Governing Bodies
LA LIGA PLANS RETURN BY JUNE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Daily tests for the coronavirus. Only two people in the gym at a time. Players dressing for practice at home.
These are just some of the protocols La Liga deems necessary to allow even practice to take place before Spanish top-flight games can resume.
The league has been on ice since March 12 owing to the coronavirus pandemic, but despite the ongoing nationwide lockdown, the league is gearing up to resume behind the scenes.
Rafael Ramos of the Spanish Association of Football Team Physicians told local radio on Thursday (April 23) night that La Liga is planning to return to action in stages, saying: “The idea according to La Liga is to (first) test everyone on April 28 and 29.”
Once that is out of the way, Javier Tebas, who is the league’s president, is targeting May 4 as the date for clubs to resume training, with the end of next month, if not June, for the return to play.
He said: “The scenarios we are looking at could see La Liga restart as early as May 28-29, but it could also be June 6-7 or even as late as June 28.”
The league appears to be leaving nothing to chance in official documents seen by the New York Times, despite the pursuit to get back on the field being driven by commercial reasons as much as sporting merit.
Tebas has said calling off the season, with 11 rounds to play, would amount to a financial catastrophe, costing teams as much as €1 billion (S$1.54 billion) in losses.
But with the world’s second-highest number of Covid-19 infections in Spain – over 219,000 cases and the third-highest number of deaths at over 22,500 as of yesterday – ensuring the safety of the players will be key to the competition resuming.
With that in mind, the league is aiming to start playing games without spectators in June.
To get there, it has consulted with experts to devise a month-long training protocol divided into four parts. Two days before the regimen begins, all players, coaches and staff deemed necessary to have contact with them will be tested for both Covid-19 symptoms and immunity to the virus.
The tests will continue throughout May, with players tested in their cars before being allowed to enter practice facilities.
A positive test at any point would result in the player being sent home to isolate until he is deemed no longer contagious. His teammates would also be sent home and tested again before being allowed to return.
However, La Liga’s proposal was yesterday slammed by the Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) as diverting away critical public health services.
It also reiterated concerns about returning to work while Covid-19 remains such a threat and said the players were wary of being stigmatised over utilising the large-scale testing despite other sections of society being in greater need of the facility.
A statement read: “AFE wishes to point out footballers have made it clear that other groups in society need tests and access to healthcare equipment more than they do.
“As workers, footballers will do as they are asked to by their clubs as long as there are no risks, which is why we believe it is absolutely necessary that the government provides clarity about testing.”
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale also feels La Liga is rushing its return too quickly, urging patience to adopt a wait-and-see approach.
“Everyone wants to play football, but the most important thing is everyone stays safe, we don’t want to come back too early,” he told BT Sports. “We need to make sure everything is done safely so we avoid the second wave of this virus.”
Espanyol goalkeeper Diego Lopez agreed with Bale, questioning if the plans made logical sense, adding: “Ask yourself if this is really a good idea. Is it safe? Isn’t our main concern everybody’s safety?”
The outbreak has also prevented Serie A players from returning to training, with Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora earlier this week saying the government was not ready to set a resumption date.
Given the uncertainty, Italy’s football chiefs on Thursday announced that the end of the season will be pushed back from June 30 to Aug 2.
The German Bundesliga is likely to be the first European league to resume. Games could be played from May 9, pending state lawmakers’ approval.
The French Ligue 1 aims to start on June 17 but players are yet to return to training.
The English Premier League has not set a date to restart.
– AFP, REUTERS, NYTIMES
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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