FIFA President Gianni Infantino said before this weekend’s meeting of the game’s lawmakers that trials of video technology to assist officials should start "sooner rather than later," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The Int'l FA Board will meet in Cardiff on Saturday and is "expected to approve live trials of video technology, which could lead to it being used in the FA Cup next season." In a FIFA interview to mark his first day in office, Infantino said that he was "keen to begin trials" but emphasized the need to "protect the flow of the game." He said, "Football is a special game. It’s the most beautiful and the most important sport in the world. We don’t have to kill football. One of the peculiarities of football is the flow of the game. It doesn’t stop like many other sports when you have to time to stop and look at a video." The Swiss-Italian administrator "sought to demonstrate his credentials as a fan and insisted he would try to involve supporters and players more in decision-making." FIFA's proposed reforms have been criticized for "not doing enough to involve other stakeholders" but Infantino said that football’s leaders needed to be "more like fans, less like politicians." Infantino: "We have to involve the fans, listen to them and what they say. Football without fans is nothing. We need the players, we need the fans. These two elements have been neglected for too long." Infantino also reiterated his support for "controversial plans to increase the World Cup to 40 teams." He said, "It’s not a secret that I believe in an increase in the number of teams to 40. This means an increase in representation. We give eight more teams the opportunity to participate and many more teams the opportunity to participate" (GUARDIAN, 3/1).
GERMAN DISSENT: ESPN's Stephan Uersfeld reported German football officials "have said they do not back" Infantino's plans to expand the World Cup to 40 teams. Germany Manager Oliver Bierhoff said, "As a DFB (German Football Federation) representative I disagree with it, I don't sanction it. It will just blow everything out of proportion even more. It's good like it is now." German Football League (DFL) CEO Christian Seifert added, "I don't like the idea. Those decisions are always taken at the expense of the leagues. It's not good for the football culture all over the world. You should not forget that the World Cup stands and falls with the European leagues" (ESPN, 3/2).
SHEIKH AHMAD UNDER FIRE: In London, Charles Sale reported Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah’s "image as the leading powerbroker in world sport has been significantly damaged" by his alleged conduct during the FIFA election in Zurich last week. The president of the Association of National Olympic Committees "not only failed" to get his favored candidate Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa elected, "but is also alleged to have broken the IOC code of ethics by using Olympic connections to lobby voters." It is understood delegates from Hungary, Italy and France, who are all bidding to host the 2024 Olympics, "were given promises of support in the Games vote provided they backed Salman in the FIFA one" (DAILY MAIL, 3/1).
PLATINI APPEALS BAN: The AP's Graham Dunbar reported suspended UEFA President Michel Platini has appealed against his six-year ban from football to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, "finally able to take his case to sport's highest court only days after the FIFA presidency was decided." Platini is seeking to "annul the sanction confirmed by the FIFA appeal committee last week, CAS said Wednesday in a statement." No hearing date has been set "and the procedural timetable outlined by the court indicates that Platini has not asked for a fast-track verdict." Throughout his legal fight with FIFA's judicial bodies in recent months, Platini said that he would "only get a fair and unbiased hearing at the sports court in Lausanne, Switzerland" (AP, 3/2). The PA reported acting DFB President Reinhard Rauball "has called for Platini to resign from his position as UEFA president" before Euro 2016 this summer. Rauball, who has been in charge of the DFB alongside Rainer Koch since November, "believes it would be in the best interests of the tournament if Platini was to step aside." Rauball: "Currently UEFA has no leadership in its two most important positions. The former general secretary Infantino is now at FIFA and there is a European Championship coming up this summer and a lot has to be prepared and agreed on." UEFA "currently appears to be awaiting the outcome of Platini's appeal before taking the next steps," but Rauball said that it is "necessary that we discuss alternatives in view of the (next UEFA) congress in May." He added, "A distinction must be made between Platini's personal interests and UEFA's ability to function -- it is a company with turnover in the billions" (PA, 3/2).
CIFA SCRUTINY: CAYMAN NEWS SERVICE reported the Cayman Islands FA expects FIFA-appointed auditors "to complete a forensic review of its books within the next six weeks." After former CIFA President Jeffrey Webb admitted to racketeering charges in the U.S. and "after revelations that CIFA cash may have been involved in the corrupt hospital CarePay contract," acting President Bruce Blake said that he had contacted FIFA to "conduct a review of the local association’s records." As well as getting FIFA officials to examine the books, Blake said that he had "asked for assistance in recovering funds diverted from CIFA accounts" (CNS, 3/1).
GUATEMALA EXTRADITES JIMENEZ: The AFP reported Guatemala extradited former national football chief Brayan Jimenez to the U.S., "where he is wanted on bribery charges" engulfing FIFA. The Foreign Ministry said that Jimenez, 61, was put on a commercial flight from La Aurora Int'l Airport in the capital. Jimenez "had been held since his arrest at the Mariscal Zavala jail, a modified military barracks for high-profile detainees" (AFP, 3/1).
