EPL side West Brom has suspended striker Nicolas Anelka after he "was handed a five-match ban and fined" £80,000 ($133,000) by the FA for making a “quenelle” gesture during a match. An independent panel deemed the gesture "to have been abusive and West Brom have suspended Anelka as they carry out an internal investigation in the wake of the FA hearing" (LONDON TIMES, 2/27). ... Officials said that Nigeria's new domestic football season will now start on March 7, "following more wrangling between the league and clubs." The league "had been due to start last weekend" after previous disagreements between the League Management Company and clubs postponed the kickoff for several months (AFP, 2/27). ... Satisfied with the current infrastructure in place, a FIFA team, which is in Delhi to inspect stadia, said India has the potential to host a "tremendous Under-17 World Cup" in '17, but asked the All India Football Federation to be proactive in its planning and execution. FIFA Deputy Dir Inaki Alvarez said, "All the potential is there to make it a tremendous World Cup" (PTI, 2/26). ... The UAEFA "signed a Memorandum of Understanding" with the FA of the Czech Republic. The three-year deal follows an earlier agreement of the same length of time in '09 "and complements the UAEFA’s existing partnerships with the football associations of Spain, Italy, Germany and Japan" (GULF NEWS, 2/27). ... La Liga side Villarreal has been fined €6,000 ($8,210) and received a warning that its El Madrigal stadium could "be closed for an unspecified period of time should another serious incident occur" as a consequence of a gas canister that was thrown onto the field during a La Liga match against Celta Vigo on Feb. 15 (MARCA, 2/27).
