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Tag: FIFA

FIFA to sanction Hungary over racist abuse of England players
Football’s ruling body FIFA on Friday promised “adequate actions” in response to the racist abuse, which marred England’s World Cup qualifying win in Hungary.
England players, Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were targeted by monkey chants by home supporters during the game in Budapest, which England won 4-0.
Sterling was also pelted with cups after scoring England’s opening goal on Thursday night.
FIFA’s regulations provide for offenders to be deducted points, ordered to play behind closed doors and even expelled from competitions.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on FIFA to act, and world football’s governing body has pledged to do so.
“First and foremost, FIFA strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero tolerance stance for such behaviour in football.”
“FIFA will take adequate actions as soon as it receives match reports concerning yesterday’s Hungary-England game.
“It is completely unacceptable that England players were racially abused in Hungary last night.
“I urge FIFA to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good,” Johnson said
Hungary were given a two-match stadium ban by European football’s governing body UEFA in July for allegations of racist chanting and homophobic display of banners during Euro 2020 matches against France and Portugal.
However, the ban could not be extended or carried over into the World Cup qualifier against England because it is a FIFA competition.
Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland also condemned the “deeply depressing” racism targeted at England players.
England’s players were also booed before kick-off after they took the knee as a gesture against racism.
September 3, 2021
FIFA Postpones June World Cup Qualifiers In Africa
FIFA confirmed on Thursday that the 2022 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for Africa during June have been postponed until September due to the coronavirus and stadiums not meeting international standards.
There will now be double matchdays in September, October, and November with the 10 group winners advancing to the final round next March.
Africa has been allocated five places at the 32-nation tournament in Qatar, which has been moved from its traditional mid-year setting to November and December because of extreme summer heat.
Had two matchdays been staged in June, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone would not have been able to stage qualifiers.
The main stadiums in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, and Uganda were also ruled out, but they had alternate venues capable of hosting internationals.
Recently elected Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe from South Africa has prioritised improving poor facilities and pitches at many national stadiums.
-AFP
May 6, 2021
20/2021 Season: FIFA Disciplinary Committee expels Kenyan club for match manipulation
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has expelled Zoo FC from the Kenyan Premier League (2020/2021 season) as of the date of notification of this decision and to assign it to FKF Division One for the next season.
FIFA said on Tuesday that it found Kenyan club Zoo FC guilty of having been involved in match manipulation in violation of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (2019 edition).
The FIFA’s decision was contained in a statement made available to our correspondent.
The decision to sanction Zoo FC is related to a series of matches in the Kenyan Premier League deemed to have been manipulated between 2018 and 2020, by individuals belonging to the club, as a consequence of which the club has been held responsible for the behaviour of its members.
By means of this decision, for the first time since the amendments applied to the FIFA Disciplinary Code in 2019, a legal person has been held liable by a FIFA judicial body for the conduct of its members with regard to match manipulation.
In particular, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee determined that Zoo FC had breached Article 8 (Responsibility) and Article 18 (Manipulation of football matches and competitions) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
Finally, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee ordered Zoo FC to contact FIFA in the next 30 days from the notification of this decision and implement a prevention plan as an educational directive designed to prevent and combat the manipulation of football matches and competitions.
The formal disciplinary proceedings against the aforementioned club stemmed from an investigation conducted by FIFA through its Integrity Department, in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and authorities and in accordance with the mandate conferred upon it by the Football Kenya Federation and the Confederation of African Football.
The decision was notified to the club Zoo FC on May 4, this year.
However, the club has 10 days to request the grounds of the decision, after which it will be published on legal.fifa.com.
This decision may be appealed before the FIFA Appeal Committee, pursuant to Article 56 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code
May 5, 2021
FIFA Disapproves Of Super League – Infantino
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday there is “no doubt whatsoever” that football’s world governing body “disapproves” of the proposed European Super League (ESL) and that clubs involved could face “consequences”.
Twelve major clubs launched plans Monday for a new breakaway league which would drastically change the landscape of the world’s most popular sport.
“At FIFA we can only and strongly disapprove the creation of the Super League, of a Super League who is a closed shop, a breakaway from the current institutions, from the leagues, from the associations, from UEFA, and from FIFA,” Infantino told a UEFA congress in Switzerland.
“There is no doubt whatsoever of FIFA’s disapproval for this.”
Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are the six English clubs involved, together with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid from Spain and Italian trio Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
UEFA has said the teams would be banned from domestic and other European competitions, including the Champions League.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the head of the new ESL, has insisted that would be “impossible”, but Infantino threatened action as FIFA took a stronger stance than it did with its initial statement when the news first broke.
“It is our task to protect the European sport model, so if some elect to go their own way then they must live with the consequences of their choices,” said Infantino.
“They are responsible for their choices.
“Either you’re in or you’re out. You can’t be half in and half out. Think of it, this has to be absolutely, absolutely clear.”
April 20, 2021
FIFA suspends Pakistan, Chad football federations
World football ruling body FIFA has suspended the national federations of Pakistan and Chad with immediate effect.
FIFA said on Wednesday the decision to suspend the Chadian football association (FTFA) was taken because of interference by the country’s government authorities in the federation’s affairs.
“The suspension will be lifted once the relevant government decisions have been repealed and the FTFA and its management have confirmed to FIFA that the FTFA premises are again under its control,” FIFA said.
Chad had already been excluded by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers because of the situation.
The Pakistan football federation (PFF) has been suspended by FIFA due to third-party interference, which, in the view of the international ruling body, constitutes a violation of the FIFA statutes.
This situation has been triggered by the recent illegal occupation of the PFF headquarters in Lahore by a group of protestors and “an alleged decision by certain individuals to remove the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the PFF.”
“As the situation remains unchanged, the Bureau of the Council has decided to suspend the PFF,” FIFA said.
The PFF suspension will be lifted once FIFA has received confirmation that the PFF’s premises, accounts, administration and communication channels are again under “its full control and it can continue to carry out its mandate without further hindrance.
April 7, 2021
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, rushed to hospital
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is currently in hospital in a ‘serious but stable’ condition.

Reports in Switzerland claim the 84-year-old was rushed to hospital on Thursday, January 7.

According to Blick, Blatter ‘s state of health is considered serious, but he is not believed to be in life-threatening condition

His daughter Corrina confirmed in a statement he is getting better every day as she asked for privacy.

She told Blick: “My father is in the hospital and is getting better every day. He needs time and rest. On behalf of my family, I ask for privacy.”

This isn’t the first time the Blatter has been hospitalised, with the Swiss suffering health problems in November 2015 and July 2016.

Blatter became the eighth president of FIFA after he secured the role in 1998, was removed from the office back in 2015 after 17 years in charge of the world football’s governing body.

He was banned from all football activity for six years following an investigation into widespread corruption at FIFA under his stewardship.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Blatter had authorised payments to Michel Platini, then the European football boss, worth over $2million that amounted to “undue gifts” and therefore violated FIFA’s code of ethics.

The men were banned, initially for eight years before it got reduced to six years by FIFA’s appeals committee in February 2016.

Blatter, who has denied all charges against him, had compared the FIFA Ethics Committee investigation to “the inquisition”. He lost an appeal in the CAS against the suspension in December 2016.
January 8, 2021
FIFA cancels U17 and U20 World Cups in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic
FIFA has canceled the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups scheduled for next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news comes after the postponement of the Olympic Games and other global sporting tournaments.
In a statement released, FIFA said the 2021 edition of both tournaments will be cancelled, and the next edition will be held in 2023, with Indonesia still hosting the U20s and Peru the U17s.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel. FIFA has therefore regularly consulted the relevant stakeholders, including the host member associations as well as the confederations involved in both tournaments originally scheduled to take place in 2021,” the football governing body said in a statement.
“In doing so, it became clear that the global situation has failed to normalise to a sufficient level to address the challenges associated with hosting both tournaments, including the feasibility of the relevant qualification pathways,” it added.
December 26, 2020
FIFA Normalization Committee takes charge of Ivorian Football Federation
The Federation of International Football Association (Fifa) has appointed a normalisation committee to run the affairs of the Ivorian Football Federation.
Fifa’s decision was taken as a result of the country’s inability to carry out an electoral process for a new Executive Committee in accordance with the requirement valid to all Fifa member associations.
According to a statement made available by the football governing body, the team will consist of members designated jointly by Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and they will serve as an electoral committee and none of its members will be eligible for the positions to be filled during the elections.
“The Bureau of the Fifa Council has decided to appoint a normalisation committee for FIF pursuant to art. 8 par. 2 of the Fifa Statutes,” the statement read.
“This decision is the result of the failure of the country’s football governing bodies to carry out an electoral process for a new Executive Committee in accordance with the statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to all Fifa member associations.
“After several months of engaging with FIF, the failure was attributed to inherent weaknesses in the association’s governance structures and processes, including contradictions in the FIF Statutes and Electoral Code that have yet to be resolved, and which significantly impacted the flawed electoral process conducted. It was further taken into account the fact that the mandate of the executive had already ended.”
The mandate of the normalisation will expire on 31 December 2021.
FIF’s election campaign was brought to a stop in August after Didier Drogba’s bid was rejected as he only received the official support of two of a required four Ivorian clubs. The Cote d’Ivoire and Chelsea great was standing against Idriss Diallo and president of the league Sory Diabate.
Drogba, 42, played for the West African nation between 2002 and 2014 before calling time on his international career. He is the country’s all-time top scorer with 65 goals after 105 games, the country’s third-highest tally of international appearances after Didier Zokora (123) and Kolo Toure (120).
Also, he featured at five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013) and three World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014).
December 25, 2020
FIFA announces venues for Qatar 2020
World soccer governing body, FIFA has announced Education City, Ahmad Bin Ali, and Khalifa International stadiums as venues for the 2020 Club World Cup in Qatar.
The tournament which was earlier scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19 will hold from February 1 to 11, 2021.
The match in the opening ceremony will be played on February 1 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium which was inaugurated on December 18.
Qatari champions Al Duhail will face Auckland City of New Zealand in the opening game.
Education City Stadium will host the final of the tournament which brings teams from six continental confederations.
The teams in the tournament include Bayern Munich, Ulsan Hyundai, Al Ahly, UANL, Auckland City, and Al-Duhail.
Education City stadium which was unveiled in June 2020 will host the final of the tournament on February 11.
Protection from COVID-19 will be provided by the host country all through the tournament.
December 24, 2020
FIFA files criminal complaint against Blatter
World football governing body, FIFA has filed a criminal complaint against its former president, Sepp Blatter, over the mismanagement of the finances of its museum in Zurich.
FIFA said that funds which should have been channelled into the development of football were used in refurbishing a building it doesn’t own.
“The complaint includes the entire project costs at CHF 500 million ($564.59 million), and identifies that the previous FIFA administration poured CHF 140 million into renovating and refurbishing a building that the organization doesn’t own, while also locking itself into a long-term rental agreement on unfavourable terms when compared to standard market rates, which, in total, will cost FIFA CHF 360 million by the date of expiration in 2045,” FIFA said in a statement.
“That is half a billion Swiss Francs that could and should have been channelled into the development of global football.”
Reacting to the accusations, Blatter’s lawyer, Lorenz Erni said that they are “baseless and are vehemently repudiated”.
Blatter presided over FIFA for 17 years until he was banned due to criminal proceedings against him in 2015.
December 22, 2020