Brasileiro side Chapecoense's first game since the majority of its "squad died in a plane crash" will be played on Jan. 25. An official at the club said that the team is "scheduled to play International de Lage at home in a state championship game." Two of the players who survived, defender Alan Ruschel and goalkeeper Jakson Follmann, who has had his leg amputated, "returned to Brazil on Tuesday." The third, Neto, "remains in hospital in Colombia." Vagner Mancini has been "appointed manager to rebuild the team." Brazil's leading football clubs have "pledged to loan players to Chapecoense for free and asked for them to be safeguarded from relegation from the top flight for the next three seasons" (BBC, 12/14).
Premier League sides Watford and West Bromwich Albion have each been given a £45,000 ($56,000) fine by the FA "for failing to control their players." The charge "related to an incident which led to Watford's Roberto Pereyra being sent off during a 3-1 Premier League defeat" at The Hawthorns on Dec. 3. Pereyra "reacted angrily to a challenge by Albion midfielder James McClean, and both players clashed on the touchline" (BBC, 12/15).
