Premier League clubs have "broken their own spending record for the transfer window," a sports analyst group said on Wednesday, with "more deals expected before business closes next Thursday." Southampton's £15M ($19.2M) purchase of Serie A side Lazio centre-back Wesley Hoedt brought the overall spend to £1.185B ($1.52B), website Sporting Intelligence said. The figure exceeded the £1.18B the clubs spent in last summer's window (REUTERS, 8/23).
The head of the video assistant referee project in Germany suggested that "unacceptable" problems with the new technology "could ultimately bring a premature end to the trial period." VAR Project Head Hellmut Krug, a former referee, said that he is "already running out of patience" after problems also occurred at the German Super Cup in early August. He added, "We can't go on like this week in, week out" (ESPN.com, 8/23).
The steroids used by ex-Premier League players Carlos Tevez, Dirk Kuyt and Gabriel Heinze during the 2010 World Cup "should be completely banned," former FIFA Chief Medical Officer Jiri Dvorak said. Tevez, Kuyt and Heinze were given therapeutic use exemptions. Dvorak added the use of the steroid "should be stopped -- full stop" (BBC, 8/23).
Argentine first division side Boca Juniors President Daniel Angelici threatened to take Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to "demand payment" of more than $3M related to the transfer of Tevez. The striker joined Shenhua in January for a transfer fee in the region of €11M and Angelici claims the Chinese side has not paid the Argentine club "since the initial payment was made when the transfer was completed" (REUTERS, 8/23).
The exec committee of the Ukrainian FA voted 28-2 in favor of "continuing to hold Ukrainian Premier League matches in Mariupol, notwithstanding Dynamo Kiev's apparent decision not to play in the city this weekend." Dynamo Kiev VP Andriy Madzianovsky announced that his team would not travel to the southeastern port city for Sunday's game against Mariupol (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 8/23).
