The FA is expected to announce another evening kickoff for the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and ManU. The kickoff time for the repeat of the '90 final "has yet to be confirmed, but with the BBC and BT Sport, its broadcast partners, both requesting a late slot," it is expected to begin at 5:30pm. A peak audience of 8.2 million watched ManU’s semifinal win over Everton on BBC One on Saturday, and with Manager Louis Van Gaal’s side in the final, the BBC "will be hopeful of beating last year’s peak figure of 8.8 million for Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa." The FA insists a final decision about the kickoff "will only be made" after Tuesday's consultation with the clubs, the Metropolitan Police and Brent Council (LONDON TIMES, 4/26).
ENDING THE DEBATE: Japan FA President Kozo Tashima wants to "put an end to the running debate on the potential switch to a fall-spring season" for the J.League. Tashima has been lobbying to change the J.League’s existing spring-fall structure, "to have it coincide with the European campaign." Those who oppose the shift "are the clubs based in areas subject to heavy snowfall." Those teams said that they "would struggle to hold games or train during the winter." Tashima feels the discussion "has gone on long enough." Tashima: "We've been debating this for more than 10 years, and it’s time we drew a conclusion. It may not be the conclusion I want, but I don’t mind that" (KYODO, 4/26).
FOOTBALL BRIEFS ...
Croatia's anti-corruption police said on Tuesday that they "had charged three current and former senior officials from football team Dinamo Zagreb" with tax evasion and siphoning off profits from player transfers. The USKOK police force said the actions had cost the state 12.2M kuna ($1.84M) in unpaid taxes and taken 116M kuna ($17.5M) from the club. State TV said that those charged were former Dinamo CEO Zdravko Mamic; his brother Zoran Mamic who is the current Dinamo coach; and Damir Vrbanovic, a former Dinamo exec and the current top official of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) (REUTERS, 4/26).
Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli said that technology "would have helped him to catch a handball" by Atlético Madrid midfielder Gabi late in the recent Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Barcelona. Gabi himself "admitted after the game that the ball had struck his arm," and replays suggested Barça should have had a penalty and a chance to send the tie to extra-time. Rizzoli: "It was not easy to judge the handball, the Atlético player's feet were outside the area and the objective elements which we had at our disposition led to this decision taken. In such cases, with technology, in a few seconds you could remove all doubt" (ESPN, 4/26).
FIFA inaugurated a new medical center in Tehran, which it says will "provide the country’s elite athletes with the highest standards of medical care." The Iran Football Medical Assessment and Research Center is "the first facility of its kind in central Asia." The center "includes a gym, rehabilitation suite, treatment rooms and a hydrotherapy center" (TIMES OF ISRAEL, 4/26).
A campaign that "seeks to tackle poor nutrition to enhance grassroots football," including among thousands of refugees in camps across northern Jordan, is the "latest initiative" of the Asian Football Development Project. With Jordan hosting this year’s women’s U17 World Cup, a one-year partnership entitled One Goal has been signed between the AFDP, World Vision Int'l and the Jordanian FA to "further grow the game by encouraging young players to eat the right foods" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 4/26).
Mexican Football Federation (FMF) Sporting Dir for National Teams Santiago Baños said after it was revealed that 29 players tested positive for doping from '11-13 that "he has no details of the topic." Baños said, "Since I have been with the national teams I have no knowledge of anything like this" (LA AFICIÓN, 4/25).
Argentine first division side Tigre announced on Twitter that it "wants to implant a chip in the bodies of its fans" for them to enter the stadium "just by walking by a reader." The club tweeted, "Club Atlético Tigre presents Ticket Passion, the first system of stadium entry by 'BioHacking.'" The club explained that the measure "will allow for reliable control of the entry" and "greater security" (EFE, 4/26).
