, we stopped and changed the tyre,” he said.

Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO said that the rally was a challenging event for all.

“We are happy that everything went according to the plan set. The rally proved to be the rally to beat due to its challenging stages and the heat in addition to the level of competition,” he said.

“Attiyah did an excellent job in winning the rally which as we have seen it was not an easy job; the most important thing is that we did not have any serious issues or accidents,” he added. 

Jordan’s Lina Hadidi and co driver Barkev Shadian in their Subaru Impreza WRX did well and came first in Group S, followed by Basheer Azar and co-driver Bilal Majdalawe in their Subaru Impreza WRX (4h11m15.7s) and Raed Habaybeh and co-driver Marina Habaybeh in their Subaru Impreza (5h 47m05.1s).

“I am really excited as this is my first Jordan Rally, which I learned so much from it. Next year it will be even better with a different car,” Hadidi said.

BERNE — The corruption scandal sweeping world football engulfed Germany as FIFA said Friday that it would investigate “very serious allegations” that voters were bribed to win the 2006 World Cup bid.

The latest claims of wrongdoing linked to football’s governing body broke as suspended President Sepp Blatter went public with his fight to get his FIFA ethics case thrown out.

Blatter may have deepened the prospect of a long ban by admitting there was only a “gentleman’s agreement” for the 2011 payment he authorised to UEFA President Michel Platini and which led to them both being suspended by FIFA last week after it emerged through a criminal investigation.

FIFA is attempting to contain the damage to the image of the world’s most popular sport by ramping up the scale of inquiries into alleged illegality. After 14 football officials were indicted in May by US authorities in a football bribery case, FIFA launched an internal investigation in an attempt to show it is committed to eradicating corruption.

The investigation will now include looking into a report in news magazine Der Spiegel that Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid committee established a slush fund of 10.3 million Swiss francs (then about $6 million) to bribe four of the 24 voters.

Franz Beckenbauer, the former Germany great who headed the bidding committee, and Wolfgang Niersbach, the current president of the German football federation (DFB), as well as other high-ranking football officials were aware of the slush fund by 2005 at the latest, the report claimed.

Former Adidas chief Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who died in 2009, provided the funding, according to Spiegel, and asked for the money — by then worth 6.7 million euros — back before the tournament began.

Spiegel reported that a cover was created with the help of FIFA and that 6.7 million euros were transferred to FIFA as a contribution to an opening ceremony gala that was later canceled.

“These are very serious allegations,” FIFA said in a statement. “They will be reviewed as part of the independent internal investigation currently being conducted by FIFA under the direction of its legal director with the assistance of outside counsel.”

No criminal authority has said it is investigating the latest allegations but FIFA’s statement stressed that it “continues to cooperate with the investigations of the US Department of Justice and the office of the Swiss attorney general”.

The German football federation insisted the report was “completely baseless” and said neither Niersbach nor the other members of the organising committee “were involved or could have known about such operations”.

The money was reportedly used to secure the backing of four Asian representatives in a vote already notorious due to a New Zealander abstaining. Germany defeated South Africa 12-11.

Charlie Dempsey, then the Oceania president, abstained despite being mandated to support the Nelson Mandela-backed South Africa bid in the final round. Dempsey said he received telephone threats from “influential European interests” the night before voting. He resigned from FIFA one week later and died in 2008.

It is far from the first FIFA vote to be suspected of foul play.

Former FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer admitted to US authorities he was involved in the facilitation of bribes in connection with the selection of the 1998 and 2010 hosts. And FIFA is still imposing sanctions as part of its investigation into the dual votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in 2010.

Russia, the 2018 host, and 2022 winner Qatar both deny wrongdoing.

Blatter has previously hinted at wrongdoing in the 2006 World Cup vote, but FIFA’s leader of 17 years has ethics problems of his own now.

The 79-year-old Swiss is a week into a 90-day suspension as the FIFA ethics committee investigates a payment to Platini of 2 million Swiss francs (about $2 million) which Blatter authorised in 2011. The lack of a written contract is at the heart of the case and Blatter confirmed that it did not exist.

Despite accused officials risking further sanctions if they discuss ethics cases in public, Blatter spoke out to deny illegality in his first television interview since being placed under criminal investigation last month.

Platini has said the money was unpaid additional salary from his job as Blatter’s adviser between 1998 and 2002 which FIFA could not afford to pay at the time.

“That was a contract I had with Platini, a gentleman’s agreement and that went through,” Blatter told Swiss broadcaster RROTV.

Blatter hopes to be cleared in time to preside over the emergency FIFA congress on February 26 when his successor will be chosen.

The case might have fatally damaged Platini’s bid to succeed Blatter, who announced he was quitting just four days after being voted in for a fifth term in May as the investigations into football officials escalated.

Platini lost England’s support for his FIFA presidential bid on Friday, signalling the first crack in the European unity behind the Frenchman that UEFA had sought to portray after the previous day’s meeting of member associations.

The English Football Association was unconvinced by the explanation they heard from Platini’s lawyer for the payment and suspended its backing until his legal “position is clear”.

That process could continue beyond the election and the FA is preparing the ground to back a new candidate.

Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalif, who endorsed Platini’s campaign in July, is considering submitting his candidacy before the October 26 deadline.

Two contenders filed their paperwork, including the required five federation nominations, this week.

Jordanian federation President HRH Prince Ali, who was backed by most European nations in the May election, is running again, while former Trinidad and Tobago captain David Nakhid is hoping his first role in FIFA is the top job.

AMMAN — Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah and French co-driver Matthieu Baumel edged into a slender two-second lead after the opening timed super special of the Jordan Rally, held in close proximity to the residential district of Abdoun in Amman, on Thursday, according to the Jordan Rally Media Service.

Needing just to finish the three-day rally to secure an 11th regional title in 13 years, Attiyah also has to err on the side of caution this weekend, because a date clash with a shooting competition means that he will miss the penultimate round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship in the Sultanate of Oman at the start of November. 

“It was a nice location for the start, but a spectator stage is all about entertaining the spectators and not taking any risks,” said Al-Attiyah. “The rally really starts on Friday morning.”

Yazeed Al Rajhi finished third overall behind Attiyah and Vladimir Vasilyev in last week’s Rally of Morocco, but the Saudi missed the last three rounds of the Middle East rally series and has only 15 points earned in Kuwait to show for his regional special stage efforts this season. He and Ulster co-driver Michael Orr finished the opening stage in second place. 

Abdulaziz Al Kuwari suffered a major setback in the build up to the rally when his service vehicle was delayed at a border control. The Qatari’s pre-event preparations were badly disrupted as a result, but he posted an opening time of 2min 12.2sec and held third position. 

Khalid Al Suwaidi’s preparations were also disrupted and the Qatari duo will be hard pushed to continue over the remaining two days without sufficient spare parts for their Ford Fiesta RRCs. Suwaidi holds fourth.

Jordanian driver Husam Salem is the clear favourite to win Group N for the second year with co-driver Nancy Majali, and the Mitsubishi driver started well with the fastest time in the showroom category.

Qatar’s Rashid Al Naimi and Italian navigator Nicola Arena are hoping to take full advantage of the absence of some of their Group N championship rivals, and hold second in Group N and sixth overall — a mere two seconds behind their Jordanian rivals. 

HRH Prince Feisal, chairman of Jordan Motorsport, flagged the cars away from the Abdoun start in front of a bumper enthusiastic crowd, who had gathered to witness some of the region’s finest drivers start their three-day challenge for Jordanian supremacy. Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah, Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation president, and FIA vice-president for MENA, was also in attendance. 

With reverse seeding used for the ceremonial start, the Jordanian crew of Asem Aref and Moad Arja were the first off the start ramp in their colourful Fiat Stilo and posted the target time of 2min 53.9sec.

Equipment homologation issues forced the Jordanian crew of Lina Hadadi and Barkev Shadjan to leave the FIA category and join three other Group S entrants running at the tail end of the international rally. 

Teams will be jockeying for positions in 20 special stages in the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea areas on Friday and Saturday.

DEAD SEA — The Jordan Rally, Round 6 of the 2015 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), kicks off on Thursday from the Abdoun area with the participation of 14 teams.

Considered as one of the most challenging rounds of the MERC, the event gets under way in Abdoun Circle from 2:30pm on Thursday with an afternoon of spectator friendly events followed by two days of dramatic action in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas. 

Middle East driving champion and winner of Jordan Rally 2014 Nasser Al Attiyah is currently seeking his 11th MERC title in his 13 years of driving to break the record registered by the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Suleim who had 60 wins regional wins while Attiyah has 58 under his wing.

Attiyah, who has won the 2015 Dakar Rally and the 2015 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup champions the Oilibya Rally of Morocco, is topping the standings with 100 points after Round 5.

Attiyah will face strong competition from Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi and Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, while Jordan’s Maruf Abu Samra and Husam Salem will add to the pressure due to their extensive experience.

Al Rajhi, the first Saudi to be selected in 2008 by the UNICEF as the Goodwill ambassador in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, told The Jordan Times during his visit to the Al Ketab and Al Sonna Association where he presented a donation to the orphans that these types of visits are the responsibility of every person.

“I feel proud to be part of their life and as a Saudi citizen it gives me great pleasure to take on the responsibility of assisting the people who need support and care, especially orphans,” he said.

And regarding his participation in the Jordan Rally.

“The Jordan Rally has played a big part in my career and I still remember my first participation as if it was yesterday. I am ready to be part of it and I hope that I can do well and learn more,” he added.  

Meanwhile, Salem expects a tough ride and a huge challenge in the coming days.

“The Jordan Rally is never easy and the level of completion is always challenging, but we do what we are trained to do and that is to overcome the obstacles and hope for the best. We have a new and improved car and this should help our situation,” he said.

“The most important things is safety and we hope that everyone will be able to finish the rally without any incidents,” he added. 

Veteran driver and co-driver Nancy Majali, who has a long history in rallying since she started in 2000, said that time and practice improved and developed her and driver Salem’s skills.

“We are using a modified Mitsubishi Evo 9 instead of an Evo 8. Last year we came second among Jordanians and sixth overall and the first in Group N and I think we have a good chance to advance our position,” she said. 

Othman Nassif, CEO of Jordan Motorsport, told The Jordan Times that it will be a great event for all to enjoy.

“The event starts in Abdoun with a drivers Q&A session to make things more interesting, followed by a ceremonial start, then drivers will take on a specially created 2.2km route, also in the Abdoun area,” he said.

“On Friday things will heat up a bit with the coverage of 10 timed stages over 137km located within a stone’s throw of the Dead Sea Service Park. On Saturday, the region’s top drivers will tackle another 10 timed stages of 125km, which are also easily accessible,” he added. 

The Middle East Rally Championship includes the following countries: Dubai, Cyprus, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar.