International football, Premier League: The German team manager Daniel Farke was sacked at the English first division soccer club Norwich City just hours after the first win of the season. That announced the bottom light on Saturday evening. Norwich had prevailed in the afternoon at fellow promoted Brentford FC (2-1). Farke (45) came from Borussia Dortmund’s reserve in 2017 and has since been promoted to the Premier League twice with the Canaries. The decision was not an easy one, said Norwich sporting director Stuart Webber: “However, we think that now is the right time for a change in order to have the best conditions and stay in the Premier League.” Norwich scored just five points in their first eleven games.
Farke had led the club from the east of England twice to the second division championship despite below average financial resources compared to the competition. For the first time in 2019, after only one year in the elite class, it went back again. This was followed last season but the direct rise with the club record of 97 points. However, the start of the season failed for Farke and Norwich. “The entire club should forever be grateful to Daniel and his staff for their significant role in our journey,” said Webber. Farke gave Norwich and his team “unforgettable moments” and identified with the club. Norwich wants to announce a successor “in due course”.
Sports Policy: Shortly before the end of the European World Cup qualification, the director of Human Rights Watch called on the German Football Association and the world association Fifa to protest against human rights violations in the host country Qatar. “The DFB must clearly state where the human rights deficits lie. On the one hand, to make it clear:” We are aware of where we are going. “And on the other hand, to prevent the World Cup from being exploited for propaganda purposes,” said Wenzel Michalski in an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”.
“Fifa, the DFB, everyone can and must exert pressure,” demanded the human rights expert. “These values - fairness, equality, freedom of expression – are far from being sufficiently enforced in Qatar,” said Michalski. The DFB is “more aware of its responsibility” than Fifa as the World Cup organizer.
However, the DFB must ensure that “the service providers with whom the national team in Qatar deals have respected human rights”. With the games against Liechtenstein on Thursday in Wolfsburg and in Armenia on the following Sunday, the World Cup elimination round ends for the national team. Participation in the finals in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022 is the group winner.
Tennis: Olympic champion Alexander Zverev clearly missed the final at the Masters in Paris and thus clearly missed another duel with Novak Djokovic. Six days after his tournament victory in Vienna, the Hamburg-based man lost in the semi-finals on Saturday to number two seeded Daniil Medvedev 2: 6, 2: 6. Djokovic, on the other hand, defeated the Pole Hubert Hurkacz 3: 6, 6: 0, 7: 6 (7: 5) and thereby set a record: For the seventh time, the 34-year-old will end the year at the top of the world rankings.
Zverev never found his game against Medvedev on Saturday. The tired-looking German number one played two service games in the first set, after another break of the second in the world rankings in the second round, he smashed his racket in frustration – but without any positive effect. Medvedev then repeatedly chased Zverev across the court – and thus presented his unfocused-looking opponent with insoluble problems. With the next break, Medvedev, who had won the previous year’s final against Zverev in the same place, made the decision. After 1:18 hours he transformed his first match point.
In the final, Medvedev will meet world number one Djokovic on Sunday. The Serb, who is playing his first tournament since missing the Grand Slam in New York, was able to make up for his weak start against Hurkacz. With the win, he can no longer be displaced from first place in the world rankings by the end of the season. For the seventh time he finished the year in number one, so far he had been on a par with US legend Pete Sampras in this statistic. “That was a dream, Pete has been my idol since I was young,” said Djokovic: “I’m very proud to be number one. What a match to do that.” Against Hurkacz he used his second match ball to win after an increase in performance from the second set after 2:20 hours.
In the French capital there will be a new edition of the US Open final. About two months ago Medvedev beat Djokovic in New York in three straight sets, prevented the Serbian’s historic coup and took revenge for the final defeat at the Australian Open in February.