Inside World Football - Page 1712 of 1842 - For the Business of Football

David Gold: French quota row stems from a loss of national identity

DavidGold

Laurent Blanc may have escaped censure from the French Government and the French Football Federation this week, but French football’s reputation is still hanging by a thread following the row which has erupted following revelations by Mediapart that senior football officials in the country wanted to limit the number of African and north African players in their academies.

The French Football Federation report into the revelations cleared Blanc and the organisation reaffirmed their faith in their national team coach,

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FIFA need to reform because mud sticks, warns John Coates

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By Duncan Mackay

May 13 – John Coates (pictured), the President of the Australian Olympic Committee, has today joined calls for FIFA to reform in the wake of latest damaging allegations made about the selection of the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

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Parliamentary Committee apologise to Mike Lee after Qatar grilling

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By Tom Degun

May 12 – Mike Lee, the former communications director of London 2012, has received an official apology from the Culture, Media and Sport’s Select Committee after he was forced to answer a series of non-stop questions on The Sunday Times allegations that the Qatar 2022 bid team paid for votes.

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Blanc cleared by French Football Federation investigation

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By David Gold

May 13 – The French Football Federation (FFF) has cleared Laurent Blanc after releasing its findings from the investigation it conducted into plans to implement quotas limiting the number of dual-nationality players in the country’s academies.

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PFPO nears 80 per cent Champions League prediction success

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By David Gold

May 13 – Following Barcelona and Manchester United’s progression into the European Champions League final earlier this month, the Professional Football Players Observatory (PFPO) has successfully predicted almost 80 per cent of the knockout games during this season’s competition.

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FIFA Executive Committee member named in bribe allegations told he has lost his position in Thailand

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By Duncan Mackay

May 13 – Worawi Makudi, one of the four FIFA Executive Committee members who allegedly asked for favours to vote for England 2018 during its World Cup bid, is no longer the head of the Thailand Football Association (FAT), he has been told.

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England may abstain voting for Blatter or Bin Hammam at FIFA election

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By Andrew Warshaw

May 12 – England could take the remarkable step of abstaining when the FIFA Presidential election takes place on June 1, Football Association chairman David Bernstein disclosed today.

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Oceania latest Confederation to pledge support for Blatter

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By Duncan Mackay

May 12 – Sepp Blatter was given another boost in his bid to be re-elected as FIFA president when the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) announced that it would back him against Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam.

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“New atmosphere” needed for FIFA claims Bin Hammam

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By Andrew Warshaw

May 12 – FIFA Presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam laid into Sepp Blatter today as the war of words between the pair intensified but was careful not to directly blame his rival for the latest wave of corruption allegations that have made worldwide headlines.

Andrew Warshaw: Bin Hammam may claim he wants greater transparency but expect him to keep his head down after latest corruption revelations

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As Sepp Blatter prepared for a press conference at FIFA House in Zurich on Tuesday about new ways of making football a better spectacle, the only line of awkward questioning he was probably contemplating was why the three most high-profile members of FIFA’s newly-established Task Force 2014 had failed to show up for its debut session.

Then someone, presumably his general secretary, told him the bad news. That in London at exactly the same time,

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Indonesian FA forced to buckle under FIFA pressure over election

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By David Gold

May 12 – The Indonesian FA (PSSI) has been forced to bow to pressure from FIFA as the Normalisation Committee set up to run the country’s football affairs confirmed the final list of candidates eligible to run in their elections next week, with controversial candidates George Toisutta and Arifin Panigoro absent

Africa

Bribery allegations “pure invention” claims CAF President

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By Andrew Warshaw

May 11 – African football chief Issa Hayatou today became the latest FIFA powerbroker to deny corruption allegations made against him by a British Parliamentary Committee.

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Blatter promises to act swiftly on new corruption allegations

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By Andrew Warshaw

May 11 – The stunning fresh corruption allegations involving six of FIFA’s most powerful administrators will be dealt with before the upcoming Congress at the end of May, Sepp Blatter pledged today.

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Robertson calls for FIFA overhaul

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By Andrew Warshaw

May 11 – Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson today called for a complete overhaul of the way World Cup hosts are chosen following the latest spate of corruption allegations to rock FIFA.

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Costa Rica set to replace Japan at Copa America

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By David Gold

May 11 – Japan looks set to withdraw from the Copa America for a second time, with Costa Rica to take their place at the tournament, being held in Argentina this July, according to FOXSports.