An Italian football official is "under pressure to resign after allegedly referring to female players as a 'bunch of lesbians.'" Italian Amateur FA President Felice Belloli "allegedly made the comments when discussing funding for women's football in the country." The The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) "opened an investigation on Friday after it was sent the minutes of the meeting of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (LND)." Belloli allegedly said, "That's enough, we can't always talk about giving money to this bunch of lesbians," but on Friday "denied having used those words" (London GUARDIAN, 5/16). ... The Cairo Court for Urgent Matters "banned Saturday ultras football fan groups and ordered that they should be dissolved." The lawyer behind the lawsuit, Ashraf Farahat, who also demands the banning of the April 6 Youth Movement, said that the ultras will now be considered a "terrorist organization" (ALBAWABA, 5/16).
PITCH INVASION: Liga MX said Atlas was trailing 4-1 to Guadalajara with just less than one hour of the second leg played at the Jalisco Stadium on Sunday when one supporter "ran onto the pitch and remonstrated with the players." He was "quickly detained, however other Atlas supporters also ran onto the field and tried to attack coach Tomas Boy." TV pictures showed that both teams ran to the dressing rooms, and the match was "suspended until security officials brought the situation under control." Pictures "also showed riot police clashing with Atlas fans in the stands at both halftime and during the interruption in play." Atlas President Gustavo Guzman announced after the match that the hardcore supporters' group known as "Barra 51" would be banned indefinitely from the stadium. The Guadalajara city government subsequently announced on its Twitter feed that the Jalisco stadium, which hosted matches at both the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, was closed until further notice (REUTERS, 5/18).
IN MALAYSIA: A Malaysian supporters group has "ramped up their protest" against the arrival of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur for lucrative friendlies, "urging fans to rip up tickets for the matches." "Ultras Malaya" has labeled the May 27 Spurs fixture and July 24 Liverpool game against a Malaysian XI as "'circus matches' and are angry at the disruption caused to their domestic league and World Cup qualifying preparations." In a statement, the group said, "Don't buy the tickets, don't go to the stadium" (REUTERS, 5/18). Malaysia's sports minister has "called for tough sanctions after an ambulance was torched and policemen injured when fans rioted" following Terengganu's FA Cup semifinal defeat by Singapore's Lions XII on Saturday. Trouble "broke out following a contentious end to the two-legged clash." Terengganu thought it had "scored a crucial goal in the 90th minute" to take it through to the final against its rivals Kelantan but its celebrations were "cut short after the referee correctly ruled it offside." Rioting then "broke out inside and outside the stadium with facilities and vehicles damaged" (REUTERS, 5/18).
