When you find yourself in a hole, it is advisable to stop digging.
How new Al Ain signing Ryan Babel must wish he could have heeded such words. Not for the first time in his career, the 28-year-old winger has found himself in the middle of a Twitter controversy, and this time he has outraged women around the world.
Stung by criticism from a female football fan, the Dutchman unleashed a series of progressively damning tweets that turned a minor argument into a global story.
“Ur a girl … Stay in ur lane.”
“At least let your brother or your boyfriend make the comment then we can argue.”
It got worse.
“Not gonna argue with a lil girl, with all the respect. C’mon now.”
“It’s very simple … I personally not gonna argue with a girl about football. U don’t have to make it bigger than it is.”
That could be said for that hole you dug for yourself, Ryan.
Read more:
– ‘Stay in your lane’: Al Ain forward Ryan Babel causes Twitter sexism storm
– Emmanuel Emenike, Denilson, Ryan Babel and more: 10 new faces to watch in the AGL
Babel is no stranger – indeed, he is a bit of pioneer – when it comes to the footballer-in-a-Twitter-storm genre.
In 2011, Babel, who was then at Liverpool, posted a photo-shopped image of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt after an FA Cup match.
“And they call him one of the best referees? That’s a joke. SMH,” he tweeted.
He became the first professional footballer to be charged and found guilty of making inappropriate comments on Twitter and was fined £10,000 (Dh56,400) by the English Football Association.
While that incident could be dismissed as naivete on Babel’s part, his latest comments are more serious.
The rise of social media has brought down PR barriers between players and fans.
Suddenly, footballers, often so dull and charisma-free in front of television cameras, are left to their own mobile devices.
This direct engagement has produced a mixture of the good, bad and outright ugly on Twitter. It must be pointed out that players receive far more vitriol than they dish out, and the likes of Mario Balotelli, Stan Collymore and Babel himself have been on the end of some horrific racist abuse on Twitter.
None of which, of course, excuses the Al Ain winger’s words, or the underlying sexism that still plagues football.
The English FA, ironically, got itself in trouble with an unfortunate tweet following England’s success at the recent Fifa Women’s World Cup in Canada.
“Our #Lionesses go back to being mothers, partners and daughters today, but they have taken on another title – heroes,” the FA’s official account posted.
The tweet was deleted when the predictable backlash arrived.
It is not just those cooped up in the macho world of football who come across as dinosaurs.
In June, renowned scientist Tim Hunt resigned an honorary post at University College London after advocating gender-segregated labs in a speech and saying the trouble with “girls” is that “three things happen when they are in the lab … You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticise them, they cry.”
Twitter users, not surprisingly, savaged him. He apologised and claimed that he had received plenty of support from women around the world. But the damage had been done, and if a 72-year-old Nobel Prize winner can be this reckless, perhaps we should not be too shocked when footballers air their own views.
In fairness to Babel, he has offered several qualified apologies and continues to engage with his critics on Twitter and Snapchat, as well offering to answer questions via text. Whether that will be enough to earn him forgiveness remains to be seen.
In his book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, author Jon Ronson tackles the phenomenon of outrage over what the online community perceives as racist or misogynist tweets.
Often these tweets are taken out of context – not too difficult in a world of 140-character sound bites – and Ronson gives examples of seething mobs destroying the credibility or careers of tweeters guilty of nothing more than badly-worded jokes or, as in the FA tweet, genuine comments.
This is not the case here. Babel cannot claim to be misunderstood, and he lost any benefit of the doubt after initially eschewing opportunities to retract his words definitively.
Perhaps an official apology will help stop this story from getting bigger and bigger, like the hole in which Babel now finds himself.
akhaled@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at NatSportUAE
Company%20profile
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Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Key fixtures from January 5-7
Watford v Bristol City
Liverpool v Everton
Brighton v Crystal Palace
Bournemouth v AFC Fylde or Wigan
Coventry v Stoke City
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Manchester United v Derby
Forest Green or Exeter v West Brom
Tottenham v AFC Wimbledon
Fleetwood or Hereford v Leicester City
Manchester City v Burnley
Shrewsbury v West Ham United
Wolves v Swansea City
Newcastle United v Luton Town
Fulham v Southampton
Norwich City v Chelsea
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
%3Cp%3EDungeons%20%26amp%3B%20Dragons%20began%20as%20an%20interactive%20game%20which%20would%20be%20set%20up%20on%20a%20table%20in%201974.%20One%20player%20takes%20on%20the%20role%20of%20dungeon%20master%2C%20who%20directs%20the%20game%2C%20while%20the%20other%20players%20each%20portray%20a%20character%2C%20determining%20its%20species%2C%20occupation%20and%20moral%20and%20ethical%20outlook.%20They%20can%20choose%20the%20character%E2%80%99s%20abilities%2C%20such%20as%20strength%2C%20constitution%2C%20dexterity%2C%20intelligence%2C%20wisdom%20and%20charisma.%20In%20layman%E2%80%99s%20terms%2C%20the%20winner%20is%20the%20one%20who%20amasses%20the%20highest%20score.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20Secret%20Kingdom%20
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SUZUME
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Makoto%20Shinkai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Nanoka%20Hara%2C%20Hokuto%20Matsumura%2C%20Eri%20Fukatsu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Company%20Profile
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')
Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Sour%20Grapes
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
More on Quran memorisation:
