Governing Bodies
RELEGATION-BOUND BOTTOM 6 PLOT AGAINST PREMIERSHIP RESUMPTION
The Premier League will make a desperate plea for unity this week amid claims that the bottom six clubs are sabotaging plans to resume the season.
According to UK’s Daily Mail, their is another sign of the destructive conflict gripping the top flight English football. It revealed that some of the Big Six are lobbying for guarantees that promotion and relegation will still be implemented, even if the season is curtailed.
The dramatic move following last Friday’s shareholders’ meeting represents an attempt by the biggest clubs to persuade those in the bottom three to vote for playing on, as it would be their only hope of avoiding relegation.
The split over the merits of Project Restart is largely based on where clubs stand in the table, with an executive at one club telling Sportsmail on Sunday that the objections raised by clubs near the bottom were a deliberate act of sabotage.
The Premier League have attempted to maintain a show of solidarity throughout the increasingly acrimonious debate that has raged since the season was suspended on March 13. But that facade finally cracked over the weekend.
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber opposed publicly the Premier League’s plan to complete the campaign using 10 neutral venues by saying that such a move would damage the integrity of the competition, while Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish responded in the Sunday Times with a strong expression of the social and economic case for football’s return.
Such divergent opinions appear to be diplomatically expressed versions of the robust debate that took place last Friday and the more heated discussions that are occurring in private.
‘They are threatening to destroy football just to avoid the risk of relegation,’ is how one executive put it. ‘Their thinking is so short-sighted.’
In another indication of the febrile atmosphere, one source present at the meeting told Sportsmail that 13 clubs were in favour of Project Restart, six opposed and one was undecided. Others are claiming there are at least eight rebel clubs, which would be enough to veto the plan.
Such are the tensions that some clubs have been accused of using their medical staff to stoke fear among players about the health risks of returning to action.
The Premier League will need 14 votes in favour for matches to resume, with June 12 the favoured restart date, but that ballot is unlikely to take place at a meeting on Friday, which has been scheduled to follow publication of the Government’s lockdown exit strategy the previous evening.
Instead, the Premier League’s plan is to continue to pursue a step-by-step approach based on increasing the intensity of training from individual, through small groups to full contact, in the hope that the spread of Covid-19 has slowed significantly by the time a decision is required at the end of the month.
While the finer details on neutral venues, broadcasting, promotion and relegation — and a Plan B if the season is suspended for a second time — still need to be resolved, the Premier League are hoping to secure an agreement to return in principle.
Chief executive Richard Masters is expected to spell out the need for unity, and to urge clubs to put self-interest and squabbling aside. While there is sympathy regarding the integrity issues raised by Barber and others, the Premier League want clubs to commit to doing everything they can to resume in order to prevent financial collapse.
Most clubs have accepted that next season’s season-ticket money and sponsorship income will be diminished due to the strong likelihood that social distancing measures will be maintained, and the loss of the £762million outstanding on the television contract would put many in jeopardy.
The clubs will also be urged to emphasise the Premier League’s importance to the country as a whole, and its potential role in kick-starting the economic recovery from the shutdown and improving the nation’s health.
A report from accountancy firm Ernst & Young published last year stated that top-flight clubs paid £3.3billion in tax during the 2016-17 season and employed 12,000 people directly, as well as supporting almost 100,000 full-time jobs in other companies, many of which would be lost without Premier League football.
In addition, the Premier League and clubs support numerous community and grassroots projects, some of which would be scrapped as part of cost-cutting measures.
The Premier League’s Project Restart is strongly supported by the FA and the EFL, who are eager for matches to resume as soon as possible in the hope that it will enable their own competitions to follow.
Other sports are watching with interest, particularly cricket and rugby, who also have valuable television deals which finance their entire structure.
The chief executive of another sport told Sportsmail: ‘We are a million miles behind the Premier League in terms of resources, testing capacity and medical provision. If they are unable to resume this summer, then we have no chance.’
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
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.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- World Cup7 days ago
FIFA Cancels Thousands of Hotel Rooms in World Cup Host Cities Amid U.S. Immigration Concerns
- World Cup2 days ago
World Cup Fans, Players And Officials Face $15,000 Visa Bonds to Enter U.S.
- MLS1 week ago
Messi scores 900th career goal, joins Ronaldo in elite club
- World Cup5 days ago
Absent Giants: Big Football Nations Missing from the 2026 World Cup
- CAF Champions League6 days ago
Ten-man Zamalek hold on in dramatic Otoho clash to reach semi-finals
- AFCON6 days ago
Guinea FA Dismisses ‘Walkout’ Claims in 1976 AFCON Clash with Morocco
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
NFF Extraordinary Congress to Set Stage for September Elections in Yenagoa
- World Cup4 days ago
New Zealand players willing to play World Cup opener against Iran outside the US