Nobody should gasp for air in Beijing to keep the elite happy... Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was right to hit out at greedy European rivals

The Air Quality Index is used to measure pollution in urban centres. When the Manchester clubs were in Beijing it hovered around the 200 mark. At 100, the recommendation is that people with heart or breathing problems reduce outdoor exercise. A reading of 201 is considered heavy pollution; six hours in smog of that thickness is the rough equivalent of smoking more than a pack of cigarettes.

As managers who expect their players to be in peak form, one imagines Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho would not approve of extreme nicotine inhalation. So why they want to be hanging around Beijing pre-season is anybody's guess.

We can presume that, privately, they don't. Guardiola talked of a schedule that is killing players, Mourinho deployed a world-class scowl in many public appearances there. So this was a commercial, not a sporting, exercise.


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Jose Mourinho (pictured in Beijing) endured a frustrating China pre-season tour this summer

Jose Mourinho (pictured in Beijing) endured a frustrating China pre-season tour this summer

Mourinho watches on as his side trained at the Olympic Sports Centre in Beijing last summer

Mourinho's Manchester United squad had to deal with heavy pollution during their tour

Training sessions in Beijing were a waste of time due to the pollution and then the Manchester derby that was scheduled to take place at the Bird's Nest was cancelled anyway. The pitch was a dangerous disgrace with potholes appearing from nowhere, and the rain made it unplayable. City then moved south to Shenzhen to play Borussia Dortmund, a match that ended in a draw.

At the final whistle, it was announced over the public address system that, according to the rules of the International Champions Cup, the game would move straight to a penalty shootout.

What shootout? What rules? What Cup? City's previous ICC game did not take place. The tournament could therefore have no winner. So why go through the pretence of penalties?

Maybe the organisers could explain that the next time they are telling the world how they are going to take over European club football. Because it will not go away, this nonsense.

The Champions League, we are frequently reminded, is under threat from cartels to the east and west, in cahoots with the elite clubs of Europe.

They want a closed shop; they want guaranteed entry for clubs of historic significance; they want matches in far flung new markets. They want to turn the greatest club competition in the world into the shabby, half-baked wannabe that is the International Champions Cup.

United also saw their pre-season clash against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City called off 

United also saw their pre-season clash against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City called off 

The Manchester derby that was scheduled to take place at the Bird's Nest was cancelled

The Manchester derby that was scheduled to take place at the Bird's Nest was cancelled

SPORTSMAIL'S REVELATIONS LAST WEEK... 

Champions League group games could be played outside Europe as UEFA come under pressure from Spanish and Italian clubs.

They want to see some games played in the Far East, the USA and Africa to cash in on those markets.

They have seen the riches rolling into the Premier League and are determined to maximise overseas income in the next cycle of broadcasting rights.

READ MATT BARLOW'S FULL STORY 

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Mourinho got it right last week. He didn't name Bayern Munich or Barcelona, but he didn't need to. He nailed, perfectly, the continental clubs that deliver pious sermons, while all the time plotting to carve football up for their own advancement. And they know who they are.

'You have, around Europe, people who when you listen to them it looks like they are Mother Teresa, but they are not,' Mourinho said. 'It is not just about them being powerful. In the other countries they do not want to share the money. They don't want to share TV rights. They want to be comfortable and know they will always be the top dogs in the Champions League.

'They want it to be a competition, if possible, of one, to go to the clubs that can be direct competition every season and steal their best players. They don't want a league. In this country, everybody wants a league.'

And yes, that includes the Champions League, which this season has one entirely new name from England, Leicester City, and another that is making a second appearance, Tottenham. So are we to tell those fans, who have waited their whole lives for this moment, that Leicester's first Champions League game would be better played in Shanghai than at the King Power Stadium, or that they shouldn't be there at all, because AC Milan are famous and were very good several decades ago?

Lionel Messi and his Barcelona team-mates have dominated Spanish football in recent years

Lionel Messi and his Barcelona team-mates have dominated Spanish football in recent years

Bayern Munich are another European giant who have dominated their respective league

Bayern Munich are another European giant who have dominated their respective league

Mourinho has the precise measure of these charlatans. They talk as if motivated by altruism, when every move is the product of greed and self-preservation. There is a place for European football: and it is Europe, not Asia, America, Australasia or Africa.

It is not the fault of UEFA, or the Premier League, that Serie A and the Bundesliga do not generate enough money to feed these monsters. Sport is about meritocracy, not historical significance. Often the two go hand-in-hand but if they do not, tough.

Milan do not have the right to be part of an elite competition, if they are not playing football worthy of the honour; the idea that fans should be denied the highlights of the season to satisfy shifting clientele in far continents is obscene; and nobody should have to gasp for air in downtown Beijing just to make Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's numbers add up.

England striker Jamie Vardy will play in the Champions League with Leicester this season

England striker Jamie Vardy will play in the Champions League with Leicester this season

Harry Kane will also play in the competition with Tottenham, making a second appearance

Harry Kane will also play in the competition with Tottenham, making a second appearance

 

Adnan Januzaj should be a regular at Manchester United by now. He should be the youth team product that saved the club the £26.3million spent on Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Instead, he has been axed from the first-team group by Jose Mourinho, and is currently in a strop over using the reserve team changing room.

The word is that Januzaj's breakthrough under David Moyes went to his head. Louis van Gaal tired of him. So did his loan club, Borussia Dortmund. It didn't take long for him to frustrate Mourinho, either.

Adnan Januzaj should be a regular at United by now but looks set to depart Old Trafford

Adnan Januzaj should be a regular at United by now but looks set to depart Old Trafford

He should be the youth team product that saved the club £26.3m spent on Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Before returning from China, the manager told the players they would be training straight from the flight, at sunrise. The order was to get some sleep on the plane to be as fresh as possible, a quick session to blow away the cobwebs and take the rest of the day off.

Only a handful did not settle, Januzaj among them, and it showed on the training field that morning.

A few days later, Mourinho announced the list of those who would not be needed this season. Januzaj would have been better off getting his head down.

Mourinho has made the decision that the Belgian doesn't have a future at Manchester United

Mourinho has made the decision that the Belgian doesn't have a future at Manchester United

 

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, NICOLA 

A medal is a medal, but the fact that Nicola Adams has to win a single bout in Rio de Janeiro to earn one — she has a bye in the first round, and victory in the second will put her in the semi-finals, with both losers getting a bronze — can only devalue the competition. 

To have true worth, Olympic sport must represent a genuine test. One good punch should not be enough.  

Nicola Adams has to win a single bout in Rio de Janeiro to earn a medal at the Olympics

Nicola Adams has to win a single bout in Rio de Janeiro to earn a medal at the Olympics

 

Safety, fairness? It's all about TV 

Kim Brennan, Australian world champion in single sculls rowing, was incensed.

'The general rule for suspending racing is white caps,' she said. 'We've got breaking waves out there.'

Her rival, Emma Twigg, of New Zealand agreed. 'At what point is it about the athlete?' she tweeted.

The answer, with the IOC, is never. It isn't about the athletes, it isn't about the hosts, it most certainly isn't about the paying public. Major tournaments these days are about two things: television, and money. The IOC and FIFA are in thrall to both.

So the location of the rowing in Rio de Janeiro wasn't decided with the athletes in mind, but by the television backdrop. Behind and on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas it looks gorgeous. The conditions, sadly, are treacherous.

On Sunday, the event was delayed then cancelled altogether, a reaction to the carnage from day one. Serbia's men's pair capsized.

Kim Brennan, Australian world champion in single sculls rowing, hit out at the organisers 

Kim Brennan, Australian world champion in single sculls rowing, hit out at the organisers 

Her rival, Emma Twigg, of New Zealand, had a similar opinion of the poor rowing conditions

Her rival, Emma Twigg, of New Zealand, had a similar opinion of the poor rowing conditions

Egyptian sculler Nadia Negm talked of a full wave entering her boat, Sanita Puspure of Ireland said she had to tack with one arm to get back into her lane, having been blown off course.

Kath Grainger added that these were the worst Olympic conditions she had encountered — a career spanning five editions and 10 races. On Sunday, before racing was cancelled, a New Zealand boat sank in practice. But doesn't it look lovely? This is all that matters. Never mind the quality, look at the view.

It was the same at the World Cup in 2010, when FIFA insisted on a new stadium for Cape Town, despite the existence of several serviceable alternatives. The new venue cost £415million and has been beset by financial difficulties, losing over £2m each year. But it did have a nice tracking shot along the coast and of Table Mountain.

England's training ground at the 2014 World Cup was another location that seemed to have been chosen for its photogenic qualities, all white sailboats and blue ocean. It certainly wasn't picked for its proximity to the team hotel.

A tricky commute, however, is mere foolishness. To drain a city of vital finance, or ruin a lifetime of athletic preparation with rogue competition conditions, is thoughtless and selfish.

The IOC don't care. It long ceased being about the athletes for them. They only come to life when the director shouts action.

Behind and on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas it looks gorgeous but the conditions are treacherous

Behind and on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas it looks gorgeous but the conditions are treacherous

On Sunday, the event was delayed then cancelled altogether, a reaction to day one carnage

On Sunday, the event was delayed then cancelled altogether, a reaction to day one carnage

 

And while we're at it... 

What a magnificent achievement by Dundalk in reaching the final qualifying round of the Champions League. And what a pity such a milestone for Irish football may end in the ruination of the domestic game.

Even if they fail to beat Legia Warsaw of Poland, Dundalk are now certain to enter the Europa League group stage, at least, and earn a minimum of £4.57million in prize money. For winning the League of Ireland's Premier Division last season they received roughly £93,250.

Indeed, the entire prize pot for the top two divisions of Irish football amounts to approximately £403,000. So Dundalk will earn more than 10 times the income of the rest of Ireland put together out of European competition this season.

Meaning, that is it. If Dundalk are run with even moderate competence, they could soon be unassailable, and a league that has produced eight different champions in 11 seasons could be as predictable as the ones in Belarus, Greece or Germany.

The Dundalk players celebrate after their Champions League qualifying round victory 

The Dundalk players celebrate after their Champions League qualifying round victory 

The Irish side are now certain to  earn a minimum of £4.57million in prize money

The Irish side are now certain to earn a minimum of £4.57million in prize money

By coincidence, it was the perennial champions of Belarus, BATE Borisov, that Dundalk eliminated to claim this windfall.

Belarus used to have a lively league once, too. Between 2000 and 2005, they had six champions in as many seasons. Then the investment of owner Anatoli Kapski began to take hold. BATE won the league in 2006, and in 2007 reached the Champions League third qualifying round. The following year, a 2-1 aggregate win over Levski Sofia propelled them into the group stage, since when BATE have never looked back — although the same cannot be said for the Belarusian Premier League.

BATE have now won it 10 times straight — and at 10 points clear after 16 games this season are probably on for an 11th, too.

It is not unthinkable that Dundalk will soon be embarking on a similar period of domination, thanks to the skewed wealth distribution within the Champions League. Until UEFA address this, until they give less to the clubs and more to the rest of their leagues in solidarity payments, the Champions League will continue to do more harm than good in smaller countries.

So, yes, Dundalk's success is a dream come true, but it is potentially the beginning of the end for the rest of Irish football.

BATE Borisov, who were beaten by Dundalk, have dominated Belarus league in recent years

BATE Borisov, who were beaten by Dundalk, have dominated Belarus league in recent years

 

QATAR'S HANDBALL TEAM IS SHAMELESS BID TO BUY MEDALS 

Abdulrazzaq Murad must be very good at handball. He's a Qatari player, who starts for the Qatari team. And he's alone in that. Of the seven who opened up Qatar's campaign with a 30-23 win over Croatia on Sunday, there were 'Qataris' from Montenegro, Egypt, France, Cuba, Bosnia and Croatia. In reserve were nationals from Serbia, Montenegro, Spain, two Syrians — and just two more Qataris. The coach is Spanish, too.

The International Handball Federation are another of those rogue organisations who like to keep nationality out of national sport and Qatar are taking advantage of rules that state a player who has not been picked by his country for three years can join another.

Danijel Saric, the goalkeeper, is now on his fourth country: Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and now Qatar. The IHF say they have tightened up regulations as a result and players can only switch once — and only to a country where the player has parents or has lived for two years. It is too late, however, to stop the abomination that is Qatari handball.

Abdulrazzaq Murad helped Qatar secure a 30-23 win over Croatia in men's handball clash

Abdulrazzaq Murad helped Qatar secure a 30-23 win over Croatia in men's handball clash

This all-star team, including former world champions such as Bertrand Roine of France, have already won silver at a home World Championships in 2015, and are tipped for a medal in Rio. Players can earn annual salaries of £850,000 in a sport where some other nationalities have to supplement wages with day jobs. It is a reminder of the days when Qatar bought Bulgarian weightlifters for one million dollars.

Qatar's national football team has an international feel, too — the last squad included players born in Sudan, Algeria, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde, Guinea, France, Senegal, Bahrain, Brazil and Uruguay. It is the opposite of international sport, combining the financial imperatives of the club game, and the impermanence, too.

How can this be true to the Olympic spirit? It is a tawdry attempt to buy medals, as if that represents anything bar the worst of Qatar's influence on sport.

Former world champion Bertrand Roine (centre) of France is also part of the all-star team

Former world champion Bertrand Roine (centre) of France is also part of the all-star team

 

The total Paralympic ban on Russian athletes is a final humiliation for the lickspittles at the IOC. Sadly, Princess Anne was among the IOC members who waved through president Thomas Bach’s craven compromise. 

Andy Murray should have clumped her with that Great Britain flag when he had the chance. He’s not bothered about a knighthood anyway.

Russia have been given a blanket ban from competing at the Rio Paralympic Games 

Russia have been given a blanket ban from competing at the Rio Paralympic Games 

The Paralympic Games follow the conclusion of the Olympics in Rio this summer

The Paralympic Games follow the conclusion of the Olympics in Rio this summer