England and Scotland will "avoid a points deduction for wearing armbands featuring poppies in their World Cup qualifier on Armistice Day" but have both been "found guilty" of breaking FIFA rules and will reportedly be fined and reprimanded. Though the English FA said on Tuesday that it has not been notified of FIFA's decision, "sources close to the process have indicated" that the three-man committee which discussed the issue last Friday in Zurich has found both the English and the Scots to be in breach of breaking rule 4.4. There is "very little precedent" for FIFA to work with when deciding what penalty to hand down, but experts familiar with the process said that the fact this was a first offense "should be a mitigating factor for England and Scotland." There is "no statutory limit to the fine that might be dealt out." It is understood that Northern Ireland and Wales "have also been found in breach of the rules" (London INDEPENDENT, 12/13).
The European Commission "will propose new anti tax-evasion legislation next year following media reports accusing football stars of having used tax havens to handle tens of millions of euros in earnings," a top EU official said. Earlier this month, a group of 12 European news outlets "began publishing the results of months of investigations into a vast trove of millions of financial documents." Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said, "The Commission has decided to make legislative proposals in 2017 on the role of intermediaries and tax advisers when they organize tax avoidance and fraud" (REUTERS, 12/14).
The Court of Arbitration for Sport "is set to rule on the transfer bans imposed by FIFA" on Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid before the January transfer window opens. Last January, FIFA found that both Real and Atlético had broken int'l youth transfer rules and would be banned for 12 months from registering any new players. Both clubs "remain hopeful of having the punishment overturned" (ESPN.com, 12/14).
German FA (DFB) President Reinhard Grindel said that he can imagine an expanded World Cup, "but stressed that players should not face an increased workload." Last week, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that a proposal to expand the tournament to 48 nations "had received backing at a meeting of national federations." FIFA will decide on a new format in January (ESPN.com, 12/14).
Bundesliga side RB Leipzig Sporting Dir Ralf Rangnick said that he believes German football's 50+1 ownership model "is outdated." The rule stipulates that more than 50% of a club "must be owned by its members, but there are exceptions for company-owned clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg" while others, like Hamburg and Hoffenheim, have been "bankrolled by wealthy individuals." Rangnick said, "The number of members of the club is obsolete and irrelevant" (ESPN.com, 12/14).
FOOTBALL BRIEFS ...
The government in DR Congo told the country's FA to "suspend league competition from Thursday until further notice." The move comes "amidst fears that the end of President Joseph Kabila's mandate next week will spark violence" (BBC, 12/14).
Members of Nigeria's women's national football team, the Super Falcons, stormed the National Assembly in Abuja to protest "the non-payment of their allowances by the Nigerian Football Federation." Members of the squad seized the trophy from the Africa Women Cup of Nations in Cameroon, "saying they will not release it until the NFF pays them all outstanding bonuses and allowances." They claimed the NFF owes them a debt "up to a whopping" N238.05M ($7M) (AFRICA NEWS, 12/14).
Japan's Kashima Antlers "became the first side to benefit from a video replay" in a FIFA competition as it scored a penalty in its 3-0 Club World Cup semifinal win. Referee Viktor Kassai "stopped the game after being alerted to an incident by his assistant, then gave a penalty" after viewing footage on a monitor (BBC, 12/14).
