Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron was suspended after "being caught kicking out at" Nantes player Diego Carlos and then sending him off following an "apparently accidental collision" between the pair during Sunday's game with Paris St. Germain. Chapron "aimed a kick at the Nantes defender while on the floor after the pair accidentally collided in added time." Chapron was due to referee Wednesday's Ligue 1 match between Angers and Troyes, but will now sit out "until further notice," a Referees' Technical Directorate (DTA) statement said (PA, 1/15).
Serie A side Genoa Chair Enrico Preziosi revealed Juventus, Torino, Fiorentina and Sassuolo are "
against"
Claudio Lotito as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). There are four candidates to replace Carlo Tavecchio as head of the FIGC. They are Damiano Tommasi, Gabriele Gravina, Cosimo Sibilia and Lotito. Preziosi said, "Serie A needs to be leading the way and Lotito, for all his conflicts, cannot avoid looking after its needs" (
FOOTBALL ITALIA, 1/14).
Serie A coaches and referees on Monday agreed not to change the video assistant referee system "despite a number of controversial decisions." Sources said that it was agreed that work should be done to "perfect" the VAR (ANSA, 1/15).
Spanish Superior Sports Council (CSD) President José Ramón Lete said of the conflict within the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), "There are two options, either elections at the assembly or a naming by the current assembly. In 15 days, there will be a solution" (MARCA, 1/15).
As part of the contract Neymar signed with Barcelona in '13, club President Josep Maria Bartomeu reportedly guaranteed the player earnings of €100M over a five-year period. The deal was signed on May 6, according to a report published in El Confidencial (MARCA, 1/15).
