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
FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned former Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves from all football-related activities for five years after finding he sexually harassed female staff members.
FIFA also fined Alves 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) after determining that he had breached provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics relating to the protection of physical and mental integrity, abuse of position and general duties.
“FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football,” the organisation said on Monday.
The decision followed a review of written statements from the victims, documents provided by the GFF, submissions from Alves, and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Alves stepped down from his position in 2024.
The ban came into force on Monday, when the terms of the decision were notified to Alves, and the full grounds for the ruling will be communicated within 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics, FIFA added.
The GFF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alves could not immediately be reached for comment.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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The supporters of Vancouver Whitecaps, a professional football (soccer) club in Canada, have staged a protest outside the FIFA Congress on Thursday, voicing fears that the Major League Soccer club could be relocated as uncertainty deepens over its ownership and long-term future.
The club is one of Canada’s most historic football institutions and has long been a central part of Vancouver’s sporting identity.
Around 100 fans gathered as delegates arrived for the annual FIFA meeting in Vancouver, chanting, singing and waving club flags in a show of solidarity. The demonstration comes just days after Vancouver Whitecaps FC revealed difficulties in securing a buyer willing to keep the club in the city.
The Whitecaps disclosed earlier this week that “stadium economics, venue access and revenue limitations” have complicated efforts to sell the club, despite a 16-month search for new ownership.
Season ticket holder Derek Hawksworth said supporters felt compelled to act amid growing fears of relocation.
“I wanted to come down given the threat of the team possibly moving,” he said. “It’s a rich history with the Whitecaps in North America… we want Vancouver to stay and not relocate. The history is here, and we want to continue with that history moving forward.”
The Vancouver Whitecaps are a professional football (soccer) club based in Vancouver, Canada. They currently compete in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-tier league in the United States and Canada.
Concerns were heightened by reports that cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix are leading contenders should the club relocate.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has urged intervention, calling on the provincial government — which owns BC Place — to negotiate a “bridge deal” that would allow the team to remain while plans for a new stadium are explored. The club’s current lease at BC Place expires at the end of the year.
Despite the off-field uncertainty, the Whitecaps have been one of the standout teams this MLS season. They currently sit second in the Western Conference with 24 points from nine matches, just three points behind the San Jose Earthquakes.
For supporters, however, performances on the pitch offer little comfort as the future of their club hangs in the balance — a situation they hope global football leaders gathering in Vancouver will not ignore.
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