Governing Bodies
AS THE PREMIERSHIP RETURNS; THE DOS AND DON’TS
No spitting and no handshakes – the English Premier League season resumes on Wednesday (June 17) looking very different from three months ago.
Amid the coronavirus crisis, the league has issued detailed guidance before the big kick-off, stating: “Strict protocols have been put in place to ensure that stadiums are as safe as possible for everybody present.”
AFP Sport takes a look at the new rules in place:
STADIUM SAFETY
About 300 people will be allowed into stadiums for each of the remaining 92 matches of the season.
Grounds will be divided into three zones: red, amber and green. Each zone has unique protocols and procedures.
Only those who have undergone tests in the five days before a match can enter the red zone in any stadium, which includes the pitch, technical area, tunnel and dressing rooms.
Those individuals must have a “clinical passport” – a bar code that shows their most recent test result is negative – before being granted access.
PRE-MATCH
Players and staff are required to undergo daily screening for the virus.
Before leaving for a match, they must complete relevant checks for Covid-19 and report any symptoms.
Teams can travel to the stadium via car, coach, plane or train, but must do so in sterile environments and must observe social distancing.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder, whose team visit Aston Villa in the opening game of the relaunch on Wednesday, said: “We are going on three buses. The main guys are on the first one, so you will see the team from who gets off first.”
Players and staff will be given a sterile route from their vehicles to the dressing rooms, which must have enough space to allow for suitable social distancing.
Teams will be encouraged to stagger their use of changing rooms. Showers can be used, as long as individuals remain socially distanced.
Sheffield United will not use the away dressing room at Villa Park and have instead been allocated a press room and players’ lounge to change in.
“We are changing in a big media room at Villa Park, not in the changing rooms and our players have to stay two metres apart when there is a break in play,” Wilder said.
At some stadiums, teams will use different tunnels. Where there is one tunnel, players and match officials will stagger their journeys to and from the pitch.
HYGIENE
Widespread disinfection will take place including of changing facilities, dugouts, matchballs, goalposts, corner flags and substitution boards.
People other than players and coaching staff on team benches must wear face coverings.
NO HANDSHAKES
When teams line up for the Premier League anthem, players will now stand in a staggered formation.
The traditional handshakes between the two teams will no longer happen and there will also be no handshakes at the coin toss.
Trainers’ benches will be expanded to enable social distancing during matches.
SPITTING BAN
Players have been told to maintain distancing during goal celebrations. No spitting or nose-clearing is allowed and players will use their own water bottles.
In the Bundesliga, Hertha Berlin defender Dedryck Boyata found himself in hot water last month after grabbing the face of team-mate Marko Grujic.
Boyata apologised, saying players had to “adapt” to the new rules.
Premier League players have also been told to avoid mass confrontations with opponents or match officials and to try to restrict interaction with opponents after the match.
-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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