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IFAB RECOMMENDS MAKING FIVE SUBSTITUTIONS RULE PERMANENT

The International Football Association Board’s advisory panel has recommended five substitutions be implemented on a permanent basis in the sport.

During a virtual meeting chaired by FIFA on Wednesday, IFAB’s Football and Technical Advisory Panels (FAP-TAP) made the suggestion to bring in five changes permanently following a number of requests by confederations, associations, leagues and other key stakeholders.

An IFAB statement read: “FAP-TAP today recommended that competitions should be able to decide on increasing the number of substitutes according to the needs of their football environment, while the current number of substitution opportunities (three plus half-time) should stay the same.”

An increase to five substitutions was introduced on a temporary basis in May, 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the congested fixture list once football returned.

In May it was extended for a further 18 months until the end of 2022, when the World Cup in Qatar will be completed.

But the Premier League decided against using it for the 2020-21 campaign and reverted back to three substitutions, which remains the case for the current season after clubs voted on the issue.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp have remained vocal critics of the move not to allow five changes, especially with that number being allowed in European competitions in addition to the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in England.

Other topics discussed during IFAB’s advisory panel meeting were clarification over the next edition of the laws of the game, namely to confirm that a goalkeeper must be on the goal line before a penalty is taken.

Meanwhile, the global trial with additional permanent concussion substitutions has been extended beyond the initial end date of August, 2022 to gather more relevant data whilst a CONMEBOL request to increase half-time intervals from 15 minutes to 25 minutes was met with concern over player welfare and safety from several IFAB members.

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PLAYERS AREN’T ROBOTS, WE NEED REST – COURTOIS BLAST FIFA, UEFA

Belgium and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has launched a scathing criticism of UEFA and FIFA for scheduling more and more matches at the expense of player welfare.

Courtois hit out at the growing football calendar after his side’s 2-1 defeat by Italy in the UEFA Nations’ League third-place play-off on Sunday, labelling the match, in which both teams rotated their squads, a “money game”.

“We are not robots. It’s just more and more games and less rest for us and nobody cares about us. When will we get a rest? Never,” Courtois said.

The football calendar has been squeezed in the last 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Champions League and many of the continent’s top leagues taking place in shorter spaces of time but with the same amount of matches.

The European Championship and Copa America were both held at the end of the gruelling season and there is to be no let up in the near future.

Next year’s World Cup takes place between November and December — in the middle of the club season — while the Nations League finals will be held in June 2023.

FIFA, meanwhile, wishes to hold an expanded Club World Cup and its head of Global Football Development, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, has outlined proposals for a biennial World Cup.

“Next year we have a World Cup in November, we have to play maybe until the latter stages of June again. We will get injured,” added Courtois.

“So in the end top players will get injured and injured and injured. It’s something that should be much better and much more taken care of.”

UEFA has opposed the plan for more frequent World Cups and the proposed European Super League, but Courtois said the European organising body was not interested in player welfare either as they too keep adding to the fixture calendar.

“They are against Super League but they just do the same, they put extra games. They made an extra trophy, (Europa Conference League). It is always the same,” added the Belgian.

“They can be angry about other teams wanting a Super League but they don’t care about the players, they just care about their pockets.”

UEFA did not immediately respond to comments from Courtois.

The Nations League was launched in 2018 with the aim of offering more competitive matches for the continent’s teams instead of international friendlies.

The Europa Conference League, which began this season, was created to increase the number of teams of UEFA member nations playing into the later stages of European competition.

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MORE TOURNAMENTS MEAN GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICAN TEAMS

Women’s football and FIFA’s desire to see more African teams qualify for the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, were the focus of a working visit by a FIFA delegation to Nigeria. 

Led by FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura and including FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman, the delegation attended the inaugural Aisha Buhari Cup, a women’s football tournament featuring six African National teams, in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Aisha Buhari Cup was conceived by the First Lady of Nigeria, Her Excellency Dr. Ms. Aisha Buhari, and aims to highlight the theme of ‘playing for good’ while also inspiring and empowering the women who compete in it, and the multitude who follow it on social media and television.

The delegation was joined at the competition by FIFA Council member Isha Johansen and CAF Vice President Kanizat Ibrahim. To simultaneously show support for the teams competing, and to underline the shared belief among senior female leaders in football that women’s teams in Africa must now focus on capacity building and develop pathways towards senior national teams.

The presence of the FIFA delegation followed the attendance of the FIFA and CAF Presidents for its opening. Discussions were also held with the tournament organizers, the Nigerian Football Association and its President and FIFA Council member Amaju Pinnick on the future of the female game in Nigeria, and strategies that could be put in place to see the Super Falcons qualify in 2023.

It also provided an opportunity for discussions between FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman and Member of the NFF Executive Committee, Aisha Falode on how FIFA can best support the Federation.

The FIFA delegation also attended the annual NFF Awards during their mission to Lagos and were delighted to see women’s football not only in the spotlight at the event but feted with great enthusiasm.

Speaking at the conclusion of the mission, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said: “Nigeria is a country full of passion and I’m so pleased to see this passion being channeled into women’s football. The Aisha Buhari Cup is extremely important, as it allowed African teams the chance to have more competitive experience. The more we expand the opportunities for our girls to gain experience though tournaments on a continental level, the greater the chances of seeing more African teams qualify to the expanded FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer Sarai Bareman added: “The skill and natural talent in African women’s football is simply outstanding and this tournament has provided a great window to view this. FIFA will work closely with our MAs throughout the continent, like the NFF and its dedicated women’s football team, to build clear strategies and roadmaps for African teams.”

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FIFA CLAIMS THEY HAVE FANS SUPPORT OVER BIENNIAL WORLD CUP

A majority of fans support the idea of a biennial World Cup, according to a survey commissioned by Fifa.

The world governing body has developed hugely controversial plans to shorten the gap between its showpiece event from four years to two, with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger championing the changes.

The Football Supporters Europe group is opposed to the idea and wrote to Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, who replied to say he had “grave concerns” about the plans and has since told The Times that European countries could boycott the World Cup if the change is made.

However, FIFA says that globally there is support for the plan, and said the enthusiasm was greatest among younger fans in “developing markets” outside Europe.

“A survey has provided feedback as part of the feasibility study regarding the frequency of the men’s FIFA World Cup,” FIFA said in a statement.

“The findings of this online survey, conducted in July 2021, will be used as part of a wider consultation process involving fans, which will take place over several phases.

“Fifteen thousand respondents were identified as expressing an interest in football and the FIFA World Cup, from a broader market research survey involving 23,000 people in 23 countries, across six confederations, commissioned via IRIS and YouGov, independent industry experts.

“Based on initial results, the following conclusions can be drawn:

“The majority of fans would like to see a more frequent men’s FIFA World Cup;
of this majority, the preferred frequency is biennial; there are considerable differences between the so-called traditional markets and the developing football markets; and younger generations in all regions are more open and interested in change than older generations.”

Fifa said the results of an expanded survey involving over 100,000 people in more than 100 countries is under way and would be published in due course.

South American confederation CONMEBOL has joined Uefa in speaking out against the plans, while world players’ union FIFPRO has warned the proposals will not have any legitimacy without the support of its members.

European Leagues – an umbrella group which includes the Premier League and all of the continent’s major domestic competitions – has expressed firm and unanimous opposition to the plans. That appears to be a major obstacle for FIFA to overcome, as its clubs employ the majority of the players who play in World Cups.

The European Club Association – which includes all of the continent’s big clubs except for the Super League rebel trio – has also warned Fifa against any “unilateral” decision.

The idea for a biennial World Cup was first floated by the Saudi Arabian football association, and a feasibility study was given the go-ahead after a vote at Fifa Congress in May.

Wenger, Fifa’s head of global football development, says it provides more meaningful matches for players who do not operate in Europe’s big leagues, and also cuts down on international travel during the season, with international breaks cut to one or at most two.

He also believes it gives national teams more chances to qualify, although the likelihood is that the same teams would simply play in World Cups more often, if they entered.

Additional World Cups would, in theory, mean extra revenue for Fifa to share among the member associations who elect the Fifa leadership, and it has been seen by some as a means for Infantino to solidify his power base.

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FIFA OPENS DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS FOR ABANDONED BRAZIL-ARGENTINA MATCH

World football’s governing body FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings into Sunday’s Brazil v Argentina World Cup qualifier which was abandoned after five minutes due to intervention by health officials.

Brazilian health authorities invaded the pitch to stop the game after accusing four of Argentina’s English Premier League players of violating the country’s COVID-19 quarantine rules.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Tottenham Hotspur duo Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso were on the Neo Quimica Arena field as part of Argentina’s team when officials from Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa halted the match.

“Following the analysis of the official match reports related to the FIFA World Cup qualifier match between Brazil and Argentina, FIFA can confirm that disciplinary proceedings have been opened involving both member associations,” FIFA said in a statement.

“The two teams were asked to provide further information on the facts that led to the suspension of the match, which will be gathered and then thoroughly reviewed by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee.”

Anvisa said Brazilian rules make clear that travellers who have been in the UK, South Africa or India during the previous 14 days are forbidden from entering the country unless they are Brazilian citizens or have permanent residency.

It said Argentine players had made false statements about their previous whereabouts on immigration forms. Brazil’s Federal Police said on Monday they had opened a formal inquiry into the actions of the Argentine players who, a spokesperson said, were deported.

Argentina’s Aston Villa midfielder Emiliano Buendia had also traveled from the UK and was in the stands.

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FIFA PROBES RACIST ABUSE OF ENGLAND PLAYERS IN HUNGARY

After England players faced racial abuse in Hungary, FIFA said Friday it will take “adequate actions” once it has investigated the incidents.

The statement from FIFA stopped short of directly condemning Hungary fans for the abuse, which included monkey chanting, in Thursday night’s World Cup qualifier at Puskas Arena in Budapest. England won 4-0.

“FIFA strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero tolerance stance for such behavior in football,” world soccer’s governing body said. ”FIFA will take adequate actions as soon as it receives match reports concerning yesterday’s Hungary-England game.”

Hungary had recently been ordered to play two matches without fans but the sanction from UEFA didn’t take effect for the visit of England because the game was under FIFA’s jurisdiction.

The racist abuse has been condemned by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been criticized for his own racially offensive comments in the past.

“It is completely unacceptable that England players were racially abused in Hungary last night,” Johnson said on Twitter. “I urge (FIFA) to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good.”

England’s players were jeered for taking a knee, pelted with plastic cups after goals and then targeted with alleged racist chants.

Pitch-side reporters for domestic broadcasters ITV and Sky Sports said they saw and heard individuals among the Hungary supporters behind one of the goals aim monkey chants at Raheem Sterling and unused substitute Jude Bellingham, who are Black. Sky Sports showed video footage of one spectator giving the abuse.

The game was played in front of a crowd of 60,000 mostly Hungarian fans about two months after UEFA ordered the team to play three matches without fans — one of which was suspended for a probationary period of two years — as a punishment for what was termed “discriminatory” behavior by its supporters at all three of its Euro 2020 group games.

Those behind-closed-doors games have to be in UEFA competition, though. World Cup qualifiers are organized by FIFA.

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FIFA says La Liga’s case against player release for World Cup qualifiers rejected

The CAS has rejected La Liga’s complaint against players being mandated to play FIFA World Cup qualifiers in South America with little rest time before resuming matches for their clubs.

The Court of Arbitration has rejected the Spanish league’s complaint against players being mandated to play World Cup qualifiers in South America with little rest time before resuming matches for their clubs.

While world football’s governing body said the “decision confirms the legality of FIFA’s decision,” it was not immediately clear if the CAS ruling was focused only on the admissibility of the case being launched by the Spanish league.

CAS told The Associated Press that “the reasons for the decision are not known yet,” while confirming it dismissed La Liga’s “appeal and urgent request for provisional measures against FIFA.”

FIFA could not immediately provide further clarity.

FIFA extended the international window next month to allow South American teams to play a third World Cup qualifier less than two days before domestic leagues are due to resume in Europe.

The Spanish league said “it will continue with procedures in various judicial bodies since FIFA’s decision on the alteration of the international match calendar transcends this specific problem; it is a clear declaration of intent to infringe on the autonomy of domestic leagues, in an abuse of rights.”

However, La Liga has offered clubs charter flights for affected players and requested that the Spanish football federation postpones fixtures or adjusts kickoff times for games scheduled for immediately after the international break.

“We emphasize that, due to FIFA’s decision, the affected players will rejoin their club teams on Friday after having played three games, and many of them will play league matches on Saturday or Sunday, clearly not being in a position to compete under equal conditions with their clubs,” the Spanish league said in a statement.

The leagues in England, Spain, Italy and France have criticized FIFA for ordering players to travel for the triple-header of games next week in South America.

English clubs told players they will be blocked from going to countries on the U.K. red list of nations, including all of South America, which requires 10 days of mandatory hotel quarantine upon return.

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FIFA FINE MEXICAN FA AFTER FAN’S ANTI-GAY CHANTING

FIFA has announced it will fine the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) around $109,000 after anti-gay chants were heard from fans during Mexico’s May 29 match against Iceland in Arlington, Texas.

A spokesperson for FIFA confirmed to press men that the fine of 100,000 Swiss francs for this latest round of punishment would not include other sanctions such as banning fans from future El Tri matches.

In June, Mexico was ordered to play its next two official home games behind closed doors, after the presence of the anti-gay chant throughout the CONCACAF pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, Jalisco, last April.

“The chant is discriminatory and is moving us away from FIFA competitions,” Mexican federation president Yon de Luisa said in response to the match ban during a news conference in June. “To those who think it’s fun to [do it], I have news for you. It’s not.”

The Mexican federation has been hit with 16 fines for the chant since 2015, paying just over $336,000 since the first instance. During the match on May 29 vs. Iceland, FIFA’s three-step protocol against discrimination was put into action after fans repeatedly directed an anti-gay slur at Iceland goalkeeper Runar Runarsson after goal kicks.

The protocol’s first step calls for public-address announcers at the stadium to call on fans to cease the discriminatory action. The second step allows the referee to temporarily halt the match in case of a recurrence, and the third step can result in match abandonment.

In Arlington, referee Ted Unkel was prompted to stop the game momentarily at the 62nd minute, though the match was ultimately allowed to finish, resulting in a 2-1 victory for Mexico.

Though the FMF was spared a more serious penalty this time around, more recent instances of the chant at games could still result in added punishments.

In June, the chant was clearly heard at Mexico’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal and final matches against Costa Rica and the United States, respectively.

On July 10, during El Tri’s Gold Cup opener versus Trinidad and Tobago, the chant persisted even after the first two steps of FIFA’s protocol were enforced.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Liga MX officials announced that the upcoming Apertura 2021 league season will be renamed “Grita … Mexico 2021” as part of a campaign to curb the chant’s usage across Mexican soccer. Liga MX head Mikel Arriola urged fans to instead shout out their team’s name on goal kicks, while warning that clubs could face sanctions or closed door matches if the chant persisted.

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SWISS BANK JULIUS BAER TO PAY NEARLY $80 MILLION IN FIFA CASE

The Swiss bank Julius Baer agreed to pay nearly US$80-million in fines and penalties for its role in illegal payments involving FIFA and the South American governing body CONMEBOL.

The bank will pay a US$43.32-million fine plus US$36,368,400 in restitution – matching the total of the illegal payments – for a total of US$79,688,400, according to a plea agreement read into the record Thursday by U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen. The money is due within 10 days of the formal filing of the agreement later Thursday, Chen said.

Christoph Hiestand, Julius Baer’s Zurich-based group general counsel, appeared during a telephone hearing held at federal court in Brooklyn and said the bank’s board of directors and managing directors approved a resolution to have Julius Baer co-operate with U.S. prosecutors. The bank entered into a 42-month deferred prosecution agreement.

The bank said in November it was setting aside US$79.7-million for an expected payment in the case. Julius Baer has co-operated with the prosecution since charges in the soccer case were first unsealed in 2015.

Jorge Arzuaga, a former Julius Baer banker, pleaded guilty before Chen on June 15, 2017, to one count of money laundering conspiracy and forfeited US$1,046,000 to the U.S. and Swiss governments.

Julius Baer also was penalized in February, 2020, by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) for failing a duty to combat money laundering, including in its ties to FIFA officials.

Julius Baer, founded in 1890, admitted it transported, transmitted and transferred funds from February, 2013, to May, 2015, that it knew represented proceeds of unlawful activity and the transactions were designed in whole or in part to conceal ownership.

Julius Baer waived the right to object to the jurisdiction of the case in Brooklyn federal court and also waived the right to attempt to suppress any evidence. The bank also agreed to enhance its corporate compliance program.

The fine would be have been US$45.6-million but was reduced 5 per cent as part of the plea agreement.

More than 40 soccer and marketing officials and agencies have been convicted, entered guilty pleas, or been indicted. Some await sentencing or have yet to be extradited to the United States.

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Super League clubs tell FIFA legal action already started

The 12 European clubs pursuing a Super League have told the leaders of FIFA and UEFA that legal action is already being pursued to stop them from action intended to thwart the launch of the breakaway competition.

The 12 European clubs pursuing a Super League have told the leaders of FIFA and UEFA that legal action is already being pursued to stop them from action intended to thwart the launch of the breakaway competition, according to a letter obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

The letter was sent by the group of English, Spanish and Italian clubs to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA counterpart Aleksander Ceferin saying the Super League has already been underwritten by funding of 4 billion euros ($5.5 billion) from a financial institution.

UEFA warned the Super League clubs, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, after leaks of their plans on Sunday that legal action would be taken against rebel clubs and saying they would barred from existing domestic competitions like La Liga in Spain and the Premier League in England and international competitions.

“We are concerned that FIFA and UEFA may respond to this invitation letter by seeking to take punitive measures to exclude any participating club or player from their respective competitions,” the Super League clubs wrote to Infantino and Ceferin.

“Your formal statement does, however, compel us to take protective steps to secure ourselves against such an adverse reaction, which would not only jeopardize the funding commitment under the Grant but, significantly, would be unlawful. For this reason, SLCo (Super League Company) has filed a motion before the relevant courts in order to ensure the seamless establishment and operation of the Competition in accordance with applicable laws.”

The courts were not named.

“It is our duty, as SLCo’s board members, to ensure that all reasonable actions available to protect the interests of the Competition and our stakeholders are duly taken, given the irreparable damage that would be suffered if, for any reason, we were deprived of the opportunity to form promptly the Competition and distribute the proceeds of the Grant,” the Super League letter continued.

The Super League intends to launch a 20-team competition with 15 founding members but only 12 have currently signed up. They are also Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham from England. Atletico Madrid and Milan rivals AC and AC are also part of the plan.

The breakaway was launched just as UEFA, which runs European football, thought it had agreement on an expansion of the Champions League from 2024. Now, the same officials who backed the plans have decided to go it alone while claiming the existing competitions could remain _ despite losing their most successful teams, including record 13-time European champion Real Madrid and six-time winner Liverpool.

“The Competition is to be played alongside existing domestic league and cup competitions, which are a key part of European football’s competitive fabric,” reads the Super League letter to Infanatino and Ceferin. “We do not seek to replace the UEFA’s Champions League or the Europa League but to compete with and exist alongside those tournaments.