English football powerbroker David Gill wants all FIFA bonuses "to be scrapped, with executives paid the going rate without extra payments that have led to serial corruption." FIFA's investigatory lawyers revealed last week that disgraced trio Sepp Blatter, Jérôme Valcke and Markus Kattner had shared nearly £60M in "dodgy bonuses and pay rises over five years." Gill, who sits on both the FIFA council and UEFA exec committee, "totally disagrees with a bonus system at a not-for-profit football organisation." Instead he wants the FIFA exec "to be paid wages similar to those for similar roles elsewhere" (London DAILY MAIL, 6/6).
FA BLOCKS HOMAGE: England’s "plan to pay homage to those who died at the Somme 100 years ago has been scuppered" by FA Performance Services Head Dave Reddin. Roy Hodgson and his squad "had been hoping to send a group to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, where the names of 37 footballers are commemorated." Hodgson was "keen to visit with squad members and discussed the possibility" with FA CEO Martin Glenn. The trip was "provisionally approved by the FA and two months ago it was on." Reddin and the sports scientists "argued that a three-hour round trip from the squad’s base at Chantilly would be too draining and likely to impact on England’s performance at the Euros." Reddin’s veto was "a sign of his power within the governing body and a frustration for Hodgson and his players, who wanted to honour the war dead." Glenn will "represent the FA and England at Thiepval" on Tuesday (LONDON TIMES, 6/7).
EURO ANTI-DOPING: UEFA said that some players "might go through the European Championship without being blood-tested, despite what it calls the most comprehensive anti-doping programme seen at a major tournament." UEFA "revealed the details of its anti-doping plans for the month-long tournament at the French anti-doping laboratory where samples will be analysed." UEFA Medical & Anti-Doping Head Marc Vouillamoz explained that all players from the 24 teams "have been in a testing pool since January." He said that because some national anti-doping organizations do not perform blood collection, "it may be that some players do not have a blood test." UEFA will "also keep a close eye on the Russia national team" (AP, 6/7).
LOST IN THE MAIL: About 500 tickets for Euro 2016 matches have "not been delivered to England fans" because the FA "failed to apply the right postage." The tickets, which account for 2% of the overall number bought through the FA, "are being held at sorting offices." England's opener against Russia is on Saturday but the FA said that "it expects the tickets to arrive by Wednesday" (BBC, 6/6).
FOOTBALL BRIEFS ...
La Liga President Javier Tebas confirmed that La Liga "will remain without goal-line technology" next season as it "costs too much money." The likes of the Premier League and Serie A have adopted goal-line technology in recent years, but Tebas "confessed Spain could not afford to adopt such innovation, despite its status as one of the world’s best Leagues" (FOOTBALL ESPANA, 6/5).
The ASEAN Football Federation signed a three-year agreement with data technology provider Sportradar to use its Federation Management Platform competition management tools for the catalogue of AFF tournaments including the flagship AFF Suzuki Cup. The FMP system will enable the AFF to electronically conduct large parts of its tournament administration including registration, scheduling and reporting. The FMP also provides data collection and visualization tools (Sportradar).
