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Tag: UEFA

  • Alleged fraud: Michel Platini released from police custody

    Alleged fraud: Michel Platini released from police custody

    Former UEFA chief, Michel Platini has been released by France’s national financial prosecutor’s office.

    The legendary soccer star was arrested earlier Tuesday in connection with the awarding of 2022 FIFA World Cup hosting to Qatar.

    He was detained in a Paris suburb as part of a corruption probe into the awarding of the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar.

    Platini’s legal team, led by William Bourdon, said his client was innocent of all charges and that he was being questioned on “technical grounds.

    The detention of the former soccer star was first reported by French investigative website Mediapart.

    France’s national financial prosecutor’s office, which specialises in investigating economic crimes and corruption, has been leading a probe into the awarding of the 2022 tournament to the Gulf emirate since 2016.

    It is looking into possible offences including private corruption, conspiracy and influence peddling.

    “His lawyer, William Bourdon, would like to state as strongly as possible that this is not an arrest, but rather being heard as a witness by the investigators within a framework preventing those being questioned and heard from consulting each other during the process,” a statement issued on behalf of Bourdon and Platini read.

    Officials with Qatar’s World Cup organising committee said they had no immediate comment.

    FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, said it was aware of the reports concerning Platini, who is a former FIFA vice-president, but said it had no details on the investigation.

    FIFA “reiterates its full commitment to cooperating with the authorities in any given country of the world where investigations are taking place in connection with football activities,” it said in a statement.

    The decision in December 2010 to award the World Cup to Qatar surprised many given the lack of potential local audiences for the games, the extremely hot summer weather, and the poor performance of the country’s national squad. It will be the first Arab state to host the competition.

  • 15 Serie A clubs against proposed UEFA Champions League reform

    15 Serie A clubs against proposed UEFA Champions League reform

    Fifteen of Serie A’s 20 clubs have voted against a proposal to create a semi-closed UEFA Champions League from 2024 onwards, according to a statement released in Rome.

    The clubs backed a resolution which said qualification for UEFA club competitions such as the Champions League should be based exclusively on performances in domestic leagues, as happens at present.

    Juventus were the only club to vote against the resolution while Inter Milan, AC Milan, AS Roma and Fiorentina all abstained.

    The European Club Association (ECA), which represents the region’s most powerful clubs, and UEFA have proposed creating a three-tier pan European league with promotion and relegation between divisions.

    This was based on comments by league officials who have seen it.

    The top tier would be the new version of the Champions League, but 24 of the 32 teams would keep their places for the following season.

    This will break the tradition that qualification is achieved through domestic competition.

    The ECA, whose chairman Andrea Agnelli is Juventus president, says it wants to help clubs outside the biggest five leagues by giving them more regular European matches.

    England’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 have already said they oppose the proposal.

    However, some clubs from outside Europe’s biggest leagues, such as Ajax Amsterdam, Legia Warsaw and HJK Helsinki are in favour.

    “Any semi-closed model will endanger the value of national competitions,” the Serie A clubs said in the resolution.

    “We also express our concerns about the economic and competitive impact on Serie A of this UEFA reform,” they said.

    “We truly hope that UEFA will take our observations into consideration and will work together with the European Leagues to implement a different model that will preserve the sustainability of both national championships and European competitions.”

  • UEFA handed three-match ban to Neymar for x-rated rant on officials

    Paris Saint-Germain forward, Neymar, has been banned from participating in three European matches after insulting the referees who officiated his club’s exit to Manchester United at the rounds-of-16 of the UEFA Champions League in March.

    It could be recalled that Neymar lashed out at referee Damir Skomina after he adjudged Presnel Kimpembe to have handled the ball in the area, after consulting Video Assistant Referees (VAR).

    Marcus Rashford went on to score the penalty to make the result 3-1 in favour of Manchester United.

    Neymar further took to his social media page and wrote: “This is a disgrace, they put four people that know nothing about football in charge of looking at the replay for VAR.

    “There is no penalty.

    “How can it be a handball when it hits his back! Go f**k yourselves!.”

    The UEFA Disciplinary Committee’s ruling means Neymar will miss three of the matches in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League next season.

  • Ronaldo fined $22,000 by UEFA for celebration gesture

    Ronaldo fined $22,000 by UEFA for celebration gesture

    Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been fined 22,600 dollars by UEFA for appearing to make an obscene gesture while celebrating his side’s Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid.

    The Portugal international was guilty of “improper conduct,’’ the control, ethics and disciplinary body of the European football organisation ruled on Thursday.

    Ronaldo had gestured to his crotch following the final whistle after his hat-trick earned Juventus a 3-0 win over Atletico on March 12, which sent the Italians into the Champions League quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

    The gesture appeared to be a response to Atletico Coach Diego Simeone, who had celebrated in similar fashion during his team’s 2-0 win in the home leg.

    Simeone was subsequently also fined 20,000 euros by UEFA.

  • UEFA begins disciplinary probe of Neymar

    Brazil striker Neymar is facing sanctions from European football body UEFA over remarks he made following the elimination of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) from the UEFA Champions League.

    UEFA, on Wednesday, said a disciplinary investigation has started after the PSG forward criticised in an Instagram post the officiating of the defeat to Manchester United.

    The English Premier League (EPL) side scored a late penalty kick, awarded following a video review, for a 3-1 win to tie the last 16 encounter.

    It thus helped them to advance on the away goals rule after a 3-3 aggregate.

    Neymar, who is currently sidelined with a foot injury, had watched the game from the stands.

    “It’s a disgrace,’’ Neymar had said in his Instagram post in Portuguese.

  • UEFA Champions League match updates, bet prediction

    Pep Guardiola says Manchester City still have “work to do” when they face Schalke in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.

    City are in a strong position after staging a late comeback to win a dramatic match 3-2 in Germany.

    Atletico Madrid will be aiming for a Champions League quarter-final spot when they travel to Juventus on Tuesday, currently holding a 2-0 advantage.

    In other fixtures, Bayern Munich’s David Alaba and Kingsley Coman have been ruled fit for the Champions League last 16 second leg against Liverpool on Wednesday Coach Niko Kovac said.

    Below are last-16 second leg fixtures and bet prediction.

    Tuesday:

    Juventus v Atletico Madrid *Both teams to score*

    Manchester City v Shalke 04 *City to win*

    Wednesday:

    Barcelona v Lyon *Over 1.5*

    Bayern Munich v Liverpool *Both teams to score*

  • Man Utd penalty award against PSG was correct – UEFA

    Man Utd penalty award against PSG was correct – UEFA

    Uefa has backed the video assistant referee system’s decision to award Manchester United an injury-time penalty that knocked Paris St-Germain out of the Champions League.

    Diogo Dalot’s shot hit Presnel Kimpembe’s arm but was only deemed a spot-kick after the VAR intervention.

    Injured PSG forward Neymar called the decision a “disgrace”.

    But Uefa said the distance the ball covered was “not short” and Kimpembe’s arm was “not close” to his body.

    Based on this, it added that “the impact could therefore not be unexpected” and “the defender’s body [was made] bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal.

    “The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick.

    “Given that the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play [referred to as serious missed incident in the VAR protocol] an on-field review was conducted.”

    After a lengthy delay where Slovenian referee Damir Skomina conducted the review on a pitch-side monitor, Marcus Rashford scored the penalty to earn United a 3-1 win on the night and send them through on away goals.

    It was the 21-year-old’s first competitive spot-kick for his club and ensured that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team became the first in Champions League history to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the home leg in a knockout tie.

  • UEFA Champions League update, fixtures for knockout phase

    UEFA Champions League update, fixtures for knockout phase

    See the UEFA Champions League fixtures as the knockouts continue.

    Tuesday 5 March
    Borussia Dortmund v Tottenham Hotspur
    Real Madrid v Ajax

    Wednesday 6 March
    Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester United
    Porto v Roma

  • UCL: Inter, PSG and Liverpool sweating on last-16 spots

    The bid to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League reaches its climax this week, with Inter Milan, Paris St Germain and Liverpool among seven clubs sweating on taking the remaining four places for the last 16.

    Tuesday includes a number of blockbuster encounters as Liverpool hope for one of those magical European nights at Anfield against Napoli in Group C.

    While Inter will be relying on Group B winners Barcelona to do them a favour and see off Tottenham Hotspur.
    Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool, sitting third in the group on six points behind PSG (eight) and leaders Napoli (nine).

    The Premier League leaders must win the match, to have any chance of progress, while the Serie A side need just a draw at Anfield to guarantee their spot in the next round.

    Napoli could even lose and still go through if PSG lose to Red Star Belgrade.

    Should Neymar and co prevail in Serbia, Liverpool would need to win 1-0 or by two goals or more to pip Napoli on their head-to-head record.

    Liverpool’s Egypt striker Mo Salah certainly looks capable having scored a superb hat-trick at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

    If Napoli, PSG and Liverpool all finish on nine points, the Merseyside club would finish top with second place determined by the score line at Anfield.

    A group stage exit for PSG would be humiliating for new manager Thomas Tuchel given the club’s Qatari owners’ desperation to see the French champions conquer Europe.

    They have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League in every season since 2012-13 but have never gone on to reach the final.

    After claiming one point from their first three matches in Group B Tottenham looked out of contention.

    But consecutive wins against PSV Eindhoven and Inter mean they head to the Nou Camp in second place and knowing a win will guarantee them a place in the last-16 for the third time.

    Luciano Spalletti’s Inter side, who are level with Tottenham on seven points but below them on head-to-head, lost 1-0 to Serie A leaders Juventus on Friday but will be heavy favourites at home to bottom side PSV.

    The Dutch side have just one point from seven matches in the Champions League this season.

    Tottenham lost 4-2 against Barcelona in the home leg at Wembley, but may have an advantage in the fact that Barca have already qualified as group winners and may take a leisurely approach to the match.

    Mauricio Pochettino’s team also do not necessarily need a win, as merely matching Inter’s result will do.

    On Wednesday, Lyon and Shakhtar Donetsk will face each other in the final showdown for a last 16 place in Group F.

    The French side sit second on seven points, two ahead of the Ukrainians and only need a draw to qualify.

    Shakhtar must get maximum points to seal their fifth appearance in the competition’s round of 16.

    The 12 teams who have qualified already for the knockout stages are Ajax, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.

    Others are Manchester City, Manchester United, Porto, Real Madrid, Roma and Schalke 04.
    However, only Barca, Porto and Real have clinched top spot in their respective groups.

  • UEFA Champions League to use VAR from knockout stages

    UEFA will fast-track the implementation of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) for the knockout stages of its Champions League this season, its president Aleksander Ceferin said on Monday.

    The European football governing body had opted against using VAR this season.

    This was in spite of the technology being employed by major European leagues in Europe and the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia this year.

    But Ceferin said recently that a report being prepared by UEFA’s referees chief could allow its Executive Committee to revise its stance.

    It also agreed on Monday to roll out the technology in this season’s Europa League final and next June’s finals of UEFA’s new Nations League competition.

    “To be very straightforward with you, we discussed with our colleagues. If we can do it before, why wait because it’s hard to afford any mistakes,’’ Ceferin told a news conference at the end of a two-day meeting of the Executive Committee in Dublin.

    UEFA referees chief Roberto Rosetti said UEFA would use the same protocol as other associations but would seek in its guidelines to define the line of intervention clearly.

    “We are speaking about consistency and uniformity. The communication is another key part of the project.

    “We have to be very clear and communicate in the best way to the fans, players and coaches,” Rosetti said.