Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson asked the police to investigate “whether any fraud has taken place” in Ross Barkley’s transfer from Everton to Chelsea. Anderson outlined his "remarkable concerns" in a letter to the FA and the Premier League. Barkley completed a £15M ($20.3M) move to Chelsea last week. There is "no evidence of wrongdoing by either party" and the FA ruled out opening an investigation (LONDON TIMES, 1/9).
Dabbing could "land one Saudi Arabian footballer in prison." Instead of high-fiving what appears to be his teammate in the technical area, the unidentified player for Saudi club Al Nojoom performed the move. The move was "met with anger by some social media users." Dabbing is considered to "have ties to drug culture and therefore has been made illegal by the authorities in the Sunni Muslim sovereign Arab state" (RT, 1/9).
Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen Manager Heiko Herrlich was fined €12,000 ($14,318) for his sideline dive during the club's match against Borussia Mönchengladbach in December. Following the final whistle, he apologized for his behavior but the German FA (DFB) "did not think that was enough" (ONE FOOTBALL, 1/9).
An inspection team is due to arrive in Cameroon on Thursday to "assess the country's preparations to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations." The visit was "originally due to take place last August but audit firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers withdrew at short notice without giving reasons why." Business management consultancy Roland Berger "stepped in as the independent assessors" (BBC, 1/9).
