The U.K. House of Commons "will hold a debate next week on a vote of no confidence" in the FA, the Culture, Media & Sport Committee announced. The FA was given six months to "take meaningful steps to show reform by revamping its board and council" by U.K. sports minister Tracey Crouch, with the governing body "regularly coming underfire for its council being predominantly white, middle-aged men." It appears that "patience is wearing thin with the FA." The vote "could result in the removal" of £30M ($37.5M) worth of funding toward grassroots football from Sport England (London INDEPENDENT, 2/3).
Real Madrid's game at Celta Vigo on Sunday has been postponed amid safety fears after the Balaidos stadium roof was damaged by storms, La Liga announced on Saturday. The league said in a statement, "According to the report issued from the city hall in Vigo, they consider that the Balaidos stadium is not safe for spectators or for players to attend the game on Sunday." Spanish newspaper Marca reported Real Madrid "had been resisting the postponement as the team had no free dates in their schedule to play a rescheduled game" (REUTERS, 2/5). La Liga side Deportivo La Coruña's home clash against Real Betis on Friday night was "called off due to adverse weather in the north of Spain," La Liga announced "just hours before the match was due to start." Deportivo said that high winds and rain caused "serious damage" to the roof of the Estadio Riazor (ESPN.com, 2/3).
Bolivia's appeal against being docked points for fielding an ineligible player in two World Cup qualifiers has been rejected, FIFA said on Friday. FIFA "docked points from the Bolivians and gave them to Chile and Peru in a Nov. 1 decision" after Paraguayan-born Nelson Cabrera's inclusion in Bolivia's roster for its South American qualifiers. The FBF reportedly "might now take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport" (REUTERS, 2/4).
