Lawyers defending three former FIFA officials at trial on U.S. corruption charges "strove to distance their clients from a scandal that has engulfed the sport" as they delivered opening statements to jurors on Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Edelman told jurors that the three men "were part of a conspiracy to take bribes from sports marketing companies in exchange for lucrative marketing rights" to football tournaments, including the Copa América and Copa Libertadores. None of the lawyers for the former officials denied that there was corruption in int'l football, but all told jurors that "their clients had not taken part" (REUTERS, 11/13).
A culture of sacking managers is "severely damaging" English football, League Managers Association CEO Richard Bevan said. Premier League and English Football League clubs employed an average of 12 managers between Oct. '97 and Nov. 1 of this year, a new study found. Bevan said, "Consistently dismissing managers can create an environment of instability within the club. It causes a series of negative consequences" (BBC, 11/13).
The trial of a 28-year-old German-Russian man accused of carrying out a bomb attack on Borussia Dortmund's team bus is set to begin on Dec. 21, Dortmund's regional court announced. The defendant, identified only as Sergej W. in keeping with German privacy law, has been charged with 28 counts of attempted murder, causing an explosion and two counts of serious bodily harm following the attack on BVB's team bus ahead of a Champions League match at home against Monaco in April (ESPN.com, 11/13).
