Bulgarian side Levski Sofia has been fined £7,795 ($12,500) after fans "mocked one of the anti-racism campaigns" launched by UEFA in a Bulgarian league match last month. The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) imposed the "relatively small fine on Wednesday" after several Levski supporters held up a banner stating "Say yes to racism" and a "doctored UEFA logo" (REUTERS, 10/16). ... ManU's players are sleeping in "special oxygen pods in
between training sessions in an effort to speed up recovery times and
reduce the threat of recurrent injuries." The move is one of the
latest examples of Manager Louis van Gaal’s "meticulous and obsessive overhaul" of ManU's Carrington training base and the club's "fitness, training and
rehabilitation programmes." It is "unclear how many pods Van Gaal has had installed" as part of his
estimated £3M ($4.8M) refurbishment at Carrington, which has included the
"fitting of surveillance cameras above practice pitches so that the
manager can film training and review it in detail" (LONDON TIMES, 10/16). ... FIFA subsidiary Early Warning System and the All India
Football Federation have signed a monitoring service agreement
to protect the integrity of football. The agreement covers all matches
of the Indian Professional Football League and the Indian
Super League for the '14-15 season (FIFA).
LEÓN-CHIVAS SECURITY: Previous violent incidents between fans of La Liga sides León and Chivas have caused the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) and civil authorities to label Saturday's game at León "high-risk." Municipal authorities announced that the "game will feature the presence of a security contingent of 550, 350 more than for a typical Liga MX match" (LA AFICION, 10/15).
