Paul Elliott is set to become the first former top-flight player to join the FA board next month in "another significant change to its governance procedures." His appointment will be proposed at the next meeting of the FA Council on Jan. 17 and if ratified, Chelsea's first black captain will "bring the perspective of an elite player to the corridors of power at Wembley for the first time" (LONDON TIMES, 12/20).
Mexico national team players and the Mexican FA are backing Mexican defender Oswaldo Alanís in his "contractual dispute" with Liga MX side Chivas Guadalajara. The player was "banished to Chivas' third division side after refusing to extend his contract" -- which ends next summer -- by a further six months. The players' association "released a statement Tuesday indicating that it is not happy" with how Alanís has been treated (ESPN.com, 12/20).
Reeling from "criticism sparked by heavy handed intervention from video assistant referees," Football Federation Australia "issued fresh guidelines to match officials, ordering them to back off for the remainder of the A-League season." FFA told match officials that VAR should "only intervene when there is a clear/obvious error or a completely missed incident by the on-field referee," should use a "high threshold" for intervention on fouls and should "focus on match-changing situations" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/20).
Former Brazil int'l Romario said that he plans to run for president of the "scandal-plagued" Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) "on an anti-corruption platform." Romario, 51, now a senator who has led congressional investigations into corruption in Brazilian football, announced his intentions four days after CBF President Marco Polo del Nero was suspended for 90 days by FIFA. Del Nero is being investigated in Brazil for "alleged unethical conduct" (REUTERS, 12/19).
Players from Serie C sides Arezzo and Vicenza are "threatening strike action over unpaid wages." Modena was already excluded from Group B of Italian football's third tier after the club went bankrupt and failed to fulfill its fixtures. The Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) warned that Vicenza's players will strike for the game against Gubbio on Friday if they are not paid (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 12/20).
Hong Kong "escaped with a minimal fine" of $3,000 for fans booing the China national anthem at last month's Asian Cup qualifying match against Lebanon. In a statement issued by the Asian Football Confederation, the Hong Kong FA was ordered to pay the fine for violating article 65.1 of the disciplinary and ethics code (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 12/20).