Paul Nicholson, Author at Inside World Football - Page 1684 of 1897

David Owen: 1974 – when British football was whiter than white and QPR briefly looked like the shape of the future

Rummaging through my mother’s garage, I found a mildewed relic: a copy of Shoot! “incorporating Goal”‘s summer special from 1974.

It was not a happy time for English football. The Alf Ramsey era had just fizzled to a close with a goalless draw in Portugal. With the World Cup that England had failed to qualify for about to take place in West Germany, the first article was an assessment of Ramsey’s long reign.

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English fans protest ticket prices as Premier League ready for kick off

ticket price protest

By Andrew Warshaw
August 15 – The new English Premier League season gets under way this weekend amid renewed concerns over the cost of ticket prices. Yesterday the Football Supporters’ Federation organised a march towards the London headquarters of the Premier League wielding banners declaring “Football without fans is nothing” and “Demand cuts in ticket prices”.

Africa

Nigeria crisis descends into farce as Maigari resigns and FIFA demand roadmap

Aminu Maigari

By Mark Baber
August 15 – The crisis in Nigerian football descended into farce on Thursday as it became clear the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) president Aminu Maigari (pictured), had officially resigned from his post whilst a letter from FIFA arrived demanding the NFF reinstate him and the Executive Committee which had been in place before the World Cup.

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Poland to scrap supporters’ cards in bid to boost attendances

Polish fans

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 15 – In a bid to boost attendance of football matches in Poland, the parliament’s Physical Culture and Sports commission has unveiled a legislative proposal to scrap supporters’ cards which are currently a prerequisite for attending Polish league matches. Under the plan, the cards will be cancelled in the 2015/2016 season.

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World Cups are bad for your health: sue FIFA and its referees

Rodriguez yellow carded vs Brazil

August 15 – FIFA has to deal with scores of complaints on an almost daily basis but few are surely more bizarre than the revelation that a Colombian lawyer is suing world football’s governing body for €1 billion over “moral damages” caused by refereeing at the World Cup.

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FIFPro calls for new Italian chief Tavecchio to apologise publicly in Rome

Carlo Tavecchio

August 15 – World players union FIFPro has questioned whether newly-elected Italian football federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio is suitable for the job following his racist comments about African players.

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Legia lose UEFA appeal but now head for CAS over ‘prison sentence’ penalty

Henning Berg

By Andrew Warshaw
August 15 – Legia Warsaw are to take their Champions League expulsion to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as their usually mild-mannered coach Henning Berg accused UEFA of imposing a jail sentence-like penalty for a minor offense and ignoring their own policy over fair play.

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FC Dallas set to announce USL Pro affiliate team

USL Pro

August 15 – MLS side FC Dallas has decided to delay creating their own USL team until 2016, and are instead seeking an affiliate for 2015. The USL is the second tier of professional soccer in the US.

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Suarez has to bite the ban bullet, but is back to football ‘activity’

Luis Suarez 5

August 15 – Luis Suarez is back in the stadium, can return to training, can carry out promotional commitments with his club and sponsors, but he can’t pull on his new Barcelona shirt and play in official competitive matches until he has served the initial ban handed out by FIFA for “committing an act of assault” in the match against Italy at the FIFA World Cup.

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Sparks fly as Rojo wrangle causes fury at Sporting and Doyen

Marcos Rojo

By Matt Scott
August 15 – Manchester United’s approach for Marcos Rojo (pictured) has descended into open conflict between Sporting Clube de Portugal and the player-investment firm that claims a substantial financial interest in the Argentina international defender.

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Inside Insight: Mongering some FIFA rumours

The World Cup is done and dusted. The revolution did not happen, football was televised. Rio remained unaffected by what the nay sayers had predicted to become a nightmare for FIFA. The social unrest prior to the World Cup proved to be against an apparently incompetent and corrupt government and not the governing body of world football. The schools and hospitals remain unbuilt. The roadways and other ways remain unfinished eye-sores, as they were before the Cup,

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Russians start ‘disaster’ planning for 2018 World Cup

Russian flag

August 14 – Russia’s EMERCOM (The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters), has begun preparations for the 2018 World Cup and says it will draw on the experiences of the Brazil World Cup, the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2013 Kazan University Olympiade in its planning.

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Indonesians bet on Sportradar’s FDS in battle against match-fixing

PSSI Integrity Officer Dr Hinca Pandjaitan Sportradar Managing Director Strategy Andreas Krannich and Integrity and PSSI General Secretary Joko Driyano l to r Image 1

August 14 – The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) is the latest Asian federation to turn to betting monitoring tools to battle the threat of match-fixing in its leagues. Earlier this week the Football Association of Thailand announced it had signed up to use Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System (FDS).

Africa

Nigeria: Baribote has 15-year ban lifted

Victor Runson Baribote

By Mark Baber
August 14 – Central to recent disputes between leading stakeholders in Nigerian football and the recent FIFA suspension of Nigeria, has been the long-running dispute between Victor Runson Baribote and members of the Nigerian football hierarchy. The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has now taken action to bring the feud to a close, officially lifting the 15 year ban it had placed on the former Nigeria Professional Football League Chairman.

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Palestinian football under attack in Gaza, as football mourns its losses

Palestinian funeral march

By Mark Baber
August 14 – Palestinian football was never going to escape unscathed from the latest war in Gaza, which has cost the lives of more than 1,900 Palestinians and 66 Israelis, destroying much of Gaza’s infrastructure. However, the killing of local football legend and coach Ahed Zaqqut, suggests the damage to the Palestinian football community may be more than just collateral.