Raphael Stevens

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    in Soccer

    Iker Casillas Remembers Everything

    The former goalkeeper on Real Madrid, managing Clásico rivalries and the “madness” of the toughest three weeks of his career. More

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    Premier League Rejects Reform Plan Pushed by Two of Its Owners

    LONDON — Less than a week after the owners of Manchester United and Liverpool shocked English soccer’s leagues, clubs and fans with reform proposals that would have led to the biggest changes in the sport in a generation, their big idea has been unanimously rejected.For now.At an emergency meeting of the Premier League’s 20 clubs on Wednesday, the ideas for remaking English soccer that were brought forward by United and Liverpool, England’s two most successful clubs — including reducing the size of the Premier League to 18 teams from 20 and handing more power to the country’s richest teams — were quickly shot down.The plans would have required the backing of 14 teams to pass, a figure that looked unlikely almost as soon as details of the project leaked on Sunday. The Premier League said Wednesday that its members had agreed unanimously that the proposal “will not be endorsed or pursued.”Neither United nor Liverpool has spoken publicly about the proposals, which were code-named Operation Big Picture. But they may be able to claim a Pyrrhic — and perhaps face-saving — victory after the Premier League said it would now speed up a more collaborative discussion to address the key points raised in the proposals.The ideas, which also included changes to prize money agreements as well as to the split of the television revenues that have made the Premier League the richest domestic soccer competition in the world, received vocal and widespread backing from owners of cash-strapped teams in the lower divisions, many of them seduced by promises of large cash handouts as they struggle to stay afloat in closed stadiums during the pandemic.But elsewhere, there had been a near-universal rejection of the plan, and accusations of opportunism leveled at United, Liverpool and other members of the so-called Big Six clubs, a group of the richest teams in the league, who would have stood to gain most if the reforms were adopted.Fan groups, the Premier League, England’s Football Association and even the British government, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, quickly aligned against the proposals. Operation Big Picture was the brainchild of the Liverpool owner John W. Henry and his billionaire counterpart at Manchester United, Joel Glazer, and it had the active and vocal support of Rick Parry, the chairman of the English Football League, the organization responsible for the three professional divisions beneath the Premier League, who had been involved in the discussions.“I think it was an acknowledgment in the room that English football’s model is a huge success, but it hasn’t been reviewed or modernized for a long time, and so perhaps there has been some systemic issues built up that need dealing with,” the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, told reporters after presiding over Wednesday’s meeting with club officials.In their totality, the plans would have been beneficial to the biggest clubs as well as to dozens of lower-division teams who have little hope of playing top-division soccer. A middle tier of clubs, aspirants for places in the Premier League and those in the lower reaches of the top division, would almost certainly have seen their fortunes suffer, however. That led to tense exchanges behind the scenes, with groups on all sides accusing one another of “self-interest.”Despite that, Masters insisted the days of tension — which included threats that the richest clubs might break away from the Premier League or even join the E.F.L. should they not get their way — had not damaged relationships between the league’s member clubs.“I don’t think it takes a huge amount to put things back together,” Masters said. “Actually, the sort of solidarity among the collective is incredibly strong. It takes quite a lot to pull it apart.“I don’t think it’s irreparably damaged the Premier League,” he added, “and I think that today’s meeting proved that.”The league now plans, he said, to speed up and expand discussions to reform its structure. The elements under discussion mirror those that the reform plan sought to tackle, including the competition’s structure, governance, financial regulation and the commercial and broadcasting arrangements that have been the engine of the Premier League’s growth since its inception in 1992.The plight of some of the lower divisions teams has become so dire, according to some E.F.L. chairmen, that without aid from richer clubs or the government — which has declined to provide it — a number of them will run out of cash before the end of the year. That had made the promise of an immediate payment of 250 million pounds, about $325 million, more important to them than the prospect of surrendering greater power over the future of English soccer to a handful of top teams.“Is it a concern? 100 percent it is. Do I trust them? No I don’t,” Peter Ridsdale, the chairman of Preston North End, a team in the second-tier Championship, told reporters on Tuesday.“However, today the Football League has got a unique opportunity if this remains on the table to perhaps protect the Football League in the long term, whereas at the moment in the short term there is real danger,” he added.In place of the cash bonanza being promised in Project Big Picture, the Premier League on Wednesday agreed to provide more modest short term support to the two lowest professional tiers. The league said it would provide a mix of interest-free loans and grants totaling 50 million pounds. More

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    in Football

    Jets Cut Ties With Le’Veon Bell

    Le’Veon Bell’s tenure with the Jets was brief, unproductive and unfulfilling — and, as of Tuesday night, it was also over. The Jets released Bell, their marquee free-agent signing from 2019, not even halfway through his four-year, $52.5 million contract, officially terminating a tumultuous relationship that had been steaming toward a breakup.Bell, who spent three weeks on injured reserve after pulling a hamstring in the Jets’ season-opening loss at Buffalo, received 22 touches in two games. Apparently displeased by his use in an offense that did not maximize his pass-catching skills, he took to social media after the Jets’ 30-10 loss against Arizona on Sunday, which dropped them to an 0-5 record, and liked tweets advocating he be traded.“I mean, I hate that’s the route that we go with all this,” Coach Adam Gase said on Monday, signaling his disappointment in Bell. “Instead of just talking to me about it but seems the way that guys want to do it nowadays.”Unable to find any takers, the Jets cut him Tuesday, making him a free agent. Soon after, Bell posted on Twitter an emoji of folded hands, and after, one that read: “Got a lot to prove. I’m ready to go.”In a statement, General Manager Joe Douglas, who was not a part of the organization when Bell signed, said the organization appreciated Bell’s contributions but that it believed “this decision is in the best interests of both parties and wish him future success.”Across his first five seasons, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell, 28, blossomed into one of the N.F.L.’s best running backs, parlaying his combination of balance, patience and acceleration into three Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro selections. But he sat out the 2018 season because of a contract dispute, unwilling to play again on a franchise tag.The Jets pounced, giving him $25 million guaranteed. In return, he gave them an average of 3.27 yards per carry and four total touchdowns in 17 games, and now he is gone. More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo Tests Positive for Coronavirus and Enters Isolation

    Cristiano Ronaldo, one of soccer’s biggest stars and among the world’s most famous athletes, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Portugal’s soccer federation announced Tuesday.The federation’s statement said Ronaldo was not displaying symptoms of Covid-19, and that he had entered isolation, away from the rest of Portugal’s players. Those players continued their preparations for a match against Sweden on Wednesday in Lisbon.“Following the positive case, the remaining players underwent new tests Tuesday morning,” Portugal’s federation said in a statement. “All tested negative.”Ronaldo, 35, will miss Wednesday’s Nations Cup game against Sweden, the federation said.Ronaldo played for Portugal in a friendly against Spain last week and in a scoreless Nations League draw against France on Sunday. On Monday, he posted a photo of himself dining with his smiling teammates on his social media accounts.“United on and off the field,” the caption read.Ronaldo’s positive test confirmed the worst fear of some European clubs, who had fought with FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, to alter rules that require them to release players to represent their national teams during scheduled international breaks. Many clubs feared that sending their players on long trips to virus hot spots — particularly in South America, where qualifying for the 2022 World Cup began last week — could leave them vulnerable to infection or cause them to bring the virus back to their European teams. More

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    Walter Ashcraft, College Football Star and a Coach, Dies at 91

    Walter Ashcraft Jr., 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds by his early 20s, drew on his physique to excel in the Southern California sports world of the mid-20th century.He placed third in the 1947 California high school shot-put championships, competing for Long Beach Polytechnic, finishing two places above Bob Mathias of Tulare High School, who captured a gold medal in the decathlon at the 1948 London Olympics.Mr. Ashcraft also played at tackle for the University of Southern California football team. In his senior season, the Trojans, coached by Jess Hill, went 10-1, losing only to Notre Dame, and defeated Wisconsin, 7-0, in the 1953 New Year’s Day Rose Bowl game.The N.F.L.’s Washington Redskins drafted him in 1953, one of 15 U.S.C. players who were selected.He received a $5,000 signing bonus from the Redskins, but incurred a knee injury in training camp and never played in an N.F.L. game. Since pro football salaries were modest, he decided to pursue a career elsewhere.He obtained a master’s degree in education and devoted himself to coaching and hospitality work.Mr. Ashcraft died on Aug. 18 in Anderson, S.C., of pneumonia stemming from Covid-19, his family said. He was 91.He had been living at a military veterans’ retirement home with his wife, Betty Jo (Carrera) Ashcraft. During the Korean War, he interrupted his time at U.S.C. to enlist in the Marine Corps, played for a Marine football team in California and was discharged as a sergeant.Walter White Ashcraft, Jr. was born on Aug. 11, 1929, in Amory, Miss., where his father owned a gas station. His mother, Corinne (Austin) Ashcraft, was a homemaker. One day, when he was 11 or so, his father came upon the aftermath of a lynching — three Black men hanging from a tree.“He couldn’t bear it, and he packed up and moved his family to California,” his son Thomas said.The Ashcrafts settled in Long Beach, then moved in the late 1950s to Las Vegas, where Walter Ashcraft Sr. became the chief bartender at the Desert Inn. Walter Jr. obtained his master’s degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1967, coached football at a Las Vegas high school and was a supervisor of the Las Vegas parks and recreation department. He later coached track and field and taught economics at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Fla.He became a human resources official for the National Restaurant Association for whom he enhanced opportunities in the food industry for people with disabilities. Mr. Ashcraft also worked for the Florida Restaurant Association and was director of hospitality education for the state of Florida.In addition to his wife and his son Thomas, Mr. Ashcraft is survived by his son Adam; his sister, Mary Lopez-Fabrega; and nine grandchildren.“He was a voracious reader, passionate debater, sports fan, and endlessly curious and optimistic man,” his family wrote in announcing his death. “In his later years, he embraced technology, using it to communicate frequently to support his grandchildren and their many interests. He particularly enjoyed the use of emojis.”Mr. Ashcraft was continually cited by the Spartanburg, S.C., public library system for checking out the most books during the year. His tastes ran to historical nonfiction and crime and mystery novels. More