Governing Bodies
CAS DECISION TO LIFT MAN CITY BAN ‘NOT GOOD FOR FOOTBALL’, SAYS LIVERPOOL BOSS KLOPP
The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision to overturn Manchester City’s two-year ban from European football was “not a good day for football”, said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in a virtual press conference on Tuesday (July 14).
Stating his support for UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP), Klopp said: “FFP is a good idea. It is there for protecting teams and the competition, so that nobody overspends and has to make sure the money they want to spend is based on the right sources.”
In February, Europe’s governing football body Uefa banned City from the Champions League for the next two seasons after they were said to have falsely inflated their sponsorship revenues to avoid falling foul of FFP regulations from 2012 to 2016.
But the CAS on Monday overturned the ban and reduced City’s fine from €30 million (S$47.6 million) to €10 million after it found the alleged breaches to be “not established”.
FFP was introduced by former UEFA president Michel Platini in 2009 to prevent clubs from spending beyond their means. Following CAS’ decision, UEFA said that FFP is likely to undergo changes, but did not provide more details.
Klopp hopes that it will stay, saying: “If the richest people or countries can do what they want to, that would make it really difficult and that would lead to a world super league with 10 clubs.”
City’s bid for the European title would at least benefit Liverpool as they try to retain their Premier League title, suggested Klopp.
“They won’t have 10 or 12 games less now – no other team would have had a chance in the (Premier) league,” he said.
The charismatic manager, who led the Reds to their first League title in three decades, also hailed striker Mohamed Salah for his contributions, calling his signing in 2007, “a good day for Liverpool”.
The Egyptian has formed a formidable partnership with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino as the trio amassed 250 goals under Klopp.
But the 53-year-old remained coy about the future of Croatian Dejan Lovren who has been linked with a move away from Anfield, saying that the centre-back is “always an important part of the squad”.
He also expressed regret at Liverpool not being able to tour internationally in this year’s pre-season owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The newly-crowned champions were initially scheduled to fly to Singapore this month for the International Champions Cup, but the tournament has been cancelled.
Klopp said: “Now we cannot go anywhere, we realise how nice it would be that we can start doing this again, the tours and all of this because it’s important for the club, it’s important for the fan base and it’s exciting as well.”
As the Reds ready for their title defence next season against the likes of City, Manchester United and Chelsea, Klopp has also added Arsenal to the mix, backing manager Mikel Arteta to lead them in the challenge for the top four.
Ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal on Thursday morning, Klopp said: “Arsenal are an exciting squad. They have offensive players with massive quality and they’re coming up with really good ones and it looks like Arsenal will be challengers again.”
-The Straits Times
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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