Barcelona, Manchester United fined by UEFA

LONDON: Barcelona was fined 500,000 euros ($560,000) by UEFA on Friday and Manchester United must pay 300,000 euros ($336,000) in the last round of financial monitoring using Financial Fair Play rules that have since been replaced. Barcelona was punished for wrongly reporting profits from “disposal of intangible assets” that should not have been accounted for as income according to FFP rules, UEFA said in a statement. UEFA did not specify the asset that was sold. Man United did not meet its target to approach break-even on football-related business that includes player transfers, wages and social taxes for FFP assessment. The former European champions each earned tens of millions of euros (dollars) in UEFA prize money last season. Barcelona played in the Champions League group stage then lost in the Europa League knockout playoffs to United, which was eliminated at the quarterfinal stage by eventual winner Sevilla. Agencies

“There was a specific focus on spin during the camp in Lahore, which gave me good practice to counter spin on the turning tracks here. I’ve also focused on how I can score runs in Sri Lanka conditions because, in the end, it is the runs that matter.”

“I play sweep shot well, so I further improved it. Playing the sweep helps me derail the line and length of a bowler. I have also worked to improve my reverse sweep and footwork to tackle spin here,” said Shakeel to PCB Digital.

Recalling last year’s Test when Pakistan famously squared the two-match series chasing the highest-ever total of 342 in Galle on the back of Abdullah Shafique’s 160 not out, Shakeel revealed he had been talking to the opener to get more insights about playing Test cricket on challenging Sri Lankan conditions.

“We (the players) do talk about the game and share knowledge. I talk to Abdullah (Shafique) a lot because we are together mostly. When I was here with the team last year, I saw that the spinners do get help from the surfaces.”

“But if you keep on countering them by playing attacking shots regularly and keep ticking the scoreboard, you shift the pressure on the opposition. We chased 350 (342) in Galle last year, which looked an impossible task, but our plan was to go for runs and it put the opposition under pressure.”

Shakeel has previous experience playing in Sri Lanka, having captained Pakistan Shaheens when they toured Dambulla to play Sri Lanka ‘A’ in two unofficial Tests and three List-A games in 2021. He stated that having played already in Sri Lanka will come in handy over the next few weeks. IAN

Also Read:Specific focus during camps will help in countering spin in Sri Lanka: Shakeel

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