German Chancellor ANGELA MERKEL "has been dragged into the tax evasion scandal" surrounding Bayern Munich President ULI HOENEß. Having expressed her personal disappointment at Hoeneß, the opposition parties in Germany "are using the high profile case to accuse Merkel of shielding tax dodgers and football's highly paid tax dodgers in particular" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 4/24). ... Former int'l opener SALIM PERVEZ, a key figure in a Pakistan match-fixing inquiry, "died after suffering fatal injuries in a road accident." Pervez, 65, told a match-fixing inquiry conducted by judge MALIK MOHAMMAD QAYYUM in the late 1990s that "he acted as a middleman between some Pakistani players and bookies" (AFP, 4/24). ... La Liga club Atletico Madrid is reportedly on the verge of adding Singapore billionaire PETER LIM to its list of shareholders (FOOTBALL ESPANA, 4/24).
ON THE WAY OUT: Indonesia's PIETER RUMAROPEN, who punched a referee in the face during a Super League match over the weekend, "was banned for life" by the country's football association (PSSI) on Wednesday. The PSSI disciplinary committee "arrived at the decision after watching video footage of the incident and going through the match referee's report" (REUTERS, 4/24). ... Russian Premier League side Spartak Moscow coach VALERY KARPIN "was handed a three-game ban on Wednesday for confronting the referee in Sunday's heated derby against bitter city rivals CSKA." The Russian FA's disciplinary committee also fined Karpin 100,000 roubles ($3,200) "after he charged on to the pitch and had to be restrained by security staff" in front of referee SERGEI KARASEV (REUTERS, 4/24).
WELCOME WAGON: The Australian basketball team has appointed former assistant coach ANDREJ LEMANIS as the new head coach. The 44-year-old assisted former head coach BRETT BROWN at the 2010 world championships and 2012 London Games (XINHUA, 4/24). ... Boxer LUKE CAMPBELL, who won the bantamweight Gold Medal at the London Games, "will make his professional debut at an outdoor show in his home city of Hull" on July 6 or 13 after signing with Promoter EDDIE HEARN. The bout "will either be at the KC Stadium or at Craven Park, home of Hull Kingston Rovers, depending on plans to relay the pitch at the former" (LONDON TIMES, 4/24).
