England Manager Roy Hodgson said that he will not "beg" the FA for a new contract after Euro 2016, according to the BBC. Hodgson's deal expires at the end of the tournament and FA Chair Greg Dyke has said that the 68-year-old will only stay on if England "do well" in France. Hodgson: "I'm prepared to carry on. It is different to wanting it. I'm prepared to carry on if the FA want me to." Hodgson's decision to make six changes for the Slovakia game has "also come under scrutiny, with reports suggesting it upset some in the FA hierarchy." But FA CEO Martin Glenn said that "neither he nor Dyke had any problems with the changes" for the Slovakia match and Hodgson had their "full support." Glenn said, "I actually don't know where these stories are coming from" (BBC, 6/26).
NO ROOM AT THE INN: The BBC reported fans "hoping to watch Wales" in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals have been warned accommodation in the host city Lille is "scarce" and "expensive." Hotels are "already busy because the game is being held on Friday," July 1 -- the day the centenary of the Battle of the Somme is commemorated in the area. The Football Supporters' Federation Cymru said that some hotels were charging up to €400 ($445) a room (BBC, 6/26).
HERO TO GOAT: The London GUARDIAN reported Icelandic football commentator Gudmundur Benediktsson has "gone from the high of delivering one of the most memorable passages of commentary at Euro 2016 to the low of losing his day job within four days." Benediktsson’s commentary as Iceland secured a last-minute winner against Austria "went viral as he screamed then appeared to suffer an emotional breakdown when Arnor Ingvi Traustason scored a barely believable goal with the last touch of the game." Soon after the match "Benediktsson returned to Iceland, where he works as the assistant manager of local side KR Reykjavik." Benediktsson and Manager Bjarni Gudjonsson Eggert have now left their posts after agreeing with Chair Kristinn Kjærnested that "performances have been unacceptable" (GUARDIAN, 6/26).
