WALES
FIFA's poppy fiasco reached a new low yesterday when
they opened disciplinary proceedings against Wales for reasons including fans
wearing poppies while watching the World Cup qualifier against Serbia.
The FA of Wales, understandably bewildered at this farce,
made public the charge sheet, which included ‘Some supporters in the stands
wearing the poppy’ and ‘A member of the armed forces holding a bunch of poppies
at the exit of the tunnel.’ Worse still: ‘A fans mosaic depicting the poppy was
displayed during the anthem and a banner depicting the poppy was also displayed
by supporters.’
The preposterous charges come even though the FA of Wales
decided not to put poppies on the players’ armbands, as England and Scotland
had the previous day — a move that saw FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford
receive abuse in emails and letters sent to his home address.
To make the situation even more farcical, FAW president Dai
Griffiths, who had been the match commissioner for the England-Scotland game
and had included the wearing of armband poppies in his report, was one of those
sporting a poppy at the Cardiff City Stadium.
It is understood the Norwegian match commissioner for the
Wales-Serbia fixture had not included anything poppy-related in his report,
with FIFA’s action coming as the result of officials watching television
coverage.
Ford said: ‘We are particularly disappointed that one of the
charges relates to supporters in the stands wearing poppies. Naturally we will
strongly contest the charges.’
A FIFA spokeswoman claimed not to have detailed knowledge of
the Welsh charge sheet and said the disciplinary committee would decide the
outcome.
Sussex county cricket’s new chief executive Rob Andrew will
have top legal sporting advice to call on when arrives in Hove in January to
start his new job.
Andrew’s partner Polly Handford, whom he met when they both
worked for the RFU, is the newly promoted legal and governance director at the
FA.
MCC chairman Gerald Corbett will play no part in forthcoming
discussions over the choice of headhunters to help find a successor to chief
executive Derek Brewer, who will leave in early 2018.
This is a sensitive subject at Lord’s because Corbett sits
on the advisory board of recruitment agency Spencer Stuart, who played a part
in his appointment, as well as Brewer’s.
The word is that the next management casualty in the Premier
League will follow the outcome of the Swansea–Crystal Palace game on
Saturday.
Alan Pardew’s Palace have the worst points-per-game ratio in
English football in 2016, while it is understood Swansea’s owners already have
doubts about American Bob Bradley after only five PL games in charge.
TOP AIDE QUITS BLATTER
Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has lost
his closest advisor Klaus Stoehlker, who is no longer prepared to represent his
long-time friend because of his increasingly irrational behaviour.
Stoehlker said on Wednesday: ‘You need to have trust in a
client, but he’s changing his mind every 60 minutes. It doesn’t work and I’ve
told Sepp I can’t represent him any longer.’
Blatter is upset about the possible closure of the FIFA
museum in Zurich, which only opened last February and was his pet project
before his departure. The attraction, which has had fewer than half the
expected number of visitors, lost £24million in its first year.
A FIFA task force will recommend what to do with the museum
at January’s council meeting. Blatter wants to set up a foundation funded by
wealthy footballers to save it.
The RFU blazers are claiming Twickenham’s rampant
commercialism is now affecting them bringing in chums for a drink at their
Spirit of Rugby hospitality facility, which used to be done at random through a
transferable badge.
The councillors say the RFU now demand the names of guests
in advance so they can offer more room to the big-spending corporates. The RFU
say the changes do not alter numbers but increase efficiency.
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