One of the "most senior figures in world swimming has been implicated" in the FIFA corruption scandal. Husain Al-Musallam, the first VP of FINA, has been "effectively identified" in a U.S. Department of Justice indictment as a co-conspirator who "allegedly paid bribes to a football official, Richard Lai, from Guam." Al-Musallam also has an "influential Olympic role and is the right-hand man to Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah," a FIFA council member who resigned from his football positions on Sunday after being identified as co-conspirator No. 2 in the indictment. The indictment also states that co-conspirator No. 3 was "a high-ranking official of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and an official of the Kuwait Football Association (KFA)" (LONDON TIMES, 5/2).
Swedish side AIK has been fined 350,000 Swedish krona ($39,600) by the Swedish FA for a "payment made to an agent in connection with the transfer of teenage striker Alexander Isak" to Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. FIFA transfer rules "ban players and clubs from making payments to intermediaries for under-age players" (REUTERS, 5/2).
Venezuelan teams held an "improvised minute of silence during two top division games" over the weekend, one of them after kickoff, in honor of victims of the "recent turmoil in the country." At least 29 people were killed last month during demonstrations between authorities and anti-government protesters over Venezuela's "economic woes of triple-digit inflation and shortages of food and other goods." The referee had blown his whistle for Sunday's game between host Deportivo Lara and Deportivo Anzoátegui in Cabudare to start but "after one pass was made, all 22 players stood still" (ESPN.com, 5/2).
Four Malaysian clubs were docked six points each for "failure to settle their outstanding debts" on Tuesday. Football Malaysia LLP CEO Kevin Ramalingam said that Super League's Kelantan and T-Team along with Premier League's Armed Forces and Perlis have been "given reminders since January to pay their debts from previous seasons" (NEW STRAITS TIMES, 5/2).
