ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Moses Itauma has been given the all-clear and is now recuperating at home with his family after a precautionary trip to hospital.

The 21-year-old from Chatham was stretchered from the ring at The O2 Arena on Saturday evening following his ninth-round stoppage loss to Filip Hrgovic in their vacant IBF heavyweight title contest.

The young fighter’s departure on a stretcher prompted immediate concern, but he was discharged after medical checks confirmed no serious issues.

“Moses has gone to the hospital for a check-up,” promoter Frank Warren confirmed. “It’s precautionary that he’s gone to the hospital. That’s what we always do to make sure, because the most important thing is the boxer’s health.”

Itauma had entered the bout unbeaten in 14 professional fights, with ambitions of becoming the second youngest heavyweight world champion in history behind Mike Tyson.

The contest had been billed as “Witness History,” and Itauma appeared destined to deliver on that promise during a blistering opening.

He controlled every round through the first half of the bout, flooring Hrgovic with a knockdown in the second and unleashing a sustained assault of heavy shots across seven rounds.

Yet the experienced 34-year-old Croatian refused to buckle, absorbing everything the young Briton threw at him.

Having never previously been taken beyond the sixth round in his career, Itauma’s energy reserves ran dry as the eighth round unfolded. Hrgovic seized his moment.

By the ninth, Itauma could barely remain upright, swinging without accuracy as he lurched around the ring. Trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel at the same moment referee Howard Foster moved to halt proceedings.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Chelsea on Sunday escaped Brighton scare with a narrow win of 4-3.

Chelsea might just be this season’s Premier League entertainers and yet head coach Xabi Alonso seemingly believes less is more when it comes to possession.

Alonso has started with two wins from two League games in charge of Chelsea, with seven goals scored and five conceded. So far, it has been a lot of fun – if not entirely convincing.

But perhaps the most interesting numbers are around how much – or how little – Chelsea are having the ball. Having finished their 3-2 victory over Fulham with 38.5 per cent of possession, Chelsea had just 25.6 per cent in the 4-2 success over Brighton.

Chelsea’s third goal, scored in the 32nd minute, best summed up the London club under Alonso to date. It took the home side three passes to go from the edge of their own penalty area to Joao Pedro scoring against his former club.

Jorrel Hato passed the ball to Morgan Rogers, he then released Hato down the left and the wing-back slid the ball across for Pedro to finish. It was a devastating counter-attack and should have put Chelsea on course for a much easier win.

Romeo Lavia and Pedro Neto, from a Rogers cross, had already put Chelsea two goals up before Pedro got on the scoresheet. But the home side made life difficult for themselves before Cole Palmer – in front of England head coach Thomas Tuchel – made sure of the three points.

Goalkeeper Emi Martinez could not keep a clean sheet on his Chelsea debut, as he was first beaten by a stunning volley from Malick Yalcouye and then watched a Pascal Gross cross deflect past him off Pedro.

But with the home fans panicking and Chelsea threatening to throw their advantage away, Palmer produced a brilliant goal against the run of play to keep up his team’s perfect start to the season.

Pascal Gross scored a third for Brighton but it came in time added on for stoppages and too late to change the outcome of the game.

Manchester City target Enzo Fernandez was once again missing from the Chelsea squad. The Blues are interested in signing Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara and an injury to Moises Caicedo, who was forced off 14 minutes after being introduced as a substitute, may accelerate that deal.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The FIFA World Cup is often presented as a tournament that brings countries together through football.

However, politics, war, international sanctions and government interference have repeatedly affected which nations are allowed to participate.

Over the years, several countries have been prevented from taking part in the World Cup or its qualifying process because of political conflicts or actions involving their governments.

Here are seven notable examples.

1. South Africa

South Africa is one of the clearest examples of politics influencing World Cup participation.

FIFA suspended the country in 1961 because of its apartheid system, which enforced racial segregation. The suspension was later reinstated, and South Africa was expelled from FIFA in 1976.

The country’s exclusion lasted for several World Cup cycles until it was readmitted in 1992, following the dismantling of apartheid. South Africa eventually returned to the World Cup in 1998 and hosted the tournament in 2010.

2. Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was prevented from playing at the 1994 World Cup because of international sanctions imposed during the Yugoslav Wars.

The United Nations imposed sanctions on Yugoslavia that included a prohibition on participation in international sporting events. As a result, the country was removed from the 1994 World Cup despite having a strong football tradition.

The political break-up of Yugoslavia eventually resulted in several independent football nations, including Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

3. Russia

Russia is the most prominent modern example of a country excluded from the World Cup because of an international political and military conflict.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian national teams and clubs from international competitions.

The suspension prevented Russia from taking part in the 2022 World Cup play-offs and also kept the country out of the qualification process for the 2026 tournament. Russia remains suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions.

4. Germany

Germany was excluded from the 1950 World Cup in Brazil following the Second World War.

The country had been defeated in the war just five years earlier, and its football association was not part of FIFA at the time of the tournament.

Germany therefore missed the first World Cup held after the war, before returning to the competition in 1954.

5. Japan

Japan was also excluded from the 1950 World Cup in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Like Germany, Japan had been on the losing side of the conflict and was not permitted to participate in the tournament.

Japan eventually returned to international football and made its World Cup debut in 1998.

6. Indonesia

Indonesia was prevented from continuing in the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign after FIFA suspended its football association over government interference.

FIFA requires national football associations to operate independently from political authorities. Indonesia’s football association was suspended in 2015 after the Indonesian government intervened in its affairs.

The suspension was eventually lifted in 2016 after the dispute was resolved, but Indonesia had already been removed from the 2018 qualifying process.

7. Kuwait

Kuwait’s national team was also affected by political interference in football administration.

FIFA suspended the Kuwait Football Association in 2015 after the country’s government introduced legislation that FIFA considered incompatible with its rules on the independence of national football associations.

The suspension meant Kuwait could not complete its 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. The ban was lifted in December 2017 after changes were made to Kuwait’s sports legislation.