Jury enter second day of deliberations in Marin, Napout and Burga case
December 19 – The jury in the FIFA-gate corruption trial of three former South American powerbrokers is set to resume deliberations today with a verdict imminent.
Integrity
Anti-semitic banners and Hitler image at Sudanese club match sparks global condemnation
December 18 – Sudan’s leading club has been reprimanded after supporters taunted rival fans by erecting banners displaying an image of Adolf Hitler during a bitter championship decider.
Greizmann apologises after Harlem Globetrotter tribute rebounds
December 18 – Talk about a faux pas. France’s much-touted Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has apologised after initially telling his social media followers to “calm down” in response to an outpouring of protest about racism when he painted himself black.
FIFA-gate closing: Marin, Napout and Burga argue that Burzaco and the agencies are the real crooks
December 15 – As the three former South American football powerbrokers who have been on trial in New York for their alleged roles in the FIFA-gate scandal nervously await the jury’s verdict, the lawyer for one of them, former Brazilian FA boss Jose Maria Marin, wound up his defence Thursday by claiming his client had little idea about the $200 million bribery and corruption scheme.
Infantino accused of deal-making on match-fixing at UEFA as Trabzonspor demand justice
December 15 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been accused of turning a blind eye to match-fixing when he was UEFA’s general secretary during the 2010-11 scandal that rocked Turkish football.
FIFA-gate: Prosecutors outline $11m+ in bribes but defendents cry ‘show me the money’
December 14 – The three former South American football powerbrokers who have been on trial in New York for their alleged roles in the FIFA-gate scandal lined their pockets with millions of dollars of bribes for more than six years, prosecutors argued in their closing arguments yesterday.
FIFA-gate: Trial of Marin, Bapout and Burga set for closing arguments
December 13 – Closing statements are set to take place in the New York trial of three former South American bosses charged in the corruption scandal engulfing FIFA.
‘Friends in high places?’ New York judge questions why FIFA has not banned Del Nero
December 12 – The judge in the FIFAGate trial in New York has deepened the intrigue over why current Brazilian football boss Marco del Nero is still at large even though he is one of those indicted, suggesting he might have “friends in high places”.
Pieth adds to criticism of Infantino’s ethically-challenged new FIFA
December 12 – FIFA’s original governance guru has come out of the shadows to describe the organisation under Gianni Infantino as a laughing stock that has actually gone backwards from the days of Sepp Blatter when it comes to meaningful reform.
UEFA see red over Carvajal’s ‘deliberate’ yellow
December 8 – Good try but not good enough. Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal will miss the first leg of the Champions League last 16 after he was found by UEFA to have got himself deliberately booked for time-wasting in the last month’s 6-0 win at Apoel Nicosia.
FIFA gate trial: Tournaments that were never played, bribes that were, and pedicures
December 7 – A Brazilian marketing executive has told the FifaGate trial in New York how he helped set up an enticing bribe to powerful South American football officials to secure the rights for a new tournament that never happened.
Russian racism returns as Spartak player targets Liverpool’s Brewster in Youth League
December 12 – Already reeling from the doping scandal that has reverberated through world sport, Russian football has been hit with its latest claim of racism, this time against Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster who has alleged he was abused by a Spartak Moscow player during a UEFA Youth League game on Wednesday.
IOC bans Russia 2018 supremo Mutko from all Olympic events over doping scandal
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – The position of Russian World Cup supremo Vitaly Mutko has been catapulted back into the spotlight following the International Olympic Committee’s far-reaching decision to ban all Russian athletes from competing under their own flag at next year’s winter Olympics as punishment for a state-sponsored doping programme.
ICSS launches whistleblower hotline for the US and Canada
December 6 – The US, whose law enforcement bodies are intent on cleaning up world football and its global corruption surrounding high value marketing rights in the Americas, now has a dedicated whistleblower line for athletes, sports execs and even members of the public who want to report misconduct.
Bility and Liberian FA accelerate war on whistleblower Woodson, with second suspension
By Paul Nicholson
December 6 – The iron fist of democracy with which Musa Bility rules the Liberian FA (LFA) has once again landed on his arch critic Rochell Woodson who has been suspended for a second time by the LFA from fulfilling her duties as an executive committee member.