Bloomberg Sports unveiled its first end-of-season projections for the Premier League. Forecasting the league finish of every team in the league, the projections are data-driven and take into account previous years of performance for each club, supplemented by the additional value that each club gained from the transfer window. The table indicates that this season will be a three-horse race between Chelsea, Man City and ManU, with only two points separating all three teams. View the projections at www.bsports.com/ProjectedTables (Bloomberg Sports). ... Three Iranian football teams "were punished with a deduction of one point due to fan violence." Esteghlal, Malavan and Saipa were "found guilty after their fans behaved poorly during the Iranian Professional League matches" (TEHRAN TIMES, 8/6). ... FIFA "provisionally suspended a member of Jamaica’s national team for failing a drug test during World Cup qualifying." FIFA said in a statement that the player and a Jamaica team official, neither of whom were identified, "were banned for an initial period of 30 days and that an investigation has been opened" (BLOOMBERG, 8/6). ... Italian football authorities "have handed out a 10-match ban to a player from amateur club Matera for racially insulting an opponent, under new tougher penalties introduced to combat racism" (REUTERS, 8/7). ... The names of two Mexican footballers who tested positive for Clenbuterol "will not be released until the investigations have been completed." Liga MX Discipline Commission leader Eugenio Rivas said that "the two players will not be allowed to play on the fifth matchday of the current season" (LA AFICION, 8/6).
