New eligibility rules laid down by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin have "led to one of the European contenders for FIFA’s ruling Council to pull out of the running, inadvertently causing a major administrative snafu." UEFA's exec committee ruled that candidates for senior positions "must hold an active office" in their respective national association -- specifically president, VP, general secretary or CEO. That has "caused a rethink" for Iceland’s Geir Thorsteinsson, who decided to withdraw his FIFA Council candidacy. Thorsteinsson's election to FIFA's "inner circle" seemed to have been a "formality" on Friday, when Vitaly Mutko was forced to withdraw (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 3/13).
The referees' strike in Liga MX could result in losses of $3.5M from this weekend alone, La Afición calculated. According to Liga MX figures, average attendance per matchday is 252,403. The calculation also takes into account average ticket prices and the average amount of revenue from beer sales, just more than $1M per matchday (LA AFICIÓN, 3/11).
League One side Millwall and Tottenham are assisting the FA and police with their investigations into the "racist and discriminatory chanting" which "marred" the FA Cup quarterfinal between the clubs at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Sections of the visiting support directed chants of "DVD" and "He's selling three for a fiver" at Spurs forward Son Heung-min, who scored a hat trick in Tottenham's 6-0 win (London GUARDIAN, 3/13).
The Confederation of African Football said that all allegations concerning the renewal of the marketing and sponsorship deal with Lagardère are "without foundation." CAF "insisted that the charges presented" in the media by the Egyptian Competition Authority and the public prosecutor "contradict the clearly established facts." CAF said, "CAF renewed the appointment of Lagardère Sports as marketing and media agency for the main regional football competitions in Africa up to 2028 following an extensive period of negotiations" (THIS DAY, 3/13).
Malawi announced it was pulling out of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 African Nations Championship, "citing financial constraints and the non-availability of a national team coach." The FA of Malawi (FAM) released a statement after the Malawi government "refused the FA permission to hire an expatriate coach" (BBC, 3/12).
