David Owen: A TV levy might be the best hope of avoiding a pharmaceutical free-for-all

As regular readers may know, I am sceptical about sport’s ability to bring doping by top-level athletes under anything resembling control. Equally, the spectre of a complete pharmaceutical free-for-all is, in some respects, so disturbing that I would concede we need to be certain we have exhausted all avenues before we all, to borrow a phrase used last week by Independent Commission chair Richard Pound, “go home”.

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Villar fined and promises to co-operate

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By Andrew Warshaw
November 13 – After years of evading punishment and blocking reform while others around him were hit hard, Spain’s Fifa vice-president Angel Villar Llona was finally sanctioned today for failing to co-operate with the official investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process.

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Paid patriotism. How MLS clubs earn off the stars and stripes

US patriotism

By Ben Nicholson
November 13 – While FIFA insist that sports and politics are separate, the US has been exposed as using sport to host patriotic displays honoring American soldiers. A government oversight report released information detailing that the Department of justice had paid $6.8 million to sports teams for military tributes.

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Exclusive: Bahraini footballer Hubail backs Salman for FIFA job

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By Paul Nicholson in Manama, Bahrain
November 12 – Bahrain’s most famous footballer and the national team’s top scorer Ala’a Hubail, has told Insideworldfootball that he hopes “Shaikh Salman becomes president because he would be the first arab president and that makes me very proud.” He also said that the allegations swirling around Shaikh Salman’s candidacy are not true, “it is not in his character”.

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