Portugal's first division will "use video replay for all league matches" beginning with the '17-18 season, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said. Its implementation will cost €1M ($1.1M), according to Portugal newspaper A Bola. FPF President Fernando Gomes admitted that he "expected next season to be one of trial and error with the goal of full implementation" for the '18-19 season (ESPN.com, 5/4).
Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande was fined and handed a suspended two-match stadium ban after its fans "unfurled a politically sensitive banner during an Asian Champions League match at Hong Kong's Eastern last month." The club was found guilty of two offenses; the first under an Asian Football Confederation disciplinary and ethics code and the second related to spectator misconduct (REUTERS, 5/4).
J.League side Kawasaki Frontale was fined $15,000 and placed on one-year probation by the AFC on Thursday after its fans "raised a controversial wartime Japanese flag during a recent Asian Champions League match in South Korea." If the flag reappears during the probationary period, Kawasaki will "automatically be forced to play one game in front of an empty stadium" (KYODO, 5/4).
Argentina forward Lionel Messi's appeal against his four-match int'l ban for insulting a match official was heard by FIFA on Thursday, a source said. Messi did not travel to FIFA HQ in Zurich. The FIFA Appeal committee was "not expected to make an immediate decision" (REUTERS, 5/4).
