Governing Bodies
LIVERPOOL RISK PREMIERSHIP TITLE EXCEPT OTHERS AGREE ON NEUTRAL VENUE PLAN
Liverpool, the run-away leaders of the current Premiership season may not be crowned! Before the current global lockdown on all sporting activities, the club was on the verge of being crowned champions for the first time in 30 years.
But according to information gathered from Daily Mail, the English Premier League season could be cancelled if teams do not agree to play the remaining 92 fixtures in neutral venues amid the Covid-19 pandemic, League Managers Association (LMA) chief executive Richard Bevan said on Wednesday (May 6).
Professional football has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Britain suffering the highest death toll in Europe.
Discussions are continuing about resuming matches after clubs were told this month on a Premier League conference call that only neutral venues approved from a health and safety point of view will be allowed.
Asked if the 2019-20 campaign would be cancelled if teams voted against playing in neutral venues, Bevan told the BBC: “Yes, I think that probably is correct.
“The government, if they haven’t already, will be making it clear that home matches with densely populated stadia, really puts into question whether social distancing rules can be adhered to.”
On Wednesday, Aston Villa became the latest Premier League club threatened by relegation to reject proposals to restart the season behind closed doors at neutral venues.
Villa’s chief executive Christian Purslow said the plan would increase the risk of an economic “catastrophe” for his club should they fall out of the lucrative English top-flight.
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber also admitted to “self-interest” in objecting to the proposals, while West Ham vice-chairman Karen Brady has claimed “no one wants” to play at neutral sites.
Clubs at risk of relegation argue that the integrity of the competition would be compromised by the neutral-venue plan.
One controversial idea being floated by those at risk at the bottom of the table is to scrap relegation for this season even if matches can restart.
Villa are second bottom, two points from safety, but with a game in hand on fourth-bottom Watford.
“At the bottom end of the table there’s a much smaller revenue base, but the risk of relegation is probably a £200 million (S$351 million) catastrophe for any club that mathematically could still go down,” Purslow told TalkSport.
“We’re a club that prides itself on home form. Two-thirds of our wins this season have come at home.
“We’ve got six home games left to play and I think any Villa fan would agree that giving up that advantage is a massive decision for somebody running Aston Villa and I certainly wouldn’t agree to that unless those circumstances are right.” Villa could still be relegated even if no more matches took place should the Premier League choose to use the points-per-game model used by France’s Ligue 1.
Lyon have threatened legal action after missing out on a European place and the Premier League is keen to avoid a similar fallout, with the financial stakes even higher in England.
The Premier League is desperate not to lose out on an estimated £762 million of television revenue and broadcasters are not believed to be keen on removing the jeopardy of relegation from the remaining matches.
English Football League chairman Rick Parry warned on Tuesday that “lawyers are going to get wealthy” if the Premier League tried to block promotion from the Championship.
Premier League clubs are set to meet again on Monday in the hope of agreeing a consensus on the protocols for a return to training and eventually matches.
That meeting will take place a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to set out his plans to ease a nationwide lockdown.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday gave the Bundesliga the go-ahead to resume from mid-May behind closed doors.
However, there remains unease at the prospect of players being rushed back into contact sport while the rest of the country is being encouraged to continue social-distancing measures.
A number of Premier League club doctors have reportedly raised a range of concerns, including over their liability and insurance if players catch the virus.
“I’d respect them more if they said ‘We accept the increase in health risk but it’s one we are willing to take’,” said former Manchester United captain Gary Neville on the Premier League’s stance.
“They won’t as they are frightened to death.”
-AFP
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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