SINGAPORE: Footballer Aniq Rizqin was slapped with a 30-month ban and fined S$2,000 (US$1,501) on Wednesday (Mar 5) night by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) for violent conduct.

The 19-year-old, then playing for Tanjong Pagar United, was caught on video appearing to throw a punch during the post-match handshakes after his side had played Albirex Niigata in an Singapore Premier League (SPL) Under-21 match on Feb 10.

The police subsequently arrested Aniq for public nuisance.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the league said that FAS' disciplinary committee had found the teen guilty of two counts of violent conduct during the match.  

"He has been suspended from all FAS-sanctioned tournaments and matches for 30 months, and fined S$2,000," SPL added.

Tanjong Pagar were also found guilty of failing to ensure that its players conducted themselves in a sporting manner during the match. 

In the same footage, Aniq can be seen sprinting from the touchline to land a blow on an Albirex player and he had to be held back by his teammate as the victim lay on the ground. 

Tanjong Pagar was fined S$5,000 - with the fine suspended until Dec 31, 2026 - provided it can ensure "no similar misconduct occurs in the SPL U-21 League or its equivalent".

ONE OF THE LONGEST BANS

Aniq's suspension is among the longest bans handed down by FAS, according to a list of disciplinary cases published on the association's website.

In 2015, Muhammad Maziz, who was playing for NIL side Container Logistics Department United, was given a five-year ban from any football-related activity after being found guilty of assaulting the match referee.

In 2007, Rahaizad Bin Abdul Rahman, then representing NFL outfit Tiong Bahru, was banned for two years from all FAS-sanctioned tournaments and matches after punching and kicking the referee.

Tanjong Pagar striker Nicodeme Boucher was also hit with a one-year suspension in 2000 for assaulting SAFFC defender Tan Kim Leng in one of the SPL's most infamous moments.

On Feb 11, the police said that Aniq was also being investigated for voluntarily causing hurt and that investigations were ongoing.

Tanjong Pagar announced the following day it had terminated his contract after "careful consideration" and issued an apology over the incident. 

The club added that it will continue to assist Aniq and the authorities with regards to the police investigation.

Albirex had earlier confirmed its player, Kenji Austin Ho, was admitted to hospital after being hit in the head. He was discharged on Feb 11 following scans and examination.

DOHA: Qatar on Wednesday (Mar 5) rebuffed what it said were "false accusations" by Israel's domestic security agency attributing funds from the Gulf state to an increase in Hamas's military strength before its unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack.

"False accusations made by the Shin Bet security agency linking Qatari aid to the Oct 7 attack are yet another example of deflection driven by self-interest and self-preservation in Israeli politics," Qatar's International Media Office said in a statement.

The security agency published findings from an internal probe on Tuesday, acknowledging its own failings in preventing the over-border attack from Gaza on southern Israel which sparked 15 months of war in the Palestinian territory.

The Shin Bet report also said "the influx of Qatari funds and their transfer to the military wing" was one of the "main reasons for the strengthening of Hamas that allowed it to launch the attack," according to its executive summary.

"It is well known within Israel and internationally that all aid sent from Qatar to Gaza was transferred with the full knowledge, support, and supervision of the current and previous Israeli administrations and their security agencies – including the Shin Bet," the Qatari statement said.

"No aid has ever been delivered to Hamas's political or military wing," it added.

Qatar has hosted Hamas's political office since 2012, with the blessing of the United States, but also fuelling accusations that it supports the Palestinian militants, which Doha has always denied.

The gas-rich Gulf state played a key role in securing a fragile truce in Gaza, mediating between Hamas and Israel alongside the United States and Egypt.

Since the deal's first phase ended at the weekend, after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the parties have hit an impasse over the truce's continuation.

"At this critical juncture, the Shin Bet and other Israeli security agencies should focus on saving the remaining hostages and finding a solution that ensures long-term regional security, rather than resorting to diversionary tactics," the Qatari statement said.

"Claims that Qatari aid went to Hamas are entirely false and serve as evidence that the accusers are intent on prolonging the war," it added.

Hamas's Oct 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, most of them civilians, while Israel's military retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,405 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.

WASHINGTON: The United States has "paused" intelligence sharing with Ukraine after a dramatic breakdown in relations between Kyiv and the White House, CIA director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday (Mar 5).

President Donald Trump and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a public falling-out in the Oval Office last week, followed by Ukraine's top ally suspending crucial US military aid.

Ratcliffe confirmed that intelligence sharing had also been frozen as Ukraine seeks to beat back the Russian invasion.

"President Trump had a real question about whether President Zelenskyy was committed to the peace process," Ratcliffe told Fox News.

Ratcliffe said the pause "on the military front and the intelligence front" was temporary, and the US will again "work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine".

Trump said on Tuesday that Zelenskyy told him Kyiv was ready for talks with Moscow and the finalisation of a US minerals deal, as Ukraine works to move on after the Oval Office spat.

Zelenskyy has sought to bring Trump back onside, posting on social media that their clash was "regrettable" and he wanted "to make things right".

In his address to US Congress later on Tuesday, Trump read aloud from a letter from Zelenskyy.

"The letter reads, 'Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,'" Trump told US lawmakers.

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump will consider restoring aid to Ukraine if peace talks are arranged and confidence-building measures are taken, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Wednesday (Mar 5).

Trump halted military aid to Ukraine on Monday, his latest move to reconfigure US policy and adopt a more conciliatory stance toward Russia. Trump said on Tuesday night he had received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that expressed willingness to come to the negotiating table.

Waltz said the letter was a "good, positive first step". Officials were in discussions over a date, location and negotiating team that would lead to an end to the war, he said.

"We're already talking about confidence-building measures that we'll then take to the Russians and test that side," he said in an interview with the "Fox & Friends" programme.

Waltz did not say what the confidence-building measures would be.

Trump said on Tuesday night that Ukraine was ready to sign a minerals deal with the US, which Washington says is crucial to secure continued US backing for Ukraine's defense.

"I think if we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations, and in fact, put some confidence-building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause," Waltz said.

"We have to know that both sides are sincerely negotiating towards a partial, then a permanent, peace."