The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced that Italian football "will test the use of video replays in officiating." The Int'l FA Board "agreed in principle" last month to "test the use of video refereeing over the next two seasons." On Thursday it was confirmed that Italian football "will be one of the testers, starting from next season" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 4/14).
To mark the fourth season of the int'l children’s Football For Friendship program, implemented by Champions League sponsor Gazprom, the voting for a unique trophy, Nine Values Cup, has been announced. Nine Values Cup is a special award of the program, given annually to the football club that is deemed to have the most outstanding social initiatives and show the greatest commitment to the values of the F4F program: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions and honor (Gazprom).
The Premier League replaced "self-confessed Leicester City fan Kevin Friend" with referee Neil Swarbrick for Tottenham Hotspurs' clash with Stoke City, following an "outcry on social media." Spurs are second in the table, "seven points behind leaders Leicester City ahead of the North London club’s visit to Stoke on Monday." Leicester will seal its "maiden top-flight title" if it wins three of its next five games, "while Spurs are chasing a first league title" since '61 (GULF NEWS, 4/14).
Paraguay’s Defensores del Chaco, the country’s only stadium permitted to hold World Cup qualifiers, "was ordered to be temporarily closed on Wednesday because of cracks in one of the stands." The order from Asuncion’s city hall came hours after the Paraguayan FA (APF) announced it was "sealing off the north stand for repairs" (REUTERS, 4/13).
