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Football Notes: South Melbourne Hopes FFA's Plan Helps It Secure Promotion To A-League

Officials at National Premier Leagues club South Melbourne "are hopeful" that Football Federation Australia's plan to "fast track league expansion in the next two seasons" will boost its bid to be elevated to the A-League. FFA confirmed it wants to increase the number of teams in the competition by 20% -- from 10 to 12 -- in time for the start of the '18-19 season. Lawyer Bill Papastergiadis, who is conducting South's negotiations with FFA, said, "It might be to our advantage as we are not starting from scratch or coming from such a long way back. The rival bids will have to start up clubs, find stadia and investors and marketing support" (THE AGE, 12/8).

Australian Football League side Geelong Cats CEO Brian Cook "has questioned whether the regional city has the money to support multiple clubs competing in national leagues." But he said that a "privately funded A-League team on Corio Bay has potential to succeed." Cook said that there had been "a lack of public visibility in Geelong of a consortium pushing the town’s A-League bid." But if there are backers "keen to make it work," Cook said that "I would be the first one to put up my hand" to support the team (HERALD SUN, 12/8).

Barcelona invited Brasileiro side Chapecoense to play in a preseason friendly next summer. Nineteen Chapecoense players and staff "were among 71 people killed in a plane crash" as the team traveled to Colombia for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final. The friendly would be for the Joan Gamper trophy, an annual match between Barcelona and an invited team (BBC, 12/8).

The Metropolitan Police "launched an investigation into allegations of historical sexual abuse in football" at clubs in London. A "dedicated team of officers" from the Met's sexual offenses, exploitation and child abuse command will work alongside Operation Hydrant. Hundreds of people have reported abuse to U.K. police so far, the National Police Chief's Council said (BBC, 12/8).

TV replays to assist referees will be used for the first time in FIFA competition "with trials to take place during the Club World Cup in Japan" starting Thursday. Video assistant referees, who will be given access to all broadcast feeds inside a video operations room, "will be able to advise the on-field official" of errors in "match-changing" situations. The plan is for VARs to be able to "correct clear mistakes in serious incidents including goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards and cases of mistaken identity" (LONDON TIMES, 12/8).

Vietnamese football authorities apologized on Thursday after fans "hurled stones at the Indonesian team bus" shortly after the Suzuki Cup semifinal match in Hanoi, "breaking a window and injuring two of the visiting team's staff." The second leg of the "fiercely contested" tie at the My Dinh stadium on Wednesday night ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time, sending Indonesia into the final with a 4-3 aggregate score. But as the victorious visitors left the stadium, "a mob of Vietnamese football fans -- reportedly on motorbikes -- attacked their bus, throwing rocks and shattering at least one window" (AFP, 12/8).

A legal action against FIFA over its "alleged complicity in the mistreatment of migrant workers in Qatar" ahead of the 2022 World Cup has been filed with a Swiss court. The Netherlands Trade Union Confederation confirmed on Thursday that FIFA has been "summoned to appear in the commercial court in Zürich" in a case it has brought against the body on behalf of Bangladeshi migrant worker Nadim Sharaful Alam. The Confederation confirmed that the Bangladesh Free Trade Union Congress and the Bangladesh Building & Wood Workers Federation are also supporting the action (London GUARDIAN, 12/8).

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