FIFA said that Chile has "been banned from playing a World Cup qualifier" at its national stadium and the country's football federation has been fined because of the "repeated discriminatory and unsporting conduct of fans." FIFA said that the ban applies for the March 28 game against Venezuela at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago. The federation was fined 65,000 Swiss francs ($66,300) for "two unspecified cases." FIFA said that its disciplinary committee also fined several other federations for crowd trouble: Honduras (65,000 Swiss francs), Albania (50,000 Swiss francs) ($51,000), El Salvador (45,000 Swiss francs) ($46,000), Italy (30,000 Swiss francs) ($30,600), Mexico (30,000 Swiss francs), Peru (30,000 Swiss francs), Paraguay (25,000 Swiss francs) ($25,500), Argentina (25,000 Swiss francs), Canada (20,000 Swiss francs) ($20,400) and Brazil (20,000 Swiss francs) (AP, 10/4).
J.League execs agreed Tuesday to "return to the single-stage system for the first division next season," putting an end to the current two-stage system after two seasons. The J.League has been using the two-stage system followed by a championship playoff for the top flight since last year "in the hope of boosting sponsorship revenues." But the current system "has been met with opposition, with some criticizing it as lacking in fairness and others arguing that holding the championship playoff leads to tight scheduling" (KYODO, 10/4).
The Belgian FA (URBSFA) "has started an inquiry into allegations that several players in the country's top league bet on their own matches." The federation said in a statement on Monday that it had "begun its investigation" on Sept. 29, a day after Waasland Beveren fired keeper Laurent Henkinet for "betting on a match in which he featured." Belgian media "have run reports about betting by other players in Belgium's top league" (REUTERS, 10/3).
