A referee has shown football's first ever green card to discipline a player in the CONFIFA World Cup. The card, used as a disciplinary measure between the yellow and red cards, was shown to a player at the tournament held in London. The CONFIFA tournament for non-FIFA affiliated teams was played in non-league grounds in London and became the first competition to include the green card. It was issued by referee Raymond Mashamba twice in a match between Padania and Tuvalu. CONIFA rules state that 'a player who receives a green card must leave the field of play immediately, but can be replaced if his team have not used all of their substitutes.' A player receiving a green card is not excluded from his team's next match. The tournament's organiser Paul Watson told Sky Sports News: 'We'd really like to clamp down on the dissent problem. Football has a problem with the lack of respect for referees. That's not to say that isn't also the case in CONIFA games - the players in our tournament still have those traits. But it would be nice that, instead of it being ignored and therefore in a way condoned, it shouldn't necessarily cost someone their chance to play at this tournament, if they just lose their cool.' CONFIFA's Asia President Jens Jockel also supports the introduction of the green card. 'We have had some minor problems in the past, with some red cards at the end of a game - mostly when teams realised they can't keep up and find themselves losing heavily with ten minutes left,' he explained. 'It's a really good idea of how to sanction things that might not be worthy of a red card. More like personal mistakes - using swear words, disrespecting spectators and coaches and so on. It's a perfect way to find something in between.'
Amazon will show twenty Premier League matches a season for three years from 2019, after winning one of the final two broadcast packages. The online streaming service has won the rights to show every game from the first round of midweek games in December and all ten games on Boxing Day as part of the three-year deal. The matches will be available free to Amazon Prime's UK members. The other unsold package of twenty matches was bought by BT Sport for ninety million smackers. That takes their total number of games to fifty two per season, while a further one hundred and twelve will be shown by Sky Sports, including Saturday night fixtures. Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore described Amazon as 'an exciting new partner.' The deal marks the first time a full round of matches will be shown live in the UK. In addition to live action, there will also be weekly highlights of all Premier League games throughout the season shown on Amazon. The Premier League offered two hundred live matches a season to be broadcast, an increase from the one hundred and sixty eight for which broadcasters bid in 2015. Other changes for the 2019-2022 deal include eight individual games being shown live in a 'prime-time' Saturday night slot, three complete rounds of ten midweek matches all shown live and one set of bank holiday games. The broadcasters bid on seven packages of fixtures and in February, Sky Sports paid three-and-a-half-billion knicker for four packages, while BT Sport spent two hundred and ninety five million quid on another. The Premier League's last deal, agreed in 2015 and running until 2019, was worth £5.14bn.
Premier League clubs will have a winter break in February from the 2019-20 season. The break will be staggered across two weeks, with five matches on the first weekend and five the following weekend. The FA Cup fifth round will be moved to midweek to accommodate the break, with replays being scrapped at that stage. The Football Association described it as 'a significant moment for English football' that 'will greatly benefit club and country.' 'It's no secret that we have a very congested fixture calendar and over recent years we have been working with the whole game to find a solution,' said FA chief executive Martin Glenn. 'As we head into summer international tournaments in the future we are sure that this mid-season break will prove to be a valuable addition for our players.' All three divisions of the Football League will remain unchanged, with a full programme of fixtures taking place on each of the weekends where there is a break. Winter breaks are already factored into schedules of the top leagues in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, though they all take place between December and January, which is the busiest period for Premier League teams. Shiekh Yer Man City manager Pep Guardiola alleged in January that the festive schedule was 'killing' his players, while earlier in the 2017-18 season his The Scum counterpart Jose Mourinho claimed the lack of a break was hampering English clubs' hopes in the Champions League. However, former The Arse manager Arsene Wenger once said he would 'cry' if a winter break was introduced. The Gunners played six games in nineteen days during the festive period last season, the Frenchman's final one in charge.
FIFA have filed a criminal complaint against ticket resale website Viagogo. Following 'numerous complaints' from fans worldwide football's world governing body has finally taken action on the eve of the World Cup in Russia. They regard the issue 'with the utmost importance' and say they want to 'protect fans' and 'prevent unauthorised ticket resales' at the tournament which kicks off next week. 'As part of its efforts to protect the fans and prevent unauthorised ticket resales for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, FIFA filed a criminal complaint on 4 June 2018 based on a breach of the law on unfair competition against Viagogo AG with the public prosecutor’s office in Geneva,' an official statement read. 'Over the past months, FIFA has received numerous complaints from individuals, consumer protection bodies and other market players over the opaque and deceptive business conduct of Viagogo AG. FIFA took action after aligning with other stakeholders that have already filed criminal complaints against Viagogo in Switzerland due to the company's unfair business practices. FIFA's ultimate objective in the fight against the secondary ticket market is to prioritise the safety and security of fans and enforce a fair 2018 FIFA World Cup ticketing pricing scheme.' FIFA also revealed that they have 'worked alongside' European counterparts, UEFA, as they look to 'stamp out the illegal reselling of tickets.' They added: 'Recently, FIFA has held fruitful talks with UEFA in order to coordinate action against unauthorised platforms and established cooperation with the Fédération romande des consommateurs, the consumer protection association for French-speaking Switzerland, which is a strong advocate against ticket sales conducted through unauthorised sources.' They also confirmed that any tickets purchased from Viagogo 'will be cancelled as soon as they are identified.' 'FIFA regards the illicit sale and distribution of tickets as a serious issue and views the security implications of the unauthorised transfer and/or resale of tickets as being of paramount importance. In light of the above, we encourage fans not to purchase tickets from unauthorised platforms/sellers. Tickets purchased via unauthorised distribution channels, including all tickets purchased through Viagogo AG, will be cancelled once identified. FIFA reserves the right to refuse entry to the stadium to any holder of such tickets. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, FIFA and local authorities will conduct strict admission checks.'
West Hamsters United's new manager, Manuel Pellegrini, has reportedly been mugged at gunpoint in Chile. Pellegrini, who won the Premier League with Sheikh Yer Man City in 2014, was on his way to a restaurant in Santiago with his wife and two friends when they were targeted by a criminal gang. A spokesman for West Hamsters United said: 'We are relieved to hear that Manuel and his wife were both unharmed.' In a tweet, Pellegrini thanked Chilean police for their 'quick and courageous' response. The Chilean newspaper, La Cuarta, said that Pellegrini's wife had her purse stolen by the group. An official told the newspaper the gang shot at police before driving away in a stolen Porsche. Another local news report said officers recovered the purse when they found the car abandoned.
Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred is expected to finalise his move to The Scum this week. The Brazilian came on as a second-half substitute in his side's two-nil win against Croatia at Anfield on Sunday. It is now anticipated Fred will have a medical at The Scum before completing his switch to Old Trafford for a reported fifty two million quid. Brazil coach Tite says that he wants his players' domestic futures 'sorted' ahead of this month's World Cup in Russia. 'When this happens and it is inevitable, they are going to come to us and our advice to them is resolve this as soon as you can so your head is back with us and focusing on the national team,' he said after Sunday's friendly. 'If I was a manager I'd ask to sign him as well.' Provided the deal goes through as anticipated, Fred would be Jose Mourinho's first signing of the summer, although he is also closing in on the transfer of nineteen-year-old Porto full-back Diogo Dalot. Fred joined Shakhtar in 2013 and was part of the Brazil squad for the 2015 Copa America. He is not to be confused, however, with the Cruzeiro striker Fred who was part of the Brazil team that got that seven-one hiding by the Germans in the semi final of the 2014 World Cup. And, if memory serves, was booed off the pitch by his own supporters when he got substituted. Nor is he to be confused with Old Fred who brought The Be-Atles (a popular beat combo of the 1960s, you might've heard of them) to Pepperland in a Yellow Submarine to fight The Blue Meanies. Obviously. Completely different bloke. The younger, however, Fred was the subject of Errol Dunkley's 1979 hit, 'OK Fred'. Probably. Although, whether he is, indeed, a yagga-yagga' has never been entirely clear. Perhaps we'll find out at Old Trafford next season.
Defender Kamil Glik was named in Poland's twenty three-man squad for the World Cup but then injured his shoulder on the day the squad was named. The thirty-year-old Monaco player hurt himself while attempting a bicycle kick in training after coach Adam Nawalka submitted his squad list to FIFA. Injured players can be replaced up to twenty four hours before the first game, with Stuttgart's Marcin Kaminski on stand-by in case Glik does not recover in time. There are four Britain-based players in the squad. Ipswich goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski, Swansea keeper Lukasz Fabianski, Southampton defender Jan Bednarek and Hull winger Kamil Grosicki are on the plane to Russia. Midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak spent last season on loan at relegated West Bromwich Albinos from Paris St-Germain. Bayern München striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored sixteen goals in qualifying, is the star name in the squad.
Peru captain Paolo Guerrero has been named in the country's World Cup squad after his doping ban was temporarily lifted. A Swiss tribunal agreed on Thursday to lift a fourteen-month suspension, imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, while it considered the thirty four-year-old Flamengo striker's appeal. Midfielder Sergio Pena was the player cut to make way for Guerrero. The Granada player said: 'This is the most difficult moment of my career.' Watford forward Andre Carrillo is the only Premier League player in the squad.
A brewery is removing the Saudi Arabia flag from World Cup bunting from hundreds of its pubs after complaints it was inappropriate to display it where alcohol is sold. The Saudi flag carries the Shahadah - the Muslim profession of faith. Greene King said 'feedback' from 'some customers in London' alerted them it was 'inappropriate' to keep the flag among those from all competing nations. It added the removal 'was not a comment on any nation.' This does, of course, raise the question of Saudi Arabia themselves seemingly being perfectly happy to take part in a tournament one of the official sponsors of which is Budweiser.
Argentina has cancelled a World Cup warm-up match with Israel, apparently under political pressure over Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. Striker Gonzalo Higuain told ESPN they had 'finally done the right thing.' But Israel's defence minister said it was 'too bad' Argentina's footballers did not 'withstand the pressure of the Israeli-hating inciters. We will not yield before a pack of anti-Semitic terrorist supporters,' Avigdor Lierberman tweeted. Anti-Semitic in this particular case being, it would seem, anyone that disagrees with the human rights record of the Israeli government with regard to the Occupied Territories rather that its dictionary definition of people who have a fear of and a hatred for Jewish people generally. Interesting distinction. The Israeli Embassy in Argentina tweeted to confirm that the football friendly between the two countries was off. Media reports suggest that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Argentine President Mauricio Macri in an attempt to salvage the friendly, due to be played in Jerusalem on Saturday. News of the cancellation was met with cheers in Gaza, where at least one hundred and twenty Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during recent protests. In Ramallah, the Palestinian football association issued a statement thanking Argentina striker Lionel Messi and his colleagues for the cancellation. 'Values, morals and sport have secured a victory today and a red card was raised at Israel through the cancellation of the game,' said chairman Jibril Rajoub, quoted by Reuters. Rajoub, who had before the reported cancellation called for Palestinians to burn replica shirts and pictures of Messi, announced that he would hold a press conference on Wednesday. The campaign group Avaaz, which had called for the game to be cancelled, praised what it called 'a brave ethical decision. This proves Argentina understands there is nothing friendly about playing in Jerusalem, when just miles away Israeli snipers are shooting unarmed protesters,' said Alice Jay, campaign director at Avaaz. Israel said that its snipers had only opened fire 'in self-defence' or 'on people trying to infiltrate its territory' under cover of the protests orchestrated by the Hamas militant group, which runs Gaza. The match, which was to be Argentina's final game before the start of their World Cup campaign, was set to be played at a stadium in West Jerusalem. The status of Jerusalem is a highly sensitive issue. Israel regards Jerusalem as its 'eternal and undivided' capital. Palestinians see the Eastern part of the city as the capital of a future Palestinian state and were angered by a decision to relocate the game there from Haifa.
The BBC have released full details of their World Cup coverage on television, radio and online, together with a rather tasty trailer. BBC Sport online will stream all of the BBC's World Cup matches on desktops, tablets, mobiles and Connected TVs. On-demand video clips, live text commentary and tactical analysis will also feature online.
He is considered the most powerful figure in football in Croatia, but now Zdravko Mamic has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in The Big House for corruption and other nefarious naughty doings. Mamic was found extremely guilty of siphoning off millions of Euros in transfer fees when he was an executive at Dinamo Zagreb. On the eve of the verdict he fled across the border into Bosnia. Among the ex-Dinamo players caught up in the trial is Croatia captain Luka Modric, who was charged with perjury. The Real Madrid midfielder is suspected of having made false statements during the trial, when he was questioned about his 2008 transfer to Stottingtot Hotshots. He has not commented on the charge. The case will not affect his role in the World Cup in Russia later this month. Though, it may affect his liberty after that. Mamic was not just chief executive of Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia's biggest club, he was also vice-president of the Croatian Football Federation. For years, fans at Dinamo alleged that he and his allies had used their club to make money for themselves by depriving the club of funds from lucrative transfers and evading taxes. Then, in 2015 he and his brother Zoran, the Dinamo coach, were nabbed by the fuzz. The scandal was brought on to the international stage when Croatian football supporters threw flares on the pitch at the Euro 2016 championships in France. Charged with diverting one hundred and sixteen million Croatian Kuna from the football club and evading another twelve million in tax, Mamic was later shot and wounded on a visit to his father's grave. The court in Osijek also handed down jail terms to his brother Zoran Mamic, former club director Damir Vrbanovic and tax inspector Milan Pernar. None of the accused were in court to hear their sentences, but they have all denied the charges and have the right to appeal. The night before the verdict Mamic fled to a shrine at Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he holds dual citizenship. Whatever he did there, supporters of Dinamo Zagreb will feel that their prayers have been answered. They have been protesting against Mamic's stewardship of the club for years. Dinamo is supposed to be a fan-owned, non-profit organisation. But fans claimed that Mamic and his associates had staged a 'silent privatisation,' with the aim of sucking money out of the club. The best-known supporters' group, The Bad Blue Boys, have been boycotting matches - making for an eerie atmosphere at Zagreb's Maksimir Stadium. Some formed a breakaway club, Futsal Dinamo. Now the court has agreed with the supporters' interpretation of Mamic's modus operandi.
Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haws goalkeeper Loris Karius was referred to medical experts in Boston after contacting the club while on holiday in the United States. The German visited Massachusetts General Hospital and was diagnosed with concussion five days after the Champions League final. Karius made errors for the first and third goals his side conceded in the three-one defeat by Real Madrid on 26 May. Doctor Ross Zafonte said it was 'possible' the injury 'would affect performance.' Shortly before his mistake for Real's opening goal, Karius collided with Spanish defender Sergio Ramos - but in a statement released with the player's permission, doctors did not say if that incident was the cause of the concussion. Karius appeared to show no signs of injury and did not request any treatment during the game in Kiev. The collision occurred early in the second half. Minutes later, the German threw the ball into the path of Real striker Karim Benzema, who stuck out his leg and scored. Real's third goal came when Karius let a long-range shot by forward Gareth Bale slip through his hands. Doctor Zafonte, who is a leading expert in head injuries in the NFL, said Karius' assessment involved reviewing 'game film,' a 'physical examination' and 'objective metrics.' He added it was 'likely' that 'visual spatial dysfunction' - which hampers a person's ability to process visual information about where objects are in space - would have occurred immediately after the event that caused the concussion. Doctor Willie Stewart, a consultant neuropathologist at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, said a delay in the concussion diagnosis is 'not surprising.' He told BBC Sport: 'How did he get concussed and we didn't know? The obvious signs of concussion can take hours and days to develop, so it's not surprising that it might be picked up after the match.' In the aftermath of the game, Karius received death threats, prompting a police investigation and the goalkeeper told fans that he was 'infinitely sorry.'
Gianluigi Buffon has been banned for three European matches by UEFA for his comments about referee Michael Oliver after Juventus' Champions League defeat by Real Madrid. Buffon was extremely sent off for dissent after Oliver awarded Real a penalty late in the quarter-final second leg in April. Buffon played his last Juventus game in May after seventeen years at the club. The charges relate to his 'direct red card and for breaching UEFA's 'general principles of conduct.' Juve's Medhi Benatia brought down Lucas Vazquez and Ronaldo scored the ninety seventh-minute penalty as Real won three-one at the Bernabeu to progress four-three on aggregate. Buffon later told Italian TV: 'The content remains and I stand by all of it. I'd say them all again - maybe with a different type of language.' Oliver and wife, Lucy, were offered police support after both were targeted on social media, with police also investigating threatening text messages. Immediately after the game, Buffon had said: 'It was a tenth of a penalty. I know the referee saw what he saw, but it was certainly a dubious incident. Not clear-cut. And a dubious incident at the ninety third minute when we had a clear penalty denied in the first leg, you cannot award that at this point. The team gave its all, but a human being cannot destroy dreams like that at the end of an extraordinary comeback on a dubious situation. Clearly you cannot have a heart in your chest, but a bag of rubbish. On top of that, if you don't have the character to walk on a pitch like this in a stadium like this, you can sit in the stands with your wife, your kids, having your drink and eating crisps. You cannot ruin the dreams of a team. I could have told the referee anything at that moment, but he had to understand the degree of the disaster he was creating. If you can't handle the pressure and have the courage to make a decision, then you should just sit in the stands and eat your crisps.'
Roma have been fined fifty thousand Euros by UEFA following crowd disturbances at the Champions League semi-final first leg against Liverpool at Anfield. The Italian club have also been banned from selling tickets to their fans for their next European away game. Liverpool fan Sean Cox suffered serious head injuries in an attack outside Anfield before the 24 April tie. Roma were given a two-match ban on selling away tickets, with the second deferred under a probationary period of two years. Cox, from County Meath, was attacked outside The Albert pub in Walton Breck Road, next to the ground, less than an hour before the match. He had surgery at Liverpool's Walton Centre but has since been moved back to Dublin in Beaumont Hospital. Daniele Sciusco pleaded guilty to violent disorder over the incident. Compatriot Filippo Lombardi has pleaded not guilty to the same charge and another of inflicting grievous bodily harm. UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against both Liverpool and Roma following the game, which Liverpool won five-two.
Meanwhile Besiktas have also been fined by UEFA after a cat wandered on to the pitch during their Champions League last-sixteen defeat by Bayern Munich in March. Referee Michael Oliver - yes, him again - stopped play in the second half at Vodafone Park until the animal left the pitch of its own accord. The Turkish club have been charged with 'insufficient organisation' and have also been penalised for fans throwing objects and blocking stairways, leading to a fine of thirty four thousand Euros. Bayern won the tie three-one on the night. It finished eight-one on aggregate as they progressed to the quarter-finals, with fans of the German club voting the cat as their man of the match on Twitter.
Championship side Aston Villains have suspended their chief executive Keith Wyness. The announcement came as it emerged the Villains are working with HM Revenue & Customs to resolve an unpaid tax bill, although that is, 'in no way, connected to Wyness' suspension' according to the BBC. Villains said that owner and chairman Doctor Tony Xia will 'assume the [chief executive] role until further notice.' Wyness joined The Villains in June 2016 shortly after the Chinese took over at Villa Park. Villa - amusingly - lost to Fulham in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on 26 May, meaning they will spend a third consecutive season in the second tier. This news will come as a shock to Villains notoriously fickle support, who are still coming to terms with the play-off final defeat. It will also do little to calm fears that the club has entered a deeply troubling financial situation after missing out on the windfall that would have come with promotion. Xia has previously stated that Villains face 'severe' challenges under financial fair play rules. The Villains have 'gone to the casino, rolled the dice and it hasn't worked' in their failed bid to return to the Premier League, according to the club's former finance director, Mark Ansell. Losing the Championship play-off final saw The Villains miss out on around one hundred and sixty million smackers. Which is, obviously, very sad.
Crystal Palace captain Jason Puncheon has admitted 'lashing out' at nightclub doorman with his belt. Puncheon appeared at Staines Magistrates' Court for the start of his trial, but changed his plea. The footballer admitted a public order offence from 17 December near the Mishiko bar on Church Street, Reigate. When a bouncer who confiscated the belt tried to return it, Puncheon told him to 'keep it. Buy a house with it.' Prosecutor Craig Warsama told the court that after the incident Puncheon was 'irate. He was shouting "arrest me, arrest me" in what was described as an aggressive tone,' Warsama said. Puncheon's lawyer, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC, claimed that her client was 'acting in self-defence' after claiming 'someone' had attempted to strike his wife and that his 'friend' had been punched, but this was dismissed by Judge Michael Snow. The judge said: 'It is quite clear to me that he had completely lost control of his behaviour at that time and he was striking indiscriminately at that group. The CCTV is clear and unarguable. He was not acting in self-defence or in the defence of another [when he used the belt].' Puncheon was given a community order requiring him to carry out two hundred and ten hours of unpaid work and pay the doorman two hundred and fifty quid compensation. Plus, change his name from Puncheon to Beltin. Probably. A further charge of assault by beating was dropped after no evidence was offered by the prosecution. A Crystal Palace spokesman said: 'This was a regrettable incident and entirely out of character. The matter will be dealt with internally.' In a twist at the end of the hearing, Bromley footballer Ben Chorley, was charged with contempt of court. After taking a photograph of Puncheon while he was in the courtroom, the thirty five-year-old father-of-two was fined a thousand quid. Chorley had been out with Puncheon on the night of the row.
In the lead-up to the World Cup, the Discovery History channel in the UK has abandoned their usual programming - documentaries about Nazis and 'ancient-aliens-built-the-pyramids-and-it-was-covered-up'-type conspiracy malarkey - and replaced it with a variety of documentaries about football, including the official FIFA films of the (colour-era) World Cups. This has, seemingly, annoyed some regular viewers who don't like football and prefer documentaries about Nazis and 'ancient-aliens-built-the-pyramids-and-it-was-covered-up'-type conspiracy malarkey. Still, with the World Cup now about to start they're already showing trailers for some of the more 'normal' programmes they're soon going back to. There's one, for instance, about various people in some sort of competition with really bloody lethal-looking knives. It's called Knife Or Death. So, that'll be much more healthy viewing than twenty two blokes kicking a ball around a field, clearly.
