FIFA Updates

LONDON (AP)—The latest in a series of resignations from The Football
Association could prove the most damaging with chairman David Triesman’s
downfall leaving England’s 2018 World Cup bid in turmoil.

Triesman was felled by a tabloid sting—not the first to beset the
scandal-plagued power base of English football—that used a honey trap
operation to entrap the former government minister.

Triesman was caught on tape accusing 2018 bid rivals Spain and Russia of
conspiring to bribe referees at this year’s World Cup, an indiscretion that will
prove hard for the 24 FIFA voters to forget ahead of the December vote.

A former civil service aide, who claims to have had a relationship with the
married Triesman, secretly recorded their conversations in a restaurant two
weeks ago for The Mail on Sunday.

The English bid team will now try to rebuild its tarnished reputation while
searching for a new leader in circumstances all too familiar for FA officials.

Chief executive Mark Palios was forced to resign in 2004 after becoming
embroiled in a sex scandal that also involved coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Both had an affair with an FA secretary, Faria Alam, which was exposed in
the tabloids. While Eriksson survived, Palios was forced to quit after it
emerged that FA officials attempted to protect him at the expense of the Swede.

Eriksson’s love life first hit the headlines in April 2002, when tabloids
revealed he had an affair with Swedish-born television celebrity Ulrika Jonsson
while in a long-term relationship with Italian lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio.

Brian Barwick left as chief executive at the end of 2008 after disagreements
with Triesman over the scope of his role.

Adam Crozier resigned in 2002 amid criticism the CEO had turned English
football’s governing body into a one-man show as he tried to push through
marketing plans and changes to the structure of the national game.

Graham Kelly was forced out as CEO in 1998 after suggestions his chairman
had promised a loan to the Welsh Football Association in order to gain a
high-ranking FIFA position.

And replacing Triesman will not be The FA’s only job—the search for a
fifth CEO in 10 years is on after Ian Watmore quit in March following a power
struggle.

PARIS, May 7 (Reuters) – Chelsea’s reaction to reports of
John Terry’s marital infidelities was the turning point for the
team in a season in which they could win their first League and
Cup double, striker Didier Drogba said on Friday.

“I think it was a key moment of our season because we were
losing points on the field and Terry was not performing as well
as usual,” The Ivory Coast striker told France Football
magazine.

“But we showed solidarity between us just as we’ve always
done each time the club is in the middle of a storm.”

Despite crashing out of the Champions League in the last 16,
Drogba said it would still be a successful season for the
Premier League club if they completed the double.

“It still can be a good season because only six teams have
completed this double in England until now. If we achieve that,
we’ll make history,” Drogba, who was voted Chelsea’s player of
the year by the fans on Thursday, said.

Chelsea will be crowned Premier League champions if they
beat Wigan at home in their final league match on Sunday. They
play Portsmouth in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 15.

After being neck-and-neck with Manchester United’s Wayne
Rooney in the league’s top scoring table, with both netting 26
goals, Drogba now wants to pip the England striker’s tally on
Sunday.

“I think it’s been by far my best season here… ending the
season ahead of Rooney in the scoring charts would be the icing
on the cake,” Drogba added.

(Writing by Bertrand Boucey; editing by Pritha Sarkar; To
query or comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

ROME (AP)—The Italian soccer federation has opened a new investigation into
the four-year-old match-fixing scandal that has shaken some of its top clubs.

The federation issued a statement Wednesday saying it would seek documents
from a criminal trial in Naples after revelations allegedly linking Inter Milan
and other clubs to the scandal.

Inter Milan was awarded the 2006 Serie A title after Juventus was stripped
of the honor and relegated to Serie B because of its involvement in the scandal.

The scandal has been the biggest corruption case in the history of Italian
soccer. Besides Juventus, three other major clubs—AC Milan, Lazio and
Fiorentina—were penalized. Reggina and Arezzo were also punished.

ROME (AP)—Italian Football Federation officials are awaiting developments in a
criminal court case in Naples as they consider opening a new investigation into
the match-fixing scandal that rocked the national sport four years ago.

For several days, Italian media have printed alleged phone-tap conversations
linking Inter Milan and other clubs to the scandal.

Inter was awarded the 2006 Serie A title after Juventus was stripped of the
honor and relegated to Serie B due to its role in the scandal.

The Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Wednesday that Italian Football
Federation president Giancarlo Abete and federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi
met on Tuesday to discuss the matter.

It’s unclear, however, if the statute of limitations in the case has
expired.

The new phone taps came to light as part of the defense of former Juventus
executive Luciano Moggi in the Naples case, with Moggi arguing that all the
teams were in contact with refereeing officials.

In the purported conversations—as printed in the Gazzetta—Inter
president Massimo Moratti is heard talking with referee selector Paolo Bergamo
about the match officials for an Italian Cup game that Inter went on to win 3-1
over Bologna in January 2005.

Moratti has rejected the new allegations as “ridiculous and shameful.”

Another former Juventus executive, Antonio Giraudo, already has received a
three-year sentence from the Naples court on charges of criminal association
aimed at committing sports fraud.

Moggi and Giraudo were banned from football for five years by a sports court
for influencing the outcome of matches. They deny wrongdoing.

Juventus was stripped of its 2005 and ’06 Serie A titles and relegated to
the second division with a nine-point penalty. It immediately won promotion back
to Serie A.

The scandal was the biggest corruption case in the history of Italian
football. Besides Juventus, three other big clubs—AC Milan, Lazio and
Fiorentina—were penalized, as were Reggina and Arezzo.

BEIJING (AP)—Chinese police have arrested three football referees on suspicion
of match-fixing, including one official who worked at the 2002 World Cup in
South Korea and Japan, local media reported Wednesday.

The reports listed Lu Jun, who had officiated in two World Cup matches,
several Asian Football Confederation games and more than 200 Chinese league
matches before retiring in 2005, as being among those detained for taking
bribes.

The others reportedly detained were Huang Junjie, a nominee last year for
the China Super League’s best referee award, and Zhou Weixin, who retired in
2004 after being given an eight-game suspension by the national association for
a bad call.

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