By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
July 5 – Senior senators have called for the dismissal of FIFA Executive Committee member Vitaly Mutko (pictured) as Russia’s Sports Minister following revelations he charged for five breakfasts a day during the Vancouver Olympics and a new survey ranked him as the country’s second most disliked Government official.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
July 5 - John Coates (pictured), the architect behind Sydney’s successful bid to host the 2000 Olympics, has warned that the Australian media have been manipulated by ”sinister forces” into trying to undermine the country’s campaign to stage the 2022 World Cup.
July 4 – Pressure is growing on FIFA Executive Committee member Vitaly Mutko (pictured) to resign as Russia’s Sports Minister after it emerged that he claimed expenses for the equivalent of five breakfasts a day while he was attending the Olympics in Vancouver earlier this year, where the team had its worst ever performance.
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By Duncan Mackay in London
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
July 4 – England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup could fail because FIFA hates the fact that the sport in this country is “poisoned” by money, the former Culture Secretary Andy Burnham (pictured) has claimed.
July 4 – Additional tickets for the remaining four World Cup matches, including the final at Soccer City in Johannesburg next Sunday (July 11), have gone on sale today, FIFA has announced.
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July 3 – The United States have still not made a decision about whether to abandon its campaign to host the 2018 World Cup and instead concentrate all its efforts on 2022, the bid leader Sunil Gulati has claimed.
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By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
July 3 – Sepp Blatter has apologised privately to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for the way in which he handled the controversy over Thierry Henry’ handball that knocked them out of the World Cup.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
July 3 – Australian World Cup 2022 officials are set to take legal action after the Government cleared them of abusing public funds in their campaign.
By Tom Degun
July 2 – England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup remains the strongest candidate despite the national team’s disastrous performance in South Africa, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has claimed.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
July 2 – FIFA Executive Committee Vitaly Mutko is again under pressure to resign as Russia’s Sports Minister after a damning Government report into the country’s poor performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver earlier this year revealed that his hotel suite during the Games cost $1,500 (£986) a night.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
June 30 – Ben Buckley, chief executive of Football Federation Australia (FFA), has claimed bidding for the World Cup is not for the naive as FIFA announced they were launching an investigation into claims they had broken ethics rules.
June 30 – The French Government have denied accusations by FIFA that they were involved in the resignation of Jean-Pierre Escalettes as the President of the French Football Federation (FFF) following the national team’s disastrous performance at the World Cup in South Africa.
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June 30 – Fox Soccer Channel has become an official partner of the United States bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, it has been announced.
By David Owen in Johannesburg
June 30 – The 2010 FIFA World Cup pauses for breath for the first time these next two days.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
June 29 – Australia’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup has been fiercely defended following allegations published in the Sydney Morning Herald, claiming they had given pearl necklaces to the wives of the FIFA Executive Committee and offered an all-expenses paid trip to one of the voting members.