International Football
AXE FALLS ON FIFA COUNCIL MEMBER
BY DUCAN MACKAY
FIFA has banned Lee Harmon, a member of its ruling Council, for three months after he was found guilty of reselling tickets at last year’s World Cup in Russia.
The 51-year-old, President of the Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA), and FIFA “mutually agreed” on the sanctions, which also included a fine of CHF 20,000 (£15,000/$20,000/€17,500) following the conclusion of an investigation launched last July shortly after the end of the tournament.
The ban means Harmon cannot attend next week’s FIFA Council meeting in Miami, where the remaining 36 members will discuss its President Gianni Infantino’s plans to revamp the Club World Cup, as well as his desire to expand the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 teams to 48.
Harmon will also miss the Council meeting after that in Paris in June and the FIFA Congress in the French capital on June 5.
Cook Islands FA President Lee Harmon was found guilty of reselling tickets for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
The vice-president of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) will also be forced to miss the Congress of the regional association due to meet in Auckland on Saturday (March 9).
Harmon has been CIFA President since 1997 and a FIFA Council member since 2016.
Harmon has also been a match commissioner and referee assessor at various FIFA tournaments and international matches.
Last week, FIFA banned former senior vice-president and OFC President David Chung for six-and-a-half years for accepting gifts and acting under a conflict of interest.
The Papua New Guinea official had suddenly resigned from his roles in April 2018.
It followed a financial probe into the construction of the new OFC “Home of Football” headquarters in Auckland in New Zealand.
FIFA revealed they had uncovered “potential irregularities” with the $20 million (£14 million/€16 million) project which led to them cutting funding to the region.
Harmon’s ban means that the OFC’s only representative for the next two Council meeting will be American Samoa’s Sandra Fruean.
- Inside the Games
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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