Boxing at the Commonwealth Games has often provided up-and-coming fighters with a fantastic opportunity to show their stuff on a big stage.

The Games, held this year in Glasgow, Scotland, have provided a launchpad for the likes of former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, former undisputed light welterweight champion Josh Taylor, and former WBA featherweight champion Barry McGuigan.

This would’ve been plenty of ammunition for Ugandan Aziz Abdul to believe he could be the next star to be discovered from the Games. However, his participation in the boxing tournament has already come to an end via a disqualification loss in his first-round fight with UK representative Damar Thomas.

Things soon got worse for Abdul’s reputation when it was revealed who appears in his family tree.

Aziz Abdul’s Grandfather is Idi Amin

Abdul is the grandson of one of the world’s most evil dictators, Idi Amin, who ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979 and forever changed the country.

Amin seized power in a military coup at the beginning of the 1970s and began a brutal eight-year reign as head of state. He reportedly killed over 300,000 of his own people, which could’ve been a lot more had more members of the country’s Asian population not escaped when Amin decided to expel people of Asian descent from the nation.

If that wasn’t enough, he, like many dictators, began a pointless, costly, and ultimately disastrous war. Amin’s target was neighboring Tanzania.

The pretext for the conflict was that the leader of the fellow East African nation at the time, Julius Nyerere, provided asylum and protection for the man Amin had deposed, Milton Obote, and those who had fled the Ugandan regime, allowing a base for resistance to build. Beginning in October 1978, it only took until the following June for him to be defeated and overthrown, and he lived in exile until his death in 2003.

Idi Amin’s Grandson Takes to Commonwealth Games

Ironically, during his time in power, one of the many titles Amin gave himself was “The Last King of Scotland”, and that was what his grandson Aziz was aiming to become in the Scottish capital, albeit without the brutality associated with his grandfather’s rule.

In his first match of the competition, he took on Thomas in the super heavyweight division, but the fight ended in the third round after he rather stupidly decided to land a headbutt on his opponent, leaving the referee with absolutely no choice but to disqualify him and end his Games entirely.

Abdul didn’t take kindly to the decision, claiming that he had been cheated by the officials. While a straight disqualification is a rarity in combat sports, the rules state that a severe violation, which includes a blatant headbutt, is grounds for a fighter to be immediately thrown out of a bout, which is what happened.

While there is a good chance that there was a pre-existing stigma around him among those who knew his lineage, Abdul’s actions in the ring created a controversy of their own. If he had fought a clean fight, the focus could have remained solely on his own career rather than his family history, but the foul ensured that the spotlight shifted elsewhere.

It is all change at Liverpool heading into the 2026/27 season.

Parting with Arne Slot at the end of May following a hugely disappointing league campaign after their title triumph 12 months earlier, Andoni Iraola is now the man in charge following such a successful spell at Bournemouth.

On the pitch, the Reds have lost Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian brought down the curtain on his time at Anfield after nine incredible years on Merseyside.

Salah may not have been at the peak of his powers last term but what he contributed in the final third game after game will be dearly missed following an incredible 380 goal contributions in 442 games for the club.

Liverpool now need to find their Salah successor and the hope will be that the club can do just that before the summer transfer window draws to a close on September 1.

Salah successor?

Action Images/REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

Liverpool are one of five clubs eyeing up a move for Bournemouth ace Rayan, according to The Sun.

The Brazilian only joined the Cherries from Vasco da Gama in his homeland back in January but it was sufficient time to make a huge impression in the Premier League.

Joining for an initial £24.7m with £5.6m in potential add-ons, the 19-year-old chipped in with five goals and two assists in 15 games as Bournemouth secured a place in Europe for the first time in their history.

The right-winger was such a hit for Bournemouth that five of Europe’s biggest clubs are now plotting a move for the Brazil international.

As well as interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all keen on Rayan, described as a ‘world-class talent’ by Cherries teammate Marcus Tavernier.

Liverpool are said to be adopting an active stance in the race for Rayan, with a figure of £60m being discussed.

The Sun report that a bid in the region of £85m would represent exceptional value to Bournemouth’s owners.

Rayan reunited

A potential move to Liverpool would see Rayan reunited with former Bournemouth boss Iraola.

The youngster flourished under the 44-year-old and the pair reuniting could work wonders for the player as Liverpool bid to find Salah’s long-term successor on the right flank.

Rayan might be known for his attacking play but it is his desire to work on his defensive play that really went down well with Iraola.

“And the other day, watching Rayan one against one against [Jeremy] Doku, accepting, celebrating defensive plays, I was almost crying, because it’s what they need,” he told the Daily Echo in May.

“It’s because I know Rayan is going to score goals all his life, and Junior Kroupi, his finishing is ridiculous. And sometimes training is he scores goals and players basically stop and clap.

“It’s like he has talent, it’s a natural thing, but they have to make a bigger step in to being more complete, especially without the ball and this.

“And I think they’ve been much better than I expected, honestly. With Junior, with Rayan, sometimes I was thinking it’s going to be difficult to get it right, and but they’ve done incredible steps to become more complete and to earn also these minutes.”

Former England striker Gary Lineker’s tweet about Gianni Infantino from 2016 has resurfaced this week, just as FIFA’s top dog unveils plans to make billions by selling stakes in the World Cup. Unsurprisingly, the controversial proposal has sparked a wave of backlash from football fans and governing bodies.

Recently appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is among those to publicly criticise Infantino, while UEFA has issued an explosive statement condemning the way Sepp Blatter’s successor has monopolised the working-class game. But they are just two of the thousands who have grown weary of FIFA’s direction, particularly over the course of this summer.

Claims of corruption have come thick and fast throughout the World Cup, with alleged favouritism towards Argentina and the decision to rescind Folarin Balogun’s red card at the request of Donald Trump emerging as the two main flashpoints. But it seems Lineker was well ahead of the curve in seeing this coming.

Gary Lineker’s Tweet About Gianni Infantino in 2016 Resurfaces

Even 10 years ago, Lineker had doubts about Infantino, 56, who is already a Swiss millionaire before profitting from his leadership over football. The former Tottenham and Barcelona striker had his reservations about whether he would be any better than Sepp Blatter in the 2016 FIFA election, writing on X (see the full post below):

Football fans have been left stunned by how well Lineker’s predictions have come true. Blatter was ousted after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against him over a $2 million payment to UEFA President, Michel Platini, as well as allegations of selling World Cup TV rights to former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner for below their true value.

The same claims of corruption are now being made against Infantino, whose money-hungry ways have led European lawmakers to prompt an investigation into him, his management of football, and his relationship with the White House.

Gianni Infantino’s Astonishingly Still Set For Re-Election

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Infantino has the formal endorsement of more than 200 FIFA members for re-election as the body’s president despite the climate of unrest that has swirled since the World Cup’s conclusion.

The Guardian reported just last week that only a handful of Fifa’s 211 member associations are still to send letters of support for Infantino, who is on course to be voted into a fourth term by a landslide at its congress in March. A small number of European associations are among the outliers, with Germany the highest-profile FA yet to provide official backing.

Candidates must be put forward by 18 November, before which time letters can also be withdrawn or transferred to a different contender. But Infantino is currently the only runner and some FAs feel they have, nonetheless, come under persistent pressure from within FIFA to confirm their allegiance. In theory, that should not be permitted under FIFA’s ethics code, but makes it incredibly difficult for the current leader to be dislodged.