The Russian FA's decision to order Spartak Moscow to "play two games behind closed doors" will end up costing the team $1.4M. The ban was combined with a further $18,500 cash fine for "crowd trouble during a Russian Cup game at Shinnik Yaroslavl last week." The game was stopped for half an hour as "fans clashed with police and a Nazi flag was unfurled" (R-SPORT, 11/8). ... Thailand national football coach Victor Hermans has dismissed reports that the FA of Thailand "did not give the national team rewards for winning the Southeast Asian title." Thailand beat Australia in the final in Bangkok recently and "reports claimed each player" got 2,000 baht ($64) from the Dutch coach as bonus (BANGKOK POST, 11/10). ... Int'l players union FIFPro's Expert Group on Transfer Matters has instructed its legal department to draft a series of amendments "to be proposed to FIFA to change Article 17 of its regulations." Article 17 of the FIFA Rules and Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) deals "partly with the aim of guaranteeing the Respect of Contract." FIFPro's recommendations are "designed to harden this clause for players' rights." The Expert Group has decided that the "most pressing issues facing players is non-payment of wages and that there seems to be no progress in resolving disputes and that the football world shows little commitment to changing this" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/8).
