The Sport Review: “Fifa to consider introducing fourth substitute in extra-time” plus 3 more

Fifa to consider introducing fourth substitute in extra-time
Fifa rocked by fresh World Cup bid corruption claims
Man City 1 Spurs 0: Crouch own goal seals fourth for City
Neil Back quits as Leeds Carnegie head coach

Fifa to consider introducing fourth substitute in extra-time

Posted: 10 May 2011 05:40 PM PDT

sepp blatter

A fourth substitution in extra-time and the clarification of the offside rule were two of the measures put forward by Fifa’s Task Force Football 2014 after its first meeting on Tuesday.

The Task Force, the first panel of its kind since 1990, has been set up to improve the quality of the game and is set come up with “concrete solutions” by next year’s Fifa congress.

Also on the agenda in Zurich was the need to professionalise refereeing, and the possible scrapping of the “triple punishment” – when players conceding a penalty are shown a red card that also results in a one-match ban. The panel believes some penalty-box fouls should be punished only with a booking.

Other proposals include the scrapping of extra-time in all Fifa under-17 competitions, and ideas for an initiative to increase the number of female coaches and referees in the women’s game.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter said the goal of the group is to “increase the attractiveness of the game” and to “meet fans' changing demands and expectations”.

“The Task Force 2014 is debating a huge number of topics, for example refereeing standards, competition formats, and match supervision,” he said.

“We're expecting to develop productive proposals for submission to a variety of bodies such as the FIFA Executive Committee and the International Football Association Board.”

Referee Massimo Busacca added: “In terms of refereeing, we could certainly improve overall levels of performance during matches. Our goal is to field genuinely good referees in Brazil [at the World Cup] in 2014.

“Obviously, we need professional referees, and not just in name: we need high quality on the field of play too.”

The Task Force chairman Franz Beckenbauer, who was absent from Tuesday’s initial meeting because of a back injury, will brief Fifa members on the panel’s work at this year’s congress in Zurich on 1 June.

Fifa rocked by fresh World Cup bid corruption claims

Posted: 10 May 2011 04:37 PM PDT

fifa president sepp blatter

Fifa’s reputation took yet another battering on Tuesday after the governing body was hit with fresh corruption allegations that six of its executive members sought favours or bribes in return World Cup bids.

Former Football Association and England 2018 bid chairman Lord Triesman told a parliamentary committee that the members of Fifa’s executive committee were guilty of “improper and unethical behaviour” in the early stages of the bid.

Triesman accused Fifa vice-president Jack Warner of asking for £2.5m to build an education centre in Trinidad during a meeting in a London hotel in October 2009, with the cash to be channelled through him.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Warner insisted the allegations made against him by Triesman were “a piece of nonsense”. “I’ve never asked Triesman nor any other person, Englishman or otherwise, for any money for my vote at any time,” he said.

“I was shocked but one has to see the evidence. Give us time to digest that and start the investigation by asking for evidence on what has been said”
Fifa president Sepp Blatter

Triesman also claimed Paraguay’s Fifa member Nicolas Leoz asked for a knighthood, while Brazil’s member Ricardo Teixeira allegedly asked him to “come and tell me what you have got for me”.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Fifa member Worawi Makudi wanted to be given the television rights to a friendly between England and the Thai national team, according to Triesman.

And in a separate development, two other Fifa members, Issa Hayatou from Cameroon and Jacques Anouma from the Ivory Coast, were alleged to have been paid $1.5m (£0.9m) to vote for Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, according to claims voiced by MPs in the House of Commons.

After Amos Adamu from Nigeria and Reynald Temarii from Tahiti were banned by Fifa’s ethics committee before the final vote last year, Tuesday’s developments mean a third of the body’s executive members have either been alleged to have been or already found guilty of corruption in relation to the World Cup bids.

The claims against Hayatou and Anouma came as a result of evidence provided by the Sunday Times‘ undercover investigation into World Cup voting last year, Tory MP Damian Collins revealed.

“The Sunday Times’ submission, and this is to be published by us later, claims that 1.5m dollars was paid to Fifa executive committee members Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma who went on to vote for Qatar.”

Fifa president Sepp Blatter vowed that immediate action would be taken if evidence of wrongdoing by the body’s members was revealed.

“I was shocked but one has to see the evidence,” said Blatter on Tuesday. “They are coming from other confederations, so I cannot say that they are all angels or all devils.

“There is a new round of information. Give us time to digest that and start the investigation by asking for evidence on what has been said. We will react immediately against all those in breach of the ethics code rules.

“Zero tolerance is going through Fifa, it is one of the items on the Congress. It is my battle horse.”

Man City 1 Spurs 0: Crouch own goal seals fourth for City

Posted: 10 May 2011 03:34 PM PDT

Manchester City have their place in the Champions League after a Peter Crouch own goal gifted them a decisive win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Crouch, the man who sealed Spurs’ spot in Europe’s premier club competition in the same fixture last season, inadvertently diverted James Milner’s cross past Carlo Cudicini in the first half.

The FA Cup finalists were the deserved winners of a tense encounter which leaves Harry Redknapp’s Spurs facing a fight with Liverpool for fifth place, and Europa League qualification, on Sunday.

Roberto Mancini’s men pressed for an early goal to settle an anxious home crowd. An excellent exchange between David Silva and Edin Dzeko carved open Tottenham's defence but the Bosnian striker saw his attempt easily deflected away by Cudicini.

Milner, eager to highlight his credentials for a place in Mancini's plans for Saturday's FA Cup final, then had his protests for a penalty turned down by referee Mike Dean after a collision with Michael Dawson in the Spurs area.

City made their breakthrough on the half-hour mark. Milner’s cross from the right was met by Crouch, whose attempted clearance sent the ball past a despairing Cudicini.

In contrast to their memorable performances earlier in the season, Spurs rarely threatened. The visitor’s top goalscorer Rafael van der Vaart endured a muted night, the Netherlands international unable to dictate play from his midfield role behind Crouch.

Luka Modrić wasted Tottenham's best chance just before the break when he fired a right-footed shot wide from close range after excellent work from Aaron Lennon.

And moments after the interval winger Lennon darted past the stationary Pablo Zabaleta and clipped a cross to substitute Steven Pienaar, whose header was denied by an athletic save from Joe Hart.

The introduction of Carlos Tévez, who was returning from injury, late in the second half helped nudged City over the finishing line.

With a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds secure, Mancini’s men can still seal a spot in the tournament proper if they can snatch third place from Arsenal.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said:

“Congratulations to all my players. They’ve had a fantastic Premier League season. We have achieved fourth position and we have another two games left to push for third.

“For me, it is an important moment. We have been working for this very hard for a year and we are very happy for the supporters. Anything is possible but we want to try [to catch Arsenal].

“It is important we recover our strength in the next few days for the FA Cup final now. We stayed between first and fourth position for a long time and I think we deserve it.”

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart said:

“It means the world. We’ve still got a couple of games to go and we are going to hunt down third spot. We’ve got some big you-know-whats in this side and we showed that tonight.

“No [Champions League qualification is not like winning a trophy]. We need a trophy and that’s Saturday [in the FA Cup final]. We need to give the fans something they can hold on to.”

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said:

“I look at this season – and tonight’s performance – with great pride. I thought we played ever so well. It’s hard to get in the Champions League and, to be fair, we just had a bad run at the wrong time.

“Overall, I enjoy watching us play and that’s the most important thing for me. With a bit of tweaking to the squad in the summer we will go for Champions League football again next season. I’m looking forward to it.”

Barclays Premier League table snapshot

Neil Back quits as Leeds Carnegie head coach

Posted: 10 May 2011 09:41 AM PDT

neil back

Leeds Carnegie have confirmed that head coach Neil Back will leave the club with immediate effect after finishing bottom of the Aviva Premiership.

The club face relegation but could still escape Championship rugby should the Cornish Pirates overcome Worcester in the two-legged play-off final, but the Leeds board said it was preparing for the worst.

The 42-year-old former England international flanker told the club’s website: “The experiences over the last three years have been incredible in terms of my personal and coaching development.

“I am very passionate about what I do and I have thrived on the challenge over the past three years, however taking all things into account, I feel I have taken Leeds as far as I can.

“I am very proud of what Leeds Carnegie has achieved over the last three years against the odds and I wish Leeds all the success for the future.”

Leeds almost pulled off a miracle on Saturday as they narrowly lost to Northampton Saints 31-24.

The losing bonus point was not enough to lift them off the bottom as Newcastle finished with a superior points difference.

Back informed chief executive Gary Hetherington on Monday night of his decision to step down.

Hetherington said: “Having met with Neil, he has informed me of his intention to move on at the end of the season to enable him to look for a new challenge.

“I would like to thank Neil for all his efforts during the past three years when he has helped move the club forward into a stronger position.

“In his first season, we won promotion and last season we defied the odds to retain our place in the Premiership.

“However, this year we have fallen short by the smallest of margins on the final day of the season and that comes as a disappointment to all of us.”

Back, known for his illustrious playing career at Leicester Tigers, and in England, Lions and Babarians shirts, has been in charge of Leeds for three years.

In 2008 he and director of rugby Andy Key led the club to promotion with a record 23 consecutive wins, losing only two games away from home.

Last season Leeds finished tenth in the Premiership to secure their top-flight status, however Back was unable to repeat such exploits this term.

Hetherington added: “We will go into the Championship aiming to bounce back at the first opportunity but realise the challenge that is in front of us.”