EUROPA League
LIKE CURRENT COVID-19, HOW AN ICELANDIC VOLCANO CAUSED CHAOS AROUND THE WORLD OF SPORTS
Despite being a relatively small volcano, the ash cloud created by Eyjafjallajokull’s eruption caused the highest level of disruption to air travel since World War II.
From April 14, the volcano produced an estimated 250 million cubic metres of ash and small debris, which rose to a height of around 9km.
What turned a local problem into an international crisis, however, was that the volcano was situated directly under the jet stream, which was unusually stable at the time and blowing steadily south-easterly, pushing the ash cloud straight towards mainland Europe.
The initial human impact was felt in Iceland, with hundreds living near to the eruption site evacuated and farmland and livestock severely affected by ash.
But the main effects were felt in the aviation industry. As well as concerns over poor visibility, the glass-rich nature of the ash cloud, caused by a reaction between melting ice and lava, was potentially particularly damaging for aircraft engines, and there were widespread fears of crashes.
Huge amounts of European airspace was consequently shut down, with countries ranging from Belarus to Turkey, Finland and Ukraine all affected.
An estimated 10 million passengers were stranded, not only in Europe but around the world.
After an initial shutdown across northern Europe in April, there were further shutdowns in May affecting the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria and Germany.
The cost to the airline industry caused by 95,000 grounded flights was estimated to be £130million per day, with a total loss of around £1.1billion.
TUI reported losses of £5-6m per day during the airspace closure, while 13 other travel firms went bust.
Other areas of the economy hit by disruption to supply chains included the pharmaceutical and car-making industries. BMW, Nissan and Honda all suspended production on some models, while Asian electronics producers such as Samsung were unable to export large amounts of goods.
The Kenyan flower industry also lost millions per day, with a reported 400 tonnes of flowers destroyed as they were unable to be airshipped into the UK.
The ban on flights in the UK disrupted the general election campaign trail. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was among those affected, as he was stranded in Israel during his campaign tour.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and others were forced to miss the funeral of Polish president Lech Kaczynski, who had died in a plane crash.
The comedian and actor John Cleese was reported to have spent roughly £3,300 on a taxi journey from Oslo to Brussels after a flight was cancelled. His 900-mile journey lasted around 15 hours, and passed through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Sir David Attenborough and his crew, who had reached the North Pole to film the upcoming BBC nature series The Frozen Planet, were temporarily stranded in the Norwegian Arctic territory of Svalbard.
–Daily Mail
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag called on his players to use the frustration from their humbling defeat by Tottenham Hotspur as motivation to beat Porto in the Europa League on Thursday.
Following the 3-0 home loss to Spurs on Sunday, Ten Hag admitted his team’s mood could have been more positive.
“We are mad, mad with ourselves, especially when you lose a game like Sunday… but you have to deal with it. We are mad, and from the madness we have to get motivation,” Ten Hag told reporters on Wednesday.
“Always, when we are not winning we are disappointed and we are also mad with ourselves.”
United are 13th in the Premier League table and following a 1-1 draw with Dutch side Twente Enschede in the first Europa League match, Ten Hag said speculation about his job was inevitable.
“This club wants to be back on top and it’s a long-term target. We talk every day. Every day we evaluate and review the process and where necessary we make our decisions,” he said
“Everyone has to take responsibility and that starts with me as the manager. But on the pitch we have leadership skills and they have to stand up.
“Every game for us is important and every opponent is 100% motivated. We have to be ready to compete and fight with them.”
The Dutchman said midfielder Mason Mount, who was not part of the squad that travelled to Porto, was dealing with two injury issues and that defender Luke Shaw should return to action following the October international break.
-Reuters
Manchester United began their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw after they were held by FC Twente at a rainy Old Trafford on Wednesday, with a goal from Christian Eriksen being cancelled out by Dutch striker Sam Lammers.
The first half was a lively affair, with Twente’s Lammers making an early attempt that trickled past the post.
Eriksen put United ahead 10 minutes before the break, delivering a powerful curling shot into the top corner from inside the box.
Twente equalised in the 68th minute when Lammers produced a powerful finish past United keeper Andre Onana at the near post.
Joshua Zirkzee tried to get United in front again minutes later with a shot from an acute angle but were denied by a save from Twente keeper Lars Unnerstall.
Bruno Fernandes came close to scoring for United in the final minutes with a curling shot toward the top corner, but the hosts struggled to break through Twente’s deep-lying defence, which seemed content to secure the away draw.
DIA DOUBLE FOR LAZIO
Boulaye Dia scored a double and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru added another in the first half to hand Lazio a comprehensive 3-0 win against Dynamo Kyiv in Hamburg.
Nice and Real Sociedad played out a 1-1 draw. Ander Barrenetxea put the Basque side ahead before Pablo Rosario scored the equaliser for Nice.
Elsewhere, Turkish champions Galatasaray claimed a 3-1 home win over Greece’s PAOK thanks to Abdul Rahman Baba’s own goal and strikes from Yunus Akgun and Mauro Icardi. Giannis Konstantelias scored for the visitors.
In an early match, Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt secured a 3-2 home victory against FC Porto thanks to a brace from Jens Petter Hauge, despite going down to 10 men in the 51st minute.
-Reuters
It took Ajax 34 penalties to beat Panathinaikos 13-12 in a marathon shootout on Thursday, setting a UEFA competition record after their Europa League third qualifying round tie ended 1-1 over two legs and extra time.
Ajax, who won 1-0 at Panathinaikos last week, conceded in the 89th minute in Amsterdam, leading to the shootout that broke the previous record of 32 attempts at the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007 where Netherlands beat England 13-12.
The world record for the longest shootout was set in May when Israeli third-tier clubs SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv took 56 penalties to resolve their semi-final promotion playoff tie.
Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer made five saves and scored on his own attempt to help the hosts win the shootout as Dutch international Brian Brobbey missed two penalties.
“Five is quite a lot, yes. I save a penalty every now and then, but I don’t think you often experience something as crazy as this,” Pasveer said.
“Every time I thought we would do it. Brobbey behind the ball, we will do it. But he missed, while he always scores during training.”
Defender Anton Gaaei ultimately delivered the winning penalty for Ajax. The Eredivisie club will now face Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok in the playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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