Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/201600
23 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2013 OPINION Yaya's boycott call that punishment is rubbish and sends out a soft message across. Guilty parties should have stadium bans, point deductions or competition expulsions, depending on the severity of the event. Yaya Toure, hailing from the Ivory Coast, does not stand alone in his fight. He has asked all victims to take part, and without them there will simply be no World Cup, or indeed any hope. The power here lies within the players. Without them the beautiful game does not exist, and UEFA must take his threat seriously. How can we have a World Cup, or indeed any game of football, without our best players. Jose Mourinho offered a different side to the argument, claiming losing our black players would mean losing some of the best players around. He said that the actions of a few thousand in a stadium would ruin the game for the millions outside the stadium, and that would be unaceptable. He argues that football was built by different races and it is played for a diverse audience and respecting that is paramount. The actions of a few should not put a stain on the game, however Jose, or indeed myself, are not the ones on the pitch being abused for being of a different race. I can only respect any player for being on the pitch performing infront of thousands, and I feel it is just sad to be abused for your skin colour and nationality. I am in favour of the harshest pentalties for guilty parties, be it sta- Mark Strijbosch YAYA Toure has called for a boycott of the World Cup 2018 after he was subject to racist abuse during Manchester City's Champions League win over CSKA Moscow, played in Russia. Yaya complained to UEFA that he had been racially abused throughout the game and an investigation is underway. Despite his claims however, CSKA have denied any forms of misbehaviour from their fans and have spoken confidently about the claims. BBC representatives covering the game also moved to deny any wrongdoings, stating that they had not seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. Despite this, Toure has argued that he will boycott the World Cup if he is not confident about flying to Russia in 2018. Yaya has called on all black players to do so, and it has to be said that UEFA's ears sprang up once he announced the idea. Using such force would force UEFA to re think punishment and to make them as harsh as possible. As it stands, CSKA might have to play their next Champion's League game without a capacity crowd as certain sections of their stadium would be shut. In my opinion, Manchester City's Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero appeal to referee Ovidiu Hategan in the Champions League match at CSKA Moscow dium ban or indeed point deductions for teams as that would really make the fans think about their actions due to the way they influence their teams league position. Sir Alex grilling Even in retirement no one is safe from his grillings. Sir Alex's book has laid into a heap of players, including former United captain Roy Keane, David Beckham, Owen Hargreaves and Mark Bosnich. There is of course a whole section dedicated to Rafa Benitez. In a modern day book release virtually all the book's juicest comments were Tweeted before anyone even opened the cover, spoiling many surprises. This has put a few people off, however I believe if you want to read a few tweets, go online, if you want to read a good book where Fergie lets loose and opens the jar on his career, order your copy as soon as possible. Black Cats win It has to be said Gus Poyet needed that win. A vital 2-2 derby win really sets the ball rolling for Sunderland and I feel now more than ever his side can gain some momentum as he has certainly won over the fans despite a harsh opening 4-0 defeat over Swansea last week. This time around he rung the changes in and analysed his side's tactics, shaping up very well against a decent side. Derbies like that can change seasons and I do believe they can climb up the table following their first win of the season. With relegation rivals Crystal Palace losing their manager the timing of the victory for Gus' men. Pursuits Across 1. Decaying organic matter (7) 5. Winged horse (7) 9. Exclamation of surprise (3) 10. Religious recluses (5) 11. Digging tool (5) 12. Strike (3) 13. Consecrated (6) 16. Trouble (6) 19. Letters (4) 21. Prejudice (4) 23. Falsehoods (4) 24. Print in italic type (9) 25. Noisy (4) 26. Midday (4) 27. Back part of the foot (4) 28. Most secure (6) 31. Like better (6) 35. Idiot (3) 37. Command (5) 38. Depart (5) 39. Before (3) 40. Walks with long steps (7) 41. Qualify (7) Sudoku Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday Last week's solution Chess Today's Weather 8 8 WEATHER: Partly cloudy with increasing high clouds VISIBILITY: Good WIND: South force 3 becoming force 4 by evening SEA: 7 Slight SWELL: Negligible 6 7 5 6 4 3 5 2 1 4 A 3 2 1 A B C D E F G H White to play and mate in four moves B C D d7 Kc7 d8=Q+ Kb7 Rd7 Ka6 Qb6# E F G H CLOUDY 26ºC / 18ºC UV INDEX: 5 SEA TEMP. 25 °C Down 1. Young horses (5) 2. Copy (5) 3. Unit of weight (5) 4. Nonsense (4) 5. Pillar (4) 6. Rasp (5) 7. Perspire (5) 8. Guide (5) 14. State in SW United States (7) 15. Remainder (7) 16. Evident (5) 17. Absence of sound (7) 18. Something unpleasant to look at (7) 20. Living (5) 22. Vessel used for private cruising (5) 28. Native of Switzerland (5) 29. Finely ground meal of grain (5) 30. Having sides (5) 32. Act in response (5) 33. Navy (5) 34. Use again (5) 35. Minerals (4) 36. Run away (4)