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from Reuters Soccer Blog:
FIFA takes agenda by scruff of the snood
There will be a lot of fashion-conscious footballers holding their breath for item “V.1.b” at the International Football Association Board’s annual meeting next month.
Forget goal-line technology and positioning of goal posts and the other very sensible items on the agenda, the one sure to get a few people rather hot under the collar is the “wearing of snoods” – those snugly neck warmers much loved by the likes of Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri.
Soccer’s rule makers will determine whether the fluffy accessories are a safety hazard in the “Any Other Business” section submitted by FIFA.
“There may be a safety issue – if for example a player was running though on goal and an opponent grabbed his snood, that could pose a potential danger to his neck,” a FIFA spokesman was quoted as saying by the BBC.
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
FIFA’s World Cup decision day — live
We'll be following all the presentations and the vote itself as FIFA's executive committee decides on the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Spain/Portugal, Russia, England and Netherlands/Belgium are the four rival bids for 2018, while Australia, South Korea, Qatar, United States and Japan battle it out for 2022, with the vote to come on Thursday.
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
FIFA battens down the hatches as allegations mount
The chill winds of corruption allegations swirling once again around FIFA's Zurich HQ have got world soccer's bosses busy battening down the hatches in the forlorn hope that, if ignored, they will all just blow away.
But if they were to peep out of the windows of their ivory tower overlooking the Swiss financial centre they might see that, in the eyes of much of the world, it is their credibility that is blown and that the process of selecting the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals has been seriously tainted.
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Ballon d’Or shortlist should give Premier League pause for thought
England performed well below expectation at the World Cup in South Africa and judging by the FIFA Ballon d'Or list announced on Tuesday the stock of the Premier League is not at its highest either.
Just three players from the league that likes to call itself the best in the world are on the list and it would be a huge surprise if any of them made it into the top three:
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Chelsea banned from signing players – your views
Premier League club Chelsea have been banned from registering any new players for the next two transfer windows, FIFA said on Thursday.
"Chelsea are banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the two next entire and consecutive registration periods following the notification of the present decision," a FIFA statement said.
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