Governing Bodies
PREMIERSHIP CHIEFS EYEING JUNE 8 RESUMPTION BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
The Premier League is eyeing a resumption of the season on June 8, behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the end date falling on July 27, according to the Times of London.
The daily yesterday said English football chiefs, along with other sports governing bodies, have been holding talks with the British government on when they can restart.
The season was suspended on March 13, with Liverpool just two wins away from their first English title in 30 years. The top flight has 92 games remaining, with clubs having nine or 10 games left each.
Premier League bosses are said to have shared the “Project Restart” idea with shareholders last week.
Matches are to be played in empty stadiums – a maximum of 400 people will be permitted to attend including media, only after testing negative for Covid-19 – and they will be staged at selected stadia to minimise overloading of the already stretched medical services.
Extra changing facilities will be introduced to ensure safe distancing measures are in place. Players will be required to turn up for training individually, dressed in their kit.
Should the plan proceed without hiccups, the summer break – traditionally around three months – will be a shortened affair as Aug 22 has been suggested as the date for the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
The main sticking point, though, remains the lack of tests available.
The Sun newspaper, citing government sources, also said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been briefed on plans for the return of football. But the country must first pass the five tests for easing restrictions before sports can be played behind closed doors. It is to be one topic up for discussion ahead of the next review on May 7.
Should the EPL season be unable to resume – the Dutch Eredivisie was abandoned without promotion or relegation on Friday – it would be a financial nightmare for clubs.
Measures being taken to alleviate the cash-flow crunch brought about by the crisis have seen the Premier League link up with DLA Piper – a law firm that has advised on TV rights deals for the league in the past – on an emergency loan fund with a maximum of £10 million (S$17.6 million) per club.
The lack of liquidity has also led Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to predict that Premier League clubs will not be splurging “hundreds of millions” on new players when the transfer window opens in the summer.
They have led the way in terms of spending across European football’s “Big Five” leagues, including Spain, Italy, Germany and France, for three years in a row, according to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
But that looks set to change, with Woodward admitting teams were facing a challenging time in the market and it is unlikely to be “business as usual” even for a club like United – the richest English side and third on the Deloitte Money League after Barcelona and Real Madrid.
He told a United fans forum on Friday night: “We need visibility of the impact across the whole industry, including timings of the transfer window and the wider financial picture, before we can talk about a return to normality.
“On this basis, I cannot help feeling speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities facing the sport.”
– AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
Governing Bodies
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Congo officials over financial misconduct
FIFA’s ethics committee launched disciplinary proceedings against three senior Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) officials on Wednesday, including president Jean-Guy Mayolas, over allegations of financial misconduct.
Mayolas, his wife and his son were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after a criminal court in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, convicted them of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Media reports said their whereabouts were not known , and they were tried in absentia.
FECOFOOT general secretary Wantete Badji and treasurer Raoul Kanda are also subject to the disciplinary proceedings, FIFA said. Badji and Kanda were sentenced to five years each in prison by the court in Brazzaville for related charges.
“These proceedings follow the receipt of information and documents during an audit,” FIFA said in a statement.
-Reuters
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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.
The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.
The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.
The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
-AP
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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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