CONMEBOL officials will look into the actions of Chile defender Gonzalo Jara, "who was caught by TV cameras poking Edinson Cavani's behind to provoke a red card" in the quarterfinals of the Copa América. Alberto Lozada, a member of CONMEBOL’s disciplinary panel, said Thursday that the local governing body "will open an investigation" that could lead to a suspension for the Chilean player (AP, 6/25). ... A new FIFA scholarship program that assists B-licensed female coaches to gain access to higher coaching education is now underway, with the first group of coaches already starting to benefit. The FIFA Scholarship for B-Licensed Female Coaches is one of nine FIFA women's football development programs offered for '15-18 and is being run in cooperation with a number of member associations through their coach education programs (FIFA). ... Two Argentine businessmen arrested last week in a "sweeping probe of alleged corruption at FIFA" were placed under house arrest pending a decision on extraditing them to the U.S. Father and son sports marketing execs Hugo and Mariano Jinkis are among the 14 people indicted by the U.S. in its "investigation into graft at the heart" of FIFA. Judge Claudio Bonadio rejected their request to be released and "granted them house arrest only" with bail payments of $440,000 for Hugo Jinkis and $880,000 for Mariano (AFP, 6/25). ... Senegal's U20 football players are set to receive around $NZ24,000 ($16,580) each for taking their country to the semifinals of the World Cup in New Zealand. The Senegal government said that it will reward the team with more than $400,000 for reaching the semifinals in its first appearance at the FIFA U20 World Cup. Senegal President Macky Sall promised the squad and management staff 125M Central African Francs ($213,500) and the sports ministry said it would match that amount (AAP, 6/25). ... A celebration of FIFA President Sepp Blatter's departure as the head of world football's governing body "has attracted more than 21,000 would-be guests via Facebook." Dutch football fan Rodney Bouwhuizen, who created the Dec. 1 event with the Facebook page "Leaving Party for Sepp Blatter," wrote, "We've been waiting for this moment for years! You're all invited to the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich! Give the man a good send–off!" So far, more than 21,000 people are down on the social networking site as "going," although there is no guarantee that many will attend, or that the event will even take place (REUTERS, 6/25).
TURF 'LIKE HOT COALS': The synthetic turf at the 2015 Women's World Cup "has come under its harshest criticism yet with the Matildas comparing the extreme heat of the surface to walking on hot coals." The temperature of the playing surface at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton is "likely to soar over 50-degrees celsius" when Australia plays Japan in the quarterfinal on Sunday, "which is leaving blisters and cuts on the players' feet." Matildas striker Michelle Heyman "slammed the conditions of the playing field where the synthetic turf is absorbing heat at a rapid rate due to the rubber and other materials" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 6/25).
