League One side Gillingham has been charged with race victimization by the FA after it "refused to pay medical bills" for an injured black striker. The club and Chair Paul Scally "have been charged over the dismissal of retired striker Mark McCammon after the football governing body judged its rules had been breached" (London DAILY MAIL, 10/25). ... Bulgarian side Levski Sofia fans accused CSKA's coach Stoycho Mladenov "of feigning unconsciousness when he was hit in the head by a snowball during an explosive derby played in a blizzard on Saturday." In the early stages of the tense affair, Mladenov "collapsed on to the athletics track surrounding the pitch after being hit by the snowball thrown by Levski supporters, forcing the referee to halt the game for several minutes" (DAILY MAIL, 10/27). ... Seria A side Sampdoria President Massimo Ferrero apologized for referring to Inter Milan's Indonesian owner Erick Thohir as "that Filipino." Ferrero "made the comment in an interview when discussing Massimo Morratti's recent decision to resign as the club's honorary president" (BBC, 10/26). ... Italian National Football Federation (FIGC) Dir General Michele Uva "hit back at criticism of the organisation, insisting clubs must take a share of blame for the decline in Italian football." Juventus President Andrea Agnelli hit out at "structural limitations which plague our football" during a shareholders’ meeting on Friday. Uva said, "There are three parties involved in the system -- the Federation, the Leagues and the clubs" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 10/27). ... UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Slovakian football league side Slovan Bratislava and Czech football league side Sparta Prague, after the Europa League match in Slovakia on Thursday "was interrupted for a half-hour by clashes between supporters." A dozen Sparta supporters scaled a fence to attack their Slovan counterparts, "who took refuge on the field, interrupting the match at the 40th minute." Both teams are "being prosecuted for the trouble caused by their supporters and the use of fireworks while Slovan Bratislava is also accused of a lack of institutional control." The case will be processed on Oct. 30. UEFA has also opened disciplinary proceedings against Ukrainian football side Metalist Kharkiv for "racist behavior and use of fireworks and Polish football side Legia Warsaw for the incidents with its fans and the deployment of a prohibited banner," on Wednesday in Ukraine. This case will be tried on Nov. 13 (SPORT 24, 10/27).
