Roma eyes €28m Etihad hook-up but airline says there is no deal

Stadio della Roma plan

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 13 – AS Roma is poised to sign a main sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways. Under the plan, the UAE-based airlines will pay the Italian side about €14 million per year as the club’s main sponsor, and a further €14 million per annum for the naming rights to its new stadium, Stadio della Roma.

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FIFA to send observers to World Cup qualifiers in war on racism

Discrimination monitoring

By Andrew Warshaw
May 12 – World Cup qualifiers with a high risk of racist incidents are to be targeted by FIFA as it steps up the fight against discrimination. A new monitoring system of specialists will be put in place both during the 2018 qualifying competition, which covers some 900 games globally, and the finals themselves in Russia.

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Belgian heartbreak over Mertens and Nicot deaths

Lokeren tribute

May 12 – Belgian football is coming to terms with the tragic death of a second footballer as a result of a cardiac arrest. Two weeks after 24-year-old Lokeren central defender Gregory Mertens died in hospital after collapsing as he played in a reserve game, lower-league fullback Tim Nicot, 23, of fourth-tier Wilrijk-Beerschot, suffered a similar fate on Friday.

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Gang of three meet secretly in Nyon to plot final assault on Zurich

secret meetings

By Andrew Warshaw
May 12 – No public statement has so far been issued by any of the three candidates taking on Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency amid considerable intrigue as to what strategy agreement, if any, was reached between Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, Michael van Praag and Luis Figo at a private meeting they are believed to have held close to the headquarters of UEFA on Monday.

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