Football Notes: FIFA To Compensate Russian FA For Postponed Match

A source said that FIFA "will compensate the Russian Football Union for postponing its World Cup qualifying clash against Northern Ireland last month." The teams "were scheduled to play on March 23, but the referee called off the match because ice was forming on the pitch in Belfast." FIFA said last week said that the game will be played on Aug. 14. It is unclear "how much FIFA will compensate the Russian FA" (R-SPORT, 4/16). ... FIFA "is yet to decide what to do about the venue for the upcoming World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Central African Republic in early June." FIFA is still monitoring the situation in Bangui, where SANDF troops died last month "in the wake of a rebel advance that saw the country's President Francois Bozize flee the country" (SOWETAN LIVE, 4/18).