Video Assistant Referees will be used in the Ligue 1 relegation playoff, the French Professional Football League (LFP) confirmed. The system will be used for the "two-legged tie between the team that finishes 18th in Ligue 1 and third in the second tier." The Int'l FA Board accepted the LFP's request to "use the technology for the first time in domestic competition in France" (OMNISPORT, 4/21).
Former Costa Rican FA President Eduardo Li was "banned from the game for life by FIFA's independent Ethics Committee on Friday," the organization said. Li is one of 42 individuals and entities charged in a U.S. investigation into the "biggest corruption scandal in the history of FIFA." He pleaded guilty in a U.S federal court in October to taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes (REUTERS, 4/21).
Caribbean Football Union General Secretary Neil Cochrane denied claims that CFU President Gordon Derrick is "being pressured" by some of the body's exec members to give up the post of president. Cochrane was reacting to claims that Derrick had been asked during a CFU meeting held in Aruba last week to "step down as president" following a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling upholding an April '16 decision by the FIFA Audit & Compliance Committee "barring him from holding" a FIFA VP position (ANTIGUA OBSERVER, 4/22).
Liga Iberdrola side Valencia's home match against Levante on Sunday drew 17,000 fans, the biggest crowd for a Liga Iberdrola game this season. The attendance exceeded the previous high of 13,935 for the match between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona (AS, 4/23).
The Ligue 1 match between Saint-Étienne and Rennes was interrupted during the first half “when St. Étienne ultras invaded the stands to demonstrate their discontent with the match being played behind closed doors.” The referee sent the teams to the locker rooms before restarting the match after about 15 minutes, "when the close to 150 supporters left the stadium" (LE PARISIEN, 4/23).