Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille coach MARCELO BIELSA donated $2M to Argentine first division side Newell's Old Boys for the club to "build a hotel to lodge the team's players." Bielsa, who asked the club "not to mention his name in the project," played for and managed the club earlier in his career and was born in Rosario, Argentina. Construction of the "Bella Vista" property is expected to be finished in September '15 (LOS ANDES, 10/14). ... Famous German fashion designer KARL LAGERFELD "has designed a punching bag and a pair of gloves for Louis Vuitton to celebrate 118 years of the company’s logo." The set is selling for $175,000 and 25 have been purchased to date (LE FIGARO, 10/15). ... The FIFA ethics committee, chaired by HANS-JOACHIM ECKERT, decided to ban Mongolian Football Federation President GANBOLD BUYANNEMEKH from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and int'l level for a period of five years. Buyannemekh solicited and accepted payments from former FIFA VP MOHAMED BIN HAMMAM in the context of the elections for the FIFA exec committee at the Asian Football Confederation Congress in '09 as well as the FIFA presidential election in '11 (FIFA). ... Olympic diving Gold Medalist CHANTELLE NEWBERY "has been sentenced in a Queensland court for the second time this year for drug offences." Newbery "received 18 months' probation in Cleveland Magistrates Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing a dangerous drug and one count of failing to properly dispose of needle or syringe." The probation order allows her "to join rehabilitation and intervention programs" (BRISBANE TIMES, 10/15). ... Italian tennis players DANIELE BRACCIALI and POTITO STARACE "are facing corruption accusations after intercepted Internet conversations claiming they sold matches were printed Wednesday in Italian media." The conversations "are part of the extensive data that judicial investigators in Cremona have been sorting through" in a match-fixing inquiry into football (AP, 10/15). ... Peru's ambassador to the U.S., HAROLD FORSYTH, apologized for racial abuse directed at Panama striker LUIS TEJADA "after an incident at the weekend" involving his son, Alianza Lima goalkeeper GEORGE FORSYTH. Tejada and George Forsyth "were sent off in the 10th minute after clashing during Alianza's 2-2 draw at Cesar Vallejo in a Peruvian first division match on Saturday." Harold Forsyth said, "That Tejada is an animal. All week he talked against Forsyth, who ignored him and said nothing. No-one knows the reason for his hatred. He's sick" (REUTERS, 10/13).
