Bayern Munich fans "staged an anti-Premier League protest at their Bundesliga game against Hamburg." Supporters of the reigning German champions held up a banner reading, "This ain't no Premier League -- No to the English model" (London TELEGRAPH, 2/14). ... FIFA does not like the choice of Manaus as a football host city for the 2016 Olympics, saying that "it prefers games be played at cities closer to games center Rio de Janeiro." FIFA said it does "not consider Manaus as a suitable first option for a hosting venue." FIFA's statement came a day after Rio organizers announced they were adding Manaus to the list of proposed host cities to "integrate all of Brazil" in the games. The city is about 3,000km from Rio "in the Amazon jungle" (AP, 2/13). ... Qatar 2022 Committee Chief Hassan Al Thawadi said that there has been a "clear bias" against Qatar in the wake of Michael Garcia's FIFA report into the bidding process for the next two World Cups. A lot of the media focus was on Qatar, whose World Cup organizers "have been fending off allegations of corruption ever since the tiny Gulf state was awarded the 2022 tournament." Al Thawadi said, "I can’t say if there is a prejudice against Qatar but what I can say is there is a clear bias. All the reporting on Michael Garcia, the description was, the focus was on us, on Qatar, and that was inaccurate" (REUTERS, 2/13). ... EPL side West Ham goalkeeper Adrian "has had a one match ban overturned" and was available for the Premier League side's FA Cup fifth round tie at West Bromwich Albion. However, West Ham was "charged with failing to ensure players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion after the Spanish goalkeeper was shown the red card against Southampton in a 0-0 draw on Wednesday" (REUTERS, 2/13).
