Governing Bodies
DUTCH CLUBS FUME AT DECISION TO VOID LEAGUE
Since its formation in 1956, the Dutch Eredivisie has never concluded without a winner, but there will be no champions this season after it became the first top European football competition to officially fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) made the gut-wrenching decision to void the current campaign on Friday night, after the country’s government decided to extend a ban on mass gatherings until Sept 1, making it impossible to even consider holding games behind closed doors.
It said: “Public health always comes first. It’s not just a football problem here given what the coronavirus is doing to society. Nonetheless, the professional football committee is aware that today’s decisions are going to cause great disappointment for some.”
Leaders Ajax are level with AZ Alkmaar on points (56) but ahead on goal difference with nine games remaining.
Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech slammed the decision. The Morocco forward, who leaves in the summer to join Chelsea in a £33.3 million (S$58.7 million) deal, was livid after being denied the perfect swansong to his four-season spell at the Amsterdam club.
“What nonsense I have heard? We are at the top anyway. So the goal difference doesn’t count now?” Ziyech, who won the domestic treble, including the Dutch Cup and the Dutch Super Cup, last term with Ajax told local daily AD.
“How did PSV become champion in 2007? Exactly on one goal. If you have to choose one club as champion, that is Ajax to me.”
Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar also expressed his unhappiness but conceded the factors were beyond the club’s control.
“As a player and as a club, you naturally want to become champion,” he said. “You want to show it on the field and we have been at the top all year round.
“It is a pity… but in this situation, that may be understandable.”
The axing of the league is unlikely to affect Ajax’s qualification for next season’s Champions League, although KNVB will await a firm verdict from Uefa on May 25.
AZ will likely enter the competition’s preliminary rounds, with PSV, Feyenoord and Willem II set to compete in the Europa League based on the final standings despite the cancellation.
There will also be no relegation, which in turn means no team will be promoted from the Eerste Divisie this campaign.
While bottom team RKC Waalwijk were relieved to escape the drop, the top-two clubs in the second tier, SC Cambuur and De Graafschap, were outraged, with the KNVB set to face legal action.
Cambuur manager Henk de Jong did not mince his words, calling the decision “the biggest disgrace in the history of Dutch sports”.
– AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Governing Bodies
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Congo officials over financial misconduct
FIFA’s ethics committee launched disciplinary proceedings against three senior Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) officials on Wednesday, including president Jean-Guy Mayolas, over allegations of financial misconduct.
Mayolas, his wife and his son were sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after a criminal court in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, convicted them of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Media reports said their whereabouts were not known , and they were tried in absentia.
FECOFOOT general secretary Wantete Badji and treasurer Raoul Kanda are also subject to the disciplinary proceedings, FIFA said. Badji and Kanda were sentenced to five years each in prison by the court in Brazzaville for related charges.
“These proceedings follow the receipt of information and documents during an audit,” FIFA said in a statement.
-Reuters
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The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering rewriting its rules to try barring President Donald Trump and all U.S. government officials from attending the LA Olympics in 2028, in a move that could also have implications for the World Cup being hosted by the U.S. this summer.
The proposal, on the agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the global drug-fighting watchdog’s executive committee, is the latest manoeuvre to come out of a yearslong refusal of the U.S. government to pay its annual dues to WADA.
The refusal is part of the American government’s unanimous, bipartisan protest of the agency’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other issues.
The Associated Press learned of the agenda item through correspondence it obtained between WADA and European officials involved in the agency’s decision-making. Two others with knowledge of the agenda confirmed the existence of the rules proposal to AP; they were not authorised to speak publicly about the agenda, which has not been released publicly.
The proposal was, in fact, first brought up in 2024, when U.S. authorities successfully lobbied for its rejection. The U.S. has since lost its seat on the executive committee.
“In spite of WADA’s increasing threats, we continue to stand firm in our demand for accountability and transparency from WADA to ensure fair competition in sport,” said Sara Carter, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The rule, if passed, would figure to be mostly symbolic, given the limits an international sports federation could have on the president of a country attending an event inside his own borders.
“I have never heard of a $50-million-budget Swiss foundation being able to enforce a rule to, for example, prevent the United States president from going anywhere,” said Carter’s predecessor at ONDCP, Rahul Gupta, who was on the WADA executive committee two years ago and led the movement to reject the proposal. “And the next question you have to ask is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ludicrous. It’s clear they have not thought this through.”
In a news release after this story published, WADA said the AP story was “entirely misleading,” focusing on Fitzgerald’s statement to the AP that if proposals being discussed were “introduced, given that the rules would not apply retroactively, the FIFA World Cup, LA and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be covered.”
Fitzgerald’s only answer to three emails from AP seeking clarification on his initial response — specifically about how a rule that had not yet been adopted could or couldn’t be applied retroactively on events that are scheduled for the future — was: “I’m trying to say that it would not apply retroactively so those events would not be covered. Given that and the next meeting of the Board being scheduled for November, I don’t see how it could come into play for this year’s World Cup.”
-AP
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The Confederation of African Football has dismissed Yasin Osman Robleh, the Djiboutian official who headed its judicial bodies for the past six years, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in the organisation’s disciplinary processes.
According to reports from convergence sources, the decision was confirmed on Saturday by CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba, bringing an abrupt end to Robleh’s tenure overseeing the confederation’s disciplinary and investigative committees since 2019.
Robleh’s position reportedly came under increasing pressure following the controversy surrounding sanctions imposed after the Africa Cup of Nations Final between Morocco and Senegal. The disciplinary decisions that followed the match sparked criticism from several quarters and placed CAF’s legal framework under intense scrutiny.
In response to the situation, CAF’s Executive Committee has appointed Togolese lawyer Cedric Egai, currently the confederation’s Director of Legal Affairs, as interim head of the judicial bodies.
Egai is expected to stabilise the organisation’s legal arm while CAF works toward appointing a permanent successor to Robleh.
Disciplinary Decisions Delayed
The leadership change has already affected ongoing disciplinary processes within the confederation. CAF’s disciplinary committee reportedly held hearings last Thursday on several cases, including the high-profile encounter involving Egypt’s Al Ahly and Morocco’s AS FAR.
However, decisions on those matters have been temporarily put on hold pending the confirmation of new leadership within the judicial structure.
Sources indicate that once a permanent successor is appointed, CAF will move swiftly to conclude outstanding disciplinary rulings affecting both clubs and national teams.
Restoring Confidence
The move is widely seen as part of CAF’s effort to restore confidence in its judicial system following weeks of controversy surrounding disciplinary decisions at major competitions.
Robleh’s departure closes a significant chapter in CAF’s legal administration, while Egai’s interim appointment signals a potential shift in leadership and governance at a critical time for African football.
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