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Tag: Fifa

  • PSG president Khelaifi, ex-FIFA Secretary General Valcke face corruption trial in September

    PSG president Khelaifi, ex-FIFA Secretary General Valcke face corruption trial in September

    Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and FIFA’s former secretary general Jerome Valcke will face a corruption trial in September, the Swiss judiciary said.

    The corruption case arose over the attribution of broadcasting rights.

    The two will be tried in the southeastern Swiss city of Bellinzona along with a third, unidentified man.

    They will be tried for criminal mismanagement, incitement to criminal mismanagement, falsifying documents and corruption, the federal criminal court said.

    Al-Khelaifi, who is also the boss of Qatari television channel BeIN Sports, is suspected of giving inappropriate gifts to Valcke to secure broadcasting rights to prestigious events, including the 2026 and 2030 World Cups.

    In exchange Valcke, formerly ex-FIFA boss Sepp Blatter’s right-hand man, gained, among other things, rent-free access to a luxury property on the Italian island of Sardinia.

    After the date was set on Tuesday, Al-Khelaifi’s lawyers issued a statement insisting the case was “completely unfounded”, and insisted the charge against their client was “manifestly artificial.”

    They also indicated that they had requested the recusal of prosecutors in the case and had filed a criminal complaint related to leaks, “making it uncertain whether the case will proceed at all.”

    The indictment, which was published in February, accused the third man, described as “a businessman in the sports rights sector”, of bribery over a 1.25-million-euro ($1.35 million) payment to Valcke’s company Sportunited LLC.

    Valcke also stands accused of exploiting his position at FIFA between 2013 and 2015 to influence the award of media rights for Italy and Greece for various World Cup and other tournaments scheduled between 2018 and 2030.

    The indictment alleged that this was done “to favour media partners that he preferred,” in exchange for the payments from the unidentified businessman.

    He has also been charged with falsifying documents, after Sportsunited’s balance sheet listed those payments as loans.

    While Al-Khelaifi was not indicted for bribery, prosecutors have laid out a serious case of incitement.

    It alleges that Valcke was refunded a down-payment of around 500,000 euros that he had made to a third party on the purchase of a villa in Sardinia, after Al-Khelaifi purchased the villa through a company instead of Valcke.

    Switzerland’s judiciary last week rejected a request from Al-Khelaifi for three federal prosecutors in the case to be recused, over claims that during a hearing on December 6, 2019, he had not been given enough time to address all of the aspects of the case he deemed were necessary.

    Valcke, who worked with Blatter from 2003 to 2015, has already been banned from football for 10 years for failing to cooperate with investigators over the resale of World Cup tickets and inflated expenses.

  • FIFA proposes up to 5 substitutions per match

    FIFA proposes up to 5 substitutions per match

    FIFA has proposed that teams should be allowed to make up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, as a temporary measure to help cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the novel Coronavirus outbreak.

    Football has been at a standstill since mid-March but many leagues and federations are still hoping to complete the season but to do so they would have to cram fixtures into a shorter period than usual once play re-starts.

    The proposal for more substitutes would have to be approved by soccer’s rule-making organisation IFAB and the final decision would rest with competition organisers, the sport’s global governing body said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

    “One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload.

    “Each team would now be given the possibility to use up to five substitutions during the match, with the possibility of an additional substitution remaining during extra time, where relevant,” it explained.

    FIFA added that the substitutions would have to be made in a maximum of three slots plus the halftime interval.

    The measure would apply to this season and next season plus all international matches until Dec. 31 next year.

    FIFA said that “football should only resume when the health authorities and governments say it is absolutely safe and non-disruptive of health services being delivered to the populations.”

  • Coronavirus: No match, competition is worth risking human life – FIFA President

    Coronavirus: No match, competition is worth risking human life – FIFA President

    The President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, Gianni Infantino has said that it would be more than irresponsible to restart competitions too early amid the coronavirus pandemic, stating that no match is worth risking a life for.

    Infantino, who made this known on Thursday through Royal Spanish Football Federation, RFEF, said that sports have been brought to a halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak which has killed more than 95,500 people globally.

    He said “As our main priority, our principles, the ones we employ in our competitions and also we invite everyone to follow, is that health comes first.

    “I cannot stress this enough. No match, no competition, or any league is worth risking any human life for.

    “It would be more than irresponsible to resume the competitions if the situation is not 100 percent safe.

    ”If we have to wait a bit more, we must do it. It is safer to wait a bit more than taking risks.

    ”Many bodies and leagues all over the world are set to face financial difficulties in the wake of COVID-19, particularly if games are cancelled or played behind closed doors.

    “Thanks to the work we have been doing together in FIFA during the last four years, we find ourselves in a very solid financial situation.

    “It helps us to consolidate a solid base of important reserves, but our reserves are not FIFA’s money, it is the money of football.

    “As football has stopped around the world, we are all facing economic issues in different levels, from the base to professional football.

    ”Given this, we are already collaborating with you to assess the financial impact to prepare the right answer.”

  • Restarting football too soon ‘irresponsible’ – FIFA

    Restarting football too soon ‘irresponsible’ – FIFA

    Restarting football too early would be “irresponsible”, says Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

    Most domestic leagues around the world are on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic while major tournaments such as Euro 2020 and the Copa America have been postponed for one year.

    “No match, no competition, no league is worth risking a single human life,” Infantino said.

    “It’s better to wait a little bit longer than to take risks.”

    Infantino, head of football’s world governing body, insisted that safety should come first.

    “I cannot stress this enough,” he told Fifa’s 211 member associations on Friday. “Our first priority, our principle, the one we will use for our competitions and encourage everyone to follow, is that health comes first.

    “Everyone in the world should have this very clear in their mind.”

    Discussions are being held around the world over when and how to restart the season.

    In addition, in some countries there are disagreements over whether players should face pay cuts.

    “It would be more than irresponsible to force competitions to resume if things are not 100% safe,” said Infantino.

  • FIFA draws up guidelines to tackle pay-cut complaints

    FIFA is getting ready to deal with complaints and appeals over wage cuts for players, an internal document seen by Reuters showed.

    According to the document, the world football body has now produced guidelines for clubs and football bodies looking to cut costs during the stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

    The issue of pay cuts for players has exploded as a major controversy in England while in other countries, such as Germany and Spain, players have accepted temporary reductions in earnings.

    With football halted across the globe, however, FIFA is aware that it may well have to deal with a series of different agreements and possible complaints.

    Its guidelines urge any cuts to be “proportionate”.

    FIFA’s Coronavirus working group met last week and agreed on a wide range of issues, summarised in the document.

    These included that player contracts due to run out in June should be extended to the end of any resumed season.

    The internal paper notes that such decisions will inevitably reflect national law and specific agreements in each country but says it is keen to avoid large discrepancies between similar leagues and clubs.

    It also urges clubs, leagues and players to reach “appropriate collective agreements”.

    The guiding principles behind such deals should be to “guarantee some form of salary payment to players and coaches, avoid litigation, protect contractual stability, and ensure clubs do not go bankrupt, while considering the financial impact of COVID-19 on clubs”.

    Crucially, the document states that unilateral decisions to change contracts “will only be recognised when they are otherwise deemed reasonable” by FIFA’s Dispute Resolutions Chamber or Players Status Committee.

    This is where clubs and employees cannot reach agreement and where “national law does not address the situation or collective agreements are not applicable”.

    “A reasonable” contractual change will take into account the economic situation of a club, the proportionality of any salary amendment and the net income of the employee after that amendment,’’ FIFA notes in the document.

    FIFA will also take into account whether the decision applies to the entire squad or only specific employees, and whether the club attempted in good faith to reach a mutual agreement with its employees.

    The FIFA document summarising the working group’s views will be submitted to the Bureau of the FIFA Council for approval.

    A FIFA spokesman said it was not in a position to comment as a proposal was being made to the Council, and “we cannot pre-empt that decision”.

    The coronavirus working group is composed of representatives from across the game including the FIFA administration, confederations, national federations, the European Club Association (ECA), players union FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum.

    The group also offered an alternative approach.

    This is in which “all agreements between clubs and employees should be `suspended’ during any suspension of competitions provided proper insurance coverage is maintained, and adequate alternative income support arrangements can be found for employees during the period in question.”

    The group agreed that transfer windows should be adjusted to reflect the changed dates of seasons, with priority given to teams finishing the current season with their existing squad.

    FIFA has also ruled that planned new restrictions on loan deals will not come into effect until the end of the current period of uncertainty surrounding the game due to the pandemic.

  • Tokyo Olympics: Age limit could be raised for football tournament

    Tokyo Olympics: Age limit could be raised for football tournament

    The age limit for the Tokyo Olympics men’s football tournament could be raised, world football ruling body FIFA said on Friday.

    It said this was to ensure that players who were eligible in 2020 will not miss out following the postponement of the Games until the following year.

    Olympic football is usually restricted to under-23 teams for the men’s tournament, with three overage players allowed per team.

    “However, a working group set up by FIFA recommended on Friday that the competition should remain open to players born on or after Jan. 1, 1997, as originally planned,’’ FIFA said in a statement.

    This will effectively raise the age limit by one year, as requested by both South Korea and Australia.

    There is no age limit for the women’s tournament.

    The working group also recommended the postponement of all international matches due to be played in June.

    This is a formality as Euro 2020, the Copa America and the month’s World Cup qualifiers have already been called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The recommendations still have to be approved by the FIFA Bureau, a reduced version of its decision-making Council.

    “FIFA also reiterates that health must always be the first priority and the main criteria in any decision-making process, especially in these challenging times,” the football ruling body said.

    The group proposed discussions with continental confederations to finalise a revised schedule for 2022 World Cup qualifiers, after matches this month and in June were postponed.

    It also recommended the postponement of the under-20 women’s World Cup, due to be co-hosted by Panama and Costa Rica in August and September.

    The group further advised on the postponement of the under-17 women’s World Cup in India, originally scheduled for November.

    A decision on the Futsal World Cup in Lithuania in September should be made by the end of this month, it said.

  • Football will be different after coronavirus pandemic – Infantino

    Football will be totally different when it eventually resumes after the coronavirus outbreak, the head of global body FIFA Gianni Infantino said on Thursday.

    “Football will come back, and when it does, we’ll celebrate coming out of a nightmare together,” he told the Italian news agency ANSA in an interview.

    “There is one lesson, however, that both you and me must have understood: the football that will come after the virus will be totally different…(more) inclusive, more social and more supportive, connected to the individual countries and at the same time more global, less arrogant and more welcoming.”

    He added: “We will be better, more human and more attentive to true values.”

    Last week, Infantino told Italian sports media outfit Gazzetta dello Sport that it was the right time to take a step back.

    He added that it was time to reform a sport where fixture lists have become overloaded and financial resources increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few elite clubs.

    Infantino suggested there could be “fewer, but more interesting tournaments. Maybe fewer squads, but more balance. Fewer, but more competitive, matches to safeguard the health of the players.”

    Later on Thursday, Infantino told the annual congress of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) that “it is our responsibility as football administrators, first of all, to ensure football can survive and secondly move forward once again.”

    “On the international match calendar we have to look for global solutions to tackle these global problems in a spirit of cooperation and solidarity,” Infantino said in a video link from Zurich.

    “Everyone has different interests, but we must talk and put on the table topics that we perhaps didn’t discuss in the past.’’

  • FIFA, AFC agree to postpone Asian World Cup qualifiers

    FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have agreed to postpone the Asian World Cup qualifying matches in March and June due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

    The world soccer body made the disclosure in a statement on Monday in Zurich.

    “Following consultation with Asia’s member associations, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have agreed to postpone the upcoming Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” FIFA said.

    The matches were scheduled to take place during the international window of March 23-March 31 and June 1-June 9.

    FIFA added that the matches could still go ahead if the member associations due to play each other mutually agree, subject to prior approval from both FIFA and the AFC.

  • Coronavirus: FIFA may postpone World Cup qualifiers

    Coronavirus: FIFA may postpone World Cup qualifiers

    FIFA is considering postponing the Asian World Cup qualifiers due to be played this month because of the coronavirus outbreak, the global football body said.

    China’s matches against Maldives at home and Guam away have already been moved Buriram, Thailand, and will be played behind closed doors.

    FIFA said it would provide an update following consultations with the national associations and would continue to monitor the situation in co-operation with the World Health Organisation.

    However, more than two dozen other matches are scheduled to be played around the continent over two match days on March 26 and 31.

    “A formal proposal to postpone upcoming matches in the Asian FIFA World Cup 2022 and the Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers will now be shared with the relevant member associations,” said FIFA in a statement.

    “For both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the well-being and health of all individuals involved in football matches remains the highest priority,” it added.

     

  • FIFA president Infantino backs Wenger offside proposal

    FIFA president Infantino backs Wenger offside proposal

    FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, has lent his support to introducing the ‘daylight’ principle to the offside law.

    Video Assistant Referees (VAR) decisions have caused a lot of controversy in the Premier League, with a few goals chalked off because of very fine offside margins.

    FIFA’s chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, last week that the law should be changed so that a player is onside if any part of their body that can score a goal is behind or level with the relevant defender.

    Infantino has now spoken in favour of Wenger’s proposal.

    “I’m certainly in favour of discussing a new way of looking at the offside rule, to see if it can help, because I think the issue is more an issue of understanding,” he said at the International Football Association Board, the game’s law-making body.

    “Some of (the decisions) are very, very close and it’s difficult for the people who are watching to see whether it’s offside, so we have to look at whether we can make the offside rule clearer by having light in between.”