The FA of Wales has begun disciplinary action against FAW CEO JONATHAN FORD for saying that the next Wales manager could be "foreign," but "definitely not English." The FAW set up a three-person panel to investigate a BBC Sport Wales interview in which Ford said, "We have always favored Welsh people because arguably the passion is there" (BBC, 12/13). ... Tennis player VICTORIA AZARENKA has been given an Australian Open wildcard. The 28-year-old pulled out of the US Open and Belarus' Fed Cup final earlier this year because of a "custody dispute over her young son." Azarenka is ranked 201 in the world and has not played since Wimbledon (BBC, 12/12). ... Premier League side Swansea City Chair HUW JENKINS denied two of the club's former directors were "unfairly dismissed and discriminated against due to their age." STEVE PENNY, 62, and DON KEEFE, 79, made the claims following a takeover of the club (BBC, 12/12). ... Irish Olympic Gold Medalist KATIE TAYLOR will become the first Irish sportswoman to earn more than £1M ($1.3M) "from her sporting exploits alone." Aside from becoming the first female boxer to headline a show on Sky Sports, Taylor "will also earn nearly as much money" from Wednesday's fight against JESSICA MCCASKILL as she has from her previous seven outings (LONDON TIMES, 12/13).
