Spanish Football League (LFP) President Javier Tebas confirmed that a game at the end of this season between Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruña "is not being investigated." Tebas explained the LFP is "only looking into comments by Deportivo defender Lopo after the game," which ended in a 2-2 draw. Lopo: "I said to [Barcelona's] Xavi that they should relax a little, that a tie was good for everyone. They are 100% competitive. He did not tell me that they were going to throw the match. It is true that Barça was below its normal level and this favored us" (AS, 6/10). ... The prospects of Italian footballer Andrea Pirlo "following in Alessandro Del Piero's footsteps to the A-League appear to be vanishing" after it was made clear that a package worth almost A$10M ($7.8M) would be required to "secure the services of the decorated midfielder." Pirlo is now likely to head to Major League Soccer "instead of Australia" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 6/11). ... Scottish Premiership side St. Johnstone Chair Steve Brown "would like more help from UEFA in covering the cost of travelling to Europa League ties." Brown claims that playing in the Europa League is not "as lucrative as many might think, calling for help from the governing body with covering the costs of travelling to away games in the competition." Brown: "I wouldn't say it's lucrative. You really have to go through at least one round and hopefully get a reasonable tie for the second round. The traveling is very, very expensive for the club" (STV, 6/11). ... FIFA said that allegations of corruption at football's int'l governing body "have no part in a lawsuit by U.S. parents who say the sport exposes their kids to greater risk of brain damage." The organization asked a judge in Oakland, Calif., to sanction the parents for bringing a "frivolous" request to include the U.S. indictment of current and ex-FIFA officials into their case. FIFA said that the charges "just aren't relevant" (BLOOMBERG, 6/10).
