MENA Sports Wrap: Who are the Arab athletes competing at 2024 Paris Paralympic Games?

Arab athletes are making headlines at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, with standout performances like Tunisia's Raoua Tlili and Algeria's Nassima Saifi breaking records and securing medals. Meanwhile, tensions flared in Israeli football after fans of Hapoel Beer-Sheva invaded the pitch, violently attacking Palestinian fans of the Bnei Sakhnin team, leading to the cancellation of the game.

Arab athletes shine at 2024 Paralympic Games: 17 medals and record-breaking performances in Paris

The 2024 Paralympic Games, which began on 28 August, are underway in the French capital Paris, presenting another opportunity for some 200 Arab athletes from 17 different countries to win medals after the Olympic games earlier this summer.

At this Paralympic Games, running until 8 September, Arab athletes are looking to top their medal tally from the last editing in Tokoyo 2020, when 234 competitors from 11 Arab nations secured 55 medals, including 17 gold, 21 silver and 17 bronze.

With less than a week remaining in Paris, athletes from five countries - Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, and Kuwait - have already won 17 medals.

Tunisia's Raoua Tlili, the first Arab Paralympic athlete to secure a gold medal, achieved her fifth gold in her fifth Paralympic Games appearance in the shot put.

In the 2024 event, the 34-year-old dominated with a throw of 10.40 meters, surpassing Uzbekistan's Kubaro Khakimova and Argentina's Antonella Ruiz Diaz.

Algeria's Nassima Saifi, 35, also set a new Paralympic record in the F57 Discus event by achieving an impressive throw of 35.55 metres on her first attempt - setting a new benchmark in the competition.

Much like Saifi, Skander Athmani also made his native Algeria proud by winning the 100-metre (T13) race on the fourth day of the tournament. He not only claimed victory but also set a new record with an impressive time of 10.42 seconds.

Tunisian athlete Maroua Barhimi joined the ranks of distinguished Arab women Paralympians by claiming gold and setting a new record in the F32 club throw event.

Although she initially placed second, Barhimi was moved to first after the disqualification of her Polish competitor, Róża Kozakowska, due to non-compliant equipment. The 35-year-old then secured her victory with a record-breaking throw of 29 metres.

Meanwhile, Omar Qarada secured Jordan's first gold medal at the games after winning the men's up to 49kg para powerlifting event.

He lifted an impressive 181kg, adding to another gold he took home at the Tokyo 2020. 

Ivan Toney leaves Brentford to join Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli

English footballer Ivan Toney is headed to Saudi Arabia after the Al-Ahli club agreed to pay Brentford a transfer fee reported to be $52 million.

Brentford announced Toney's move early on Saturday after the Premier League's transfer window closed.

"It's been a pleasure to work with Ivan over the last four years," head coach Thomas Frank said in a statement. "I’m happy he has an opportunity to try something new in his life and career."

The 28-year-old Toney scored 72 goals in 141 appearances for Premier League side Brentford. He had served an eight-month ban last season for breaching betting rules.

Saudi snooker tournament sees shock win

Ronnie O'Sullivan, widely considered the greatest snooker player of all time, lost his quarter-final match in the Saudi Snooker Masters on Thursday to rising Chinese star Si Jiah in perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament.

The 22-year-old won the first two frames against O'Sullivan, then led 5-2 before his English opponent won two frames in a row making it 5-4.

Nerves must have been tingling in Riyadh with Jiah aware that in the previous round O'Sullivan, from being three frames down against another Chinese snooker star, Zhang Anda, managed to seal the match 6-5 in his favour.

Jiah was determined not to see a similar comeback from O'Sullivan, coolly finishing the match 6-4 and securing his place in the semi-final.

Saudis will likely see O'Sullivan - who has spent much of the past two decades as the world's number 1 - next year, having signed a three-year ambassadorial agreement with Riyadh earlier this year.

At a press conference this week, O'Sullivan looked more than comfortable in the kingdom, wearing a dishdasha and fingering a pair of misbaha prayer beads as he spoke to journalists, but admitted the pressure of the game is getting to him.

"The way I've been playing, it's no fun for me," he said. "I just want to play well for seven, eight or nine matches on the bounce."

Jiah will play Mark Williams in the semi-final on Friday, as Judd Trump competes against Shaun Murphy in the other match, all hoping to win the £500,000 grand prize in Saturday's final at Riyadh's Green Halls complex.

Israel football match abandoned following violence against Palestinian fans

Chaos ensued in Israeli football on Sunday, after fans of Israeli league team Hapoel Beer-Sheva invaded the pitch and attacked fans of rival team Bnei Sakhnin, a team associated with Palestinian citizens of Israel.

At least 12 fans were arrested during the brawl, which saw dozens of Hapoel Beer-Sheva’s supporters punching and beating several Palestinian fans with sticks.

Supporters of the Beer-Sheva-based team also used derogatory language against the Palestinian fans during the assault.

The violence was reportedly triggered by Bnei Sakhnin fans turning their backs to the Israeli national anthem at the start of the game, presumably in protest against the Israeli army’s deadly military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing for over 10 months.

The teams’ respective players, referees and other staff had to take cover as the violence broke out on the pitch. Match officials reportedly attempted to restart the game, though Bnei Sakhnin’s squad refused to, following the violent conduct displayed by Hapoel Beer-Sheva’s fans.

The match was subsequently abandoned one hour later. A further 11 fans were arrested on Wednesday, Israeli media reported, bringing the total to 23.

Following the incident, Bnei Sakhnin released a statement: "We are prepared to face the consequences of not appearing for the match," adding that the team did not feel safe to take part in the Israeli Premier League match.

Founded in 1991, Bnei Sakhnin is considered the most high-profile and most successful Arab team in the Israeli football league, representing Israel's Palestinian 1948 population in the sport.

A significant number of players are also Palestinian citizens of Israel. The team plays at the Qatar-funded Doha Stadium in the city of Sakhnin, with a capacity of 8,500.