FIFA has been "forced to reassure fans that Friday's World Cup draw will not be rigged with hot and cold balls" following claims by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter that he witnessed their use, according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. Football's world governing body on Wednesday organized a behind-the-scenes tour of the auditorium that will stage the draw, featuring "an explanation of how the event will unfold, including the use of red balls to denote seeded teams." FIFA Dir of Competitions Chris Unger was asked about rumors of heated balls at previous draws, "a conspiracy theory fuelled by Blatter last year" when he said that "some at European level at been rigged in that way." Unger said, "There's no truth to that. They're all the same; they don't feel any different, they don't look any different, with the exception of the red balls, which are there for a purpose" (TELEGRAPH, 11/29).
ZERO TOLERANCE: REUTERS' Simon Jennings reported FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that "racism will not be tolerated at next year's World Cup in Russia," adding that referees "will have the power to stop or even abandon matches if discriminatory incidents take place." Several players, including Brazil int'l Hulk, "have voiced concerns that racism could mar the tournament," saying that such incidents are a "regular feature of domestic league games in the country." Infantino said in a video statement that anti-discrimination was a "high priority" for FIFA, and that the organization would deal with offenses "firmly." Infantino: "We'll make sure that no incidents will happen and ... we have for the first time in a World Cup the so-called, three-step procedure where a referee can stop a game or even abandon a game if there are discriminatory or racist incidences. We will be very, very firm on that so we can expect fair play in Russia" (REUTERS, 11/28).
'SUPER' PLANS: In Madrid, Álvaro Roca reported FIFA "remains committed to revolutionising football" and is planning a "Super Club World Cup" by '21. This competition "will end the Confederations Cup," so Germany will be the last champion of that particular tournament. There is still "a lot of work to do," but many of the characteristics of the new tournament have "already been sorted." Twenty-four teams and five continents will be represented. Europe will have 12 clubs, including the last four winners of the Champions League, the last four finalists and the other four with the best coefficient (MARCA, 11/29).
DOWNPLAYING DOPING: REUTERS' Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber reported Russia Deputy PM Vitaly Mutko "downplayed on Tuesday the issue of doping" among his country's footballers, saying that reports on the use of performance-enhancing drugs were "an attempt to discredit Russia." The comments came three days before Russia hosts the draw for next year's World Cup and after Russian athletes who competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics were stripped of their medals and banned for life from the Games over doping. A WADA report last year into alleged state-backed doping in the country listed football as one of the sports in which drug tests were "allegedly covered up." Mutko described reports of doping among Russian footballers as "stupidity." Mutko: "If we play like this while doped, what would it be like without it?" (REUTERS, 11/28).
