Man United hires Amorim as manager from Nov. 11 in a gamble by the fading English power | Canada News Media
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Man United hires Amorim as manager from Nov. 11 in a gamble by the fading English power

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Manchester United hired Ruben Amorim on Friday, gambling on a manager unproven in Europe’s top leagues to turn around the fortunes of the fading English power.

At age 39, Amorim, who has joined from Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon, will be the youngest person to coach United since the 1960s and the sixth permanent manager since the retirement of Alex Ferguson in 2013.

He will take charge on Nov. 11, after completing his commitments to Sporting, and has signed a contract until June 2027, with United having an option of an additional year.

“Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly-rated young coaches in European football,” United said.

United, the 20-time English champion, hasn’t won the Premier League since Ferguson’s final season in charge. Amorim’s task will be to revive the glories of a club that has fallen way behind the best in England and Europe — something that has been beyond the likes of Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and most recently Erik ten Hag, who was fired on Monday.

United is currently in 14th place in the 20-team Premier League, having lost four of its first nine games.

Amorim, a former Portugal midfielder who spent the majority of his club career at Benfica, joins after United paid 10 million euros ($10.8 million) to release him from his contract at Sporting, which he led to two Portuguese titles in four full seasons in charge.

He has only worked in Portugal and has no experience of managing some of the game’s top players under the constant glare of the world’s media.

However, Amorim did end Sporting’s 19-year title drought in the Portuguese league in 2021 to end the dominance of rivals Benfica and Porto, and won the League Cup that year, too, in his first season in charge.

Sporting also won the league last season and has won all nine of its league games in this campaign, bolstering Amorim’s status as a burgeoning coaching prospect. In his only other top-flight role, at Braga, he won the League Cup in a stint lasting less than a season.

Amorim will finish his time at Sporting with a game against Estrela da Amadora on Friday, at home to Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday and with a trip to Braga on Nov. 10.

In the meantime, Ruud van Nistelrooy will stay in interim control of United, taking charge of three games before the international break, which are all at home: against Chelsea and Leicester in the Premier League either side of a Europa League match against PAOK.

Amorim’s first game with United will be away to Ipswich on Nov. 24.

He reportedly held talks with West Ham last season before the London team hired Julen Lopetegui, and was also linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool before Arne Slot was appointed.

Now, he is taking charge of one of the world’s most storied clubs, which has been in decline for the past decade and is in a period of upheaval following the arrival of a new soccer-focused leadership team fronted by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe will hope he has signed the latest coaching gem, with Amorim the youngest United manager since a 31-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge in 1969.

Following on from the appointment of Ten Hag, who arrived from the Dutch league, it continues United’s shift from hiring high-profile coaches such as Van Gaal and Mourinho.

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B.C. trans basketball player speaks out about verbal, physical mistreatment

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A university basketball star on Vancouver Island is speaking out about the treatment she’s received as a transgender athlete.

Vancouver Island University forward Harriette Mackenzie took to social media to detail what happened during and after a pair of home games against Canadian Bible College last weekend.

The six-foot-two forward says in a video that she was physically targeted by her opponents, that the visiting team’s coach, Taylor Claggett, went on a “tirade” about how Mackenzie shouldn’t be allowed to play, and that a social media account linked to Claggett posted anti-trans messages after Friday’s game in Nanaimo, B.C.

Canadian Bible College, an evangelical Mennonite bible college located in Abbotsford, B.C., issued a statement late Thursday saying it feels Mackenzie’s video “does not accurately represent all the events that took place” and that Claggett was “speaking out for the safety of her players like any good coach would do.”

Mackenzie says the treatment was “nothing new,” and that she has been “outed and attacked” by players, coaches and fans across her basketball career, with people attributing her success to being transgender instead of hard work.

Mackenzie says she’s proud of her story and that queer, trans and nonbinary people belong in sport.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.

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Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck energized with larger caucus after election defeat

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REGINA – The leader of Saskatchewan’s Opposition says she’s ready to take on Premier Scott Moe in the legislature after her party lost Monday’s election but significantly grew its ranks.

The NDP’s Carla Beck said Thursday she plans to continue to push for better health care and education, while also holding Moe’s Saskatchewan Party accountable over affordability issues, rising crime rates and economic stagnation in some sectors.

“I’m feeling good, energetic and ready to go,” Beck said in an interview.

“And I’m very proud of the work the team did.”

Beck’s Opposition will be Saskatchewan’s largest in nearly two decades. It’s on track to win 27 seats in the 61-seat legislature, short of the 31 required to form a majority.

New Democrats swept Regina, took all but one seat in Saskatoon and held onto the two northern seats, while failing to capture a rural seat.

Beck said she’ll continue to build relations with rural communities to bridge the divide.

“A someone whose family still lives in rural Saskatchewan, I see a lot of common ground, but a lot of people in rural Saskatchewan haven’t sat down face-to-face with someone who’s a New Democrat for a long time,” she said.

“We saw a lot of that in this campaign, and we did see people who — once they met our candidates, saw our message — did say, ‘I’m going to vote for you this time.'”

Beck also didn’t capture seats in the smaller cities of Prince Albert and Moose Jaw, which are critical if her party wants to form government next time.

She said there are lessons to be learned, and the party will continue to look back at this election.

“But really quickly, we’ll be … looking forward and looking to build.”

Her initial disappointment in losing was also quickly eclipsed by the party’s achievement in growing its seats, she added.

“I still believe that if you look for division, you’ll find it, but if you look for common ground, you’ll find a whole lot of that out there as well,” she said.

Moe, whose party is on track to win 34 seats, was not available for an interview Thursday.

A spokesperson from his office said in an email Moe met with newly elected government members and is planning for a new cabinet and legislative session.

Moe lost Saskatoon cabinet ministers Bronwyn Eyre and Paul Merriman along with Regina’s Laura Ross, Christine Tell and Gene Makowsky.

On social media Thursday, Moe wrote people voted for “a strong economy and a bright future,” while others voted for change.

“Our new government will deliver both,” he wrote.

In his victory speech, he told supporters he must do better. He said he heard the message there’s unhappiness in how the province is delivering health care, education and making life more affordable.

With her larger caucus, Beck said she’ll lead by example while making sure her members can hold their own.

“Let people shine,” she said.

“We’ve got an incredibly bright group of people, really dedicated people who are connected to their communities.

“The people of Saskatchewan will benefit from the integrity and from the work ethic that these new MLAs are going to bring.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.

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Ride-share giant Uber bans customer after Alberta driver shares racist rant video

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EDMONTON – Ride-share giant Uber has banned a customer from its app after one of its drivers posted a social media video showing him enduring a racist tirade.

Mandeep Sehgal says it was important for him to call attention to it because South Asian drivers are increasingly facing racist taunts and Uber was taking too long to hold his belligerent customer accountable.

Sehgal said South Asian Uber drivers are also increasingly installing cameras in their cars for safety due to the hate.

“Enough is enough. We are not going to tolerate it anymore,” Sehgal, 40, said, in an interview.

Uber, in an emailed statement this week, confirmed action had been taken.

“We have been in touch with the driver, and have removed the rider from the platform,” the company said.

Uber added it has made it easier to report discrimination on its platform, and reminded users that they are required to follow its guidelines, which state “discriminatory language … vilifying, or asking questions about sensitive topics regarding national origin, race, ethnicity” and “making racial comments or using slurs is never allowed.”

A spokesperson for the app did not answer questions about why it took so long for it to ban the customer.

Sehgal said he picked up a man from a remote neighbourhood southeast of Calgary on the night of Sept. 21.

Sehgal can be seen in an approximately three-minute long dashcam video.

As he begins driving, the man asks Sehgal where he’s from. Sehgal tells him he’s Indian.

He asks Sehgal if he’s a permanent resident. Sehgal replies that he is, and that he arrived in Canada seven years ago.

Are you going to get a “white chick” pregnant, the man asks.

Sehgal laughs nervously and replies: “Why you’re so judgmental?”

“Cause I’m born and raised Calgarian. I’m white blood of the land. You are on my land. I’m the blood of the land,” the man replies.

“You’re not even close to being from here.”

That was enough for Sehgal, who said he no longer felt safe with this passenger and was done with tolerating “ignorant customers” complaining about immigrants over the three years he has been driving for Uber.

He pulled over and ordered the passenger out, telling him, “You can get out here on your land.”

Sehgal said the man left him shaken and upset.

I’m paying taxes. I’m a law-abiding citizen. If I have to prove that I belong here, it creates insecurity,” he said, adding both his children were born in Canada.

Sehgal said he later contacted Uber support to report the man’s behaviour and send the dashcam video.

But he said the app’s support workers told him they couldn’t do anything. They also refused to remove the customer from the app and the low driver rating he had left behind.

A frustrated Sehgal then posted the video on social media. He said Uber contacted him soon after to warn him he can’t publish video without a customer’s consent but, again, didn’t take action to hold the man accountable.

He said the video gained traction this month on the internet, after it was shared again thousands of times on a different platform and, ultimately, Uber banned the rider.

Sehgal said he, himself, erred. The RCMP directed him to remove the address he had posted of the area he picked up the man because it was not related to the customer, putting an innocent third party at risk of harassment.

Evan Balgord, the executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said Sehgal’s plight is part of a larger, growing problem.

Balgord said he has recently observed a lot of hate targeting Canada’s South Asian diaspora in response to politicians discussing immigration and student visas in Canada.

He said Sehgal’s customer needs to reflect on his actions.

“I hope he learns from this experience, changes his beliefs, and comes forward and apologizes,” Balgord said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.



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