Scottish Premiership side Celtic has not "given up hope" of the Scottish FA agreeing to a judicial inquiry which would "examine fully the roles played by the game's ruling bodies before, during and after the financial implosion of Rangers" in '12. Celtic reportedly believes that "more stringent rules, checks and balances ought to be in place in order to restore confidence in the SFA while simultaneously ensuring that Rangers or any other club are not allowed to run up such unsustainable debts" (LONDON TIMES, 9/7).
South Africa looks "set to launch an appeal against a FIFA decision" to order a replay of last November's World Cup qualifier against Senegal after the referee was found to have "manipulated the result." FIFA on Wednesday ordered the game, which South Africa won 2-1 in Polokwane, to be played again this November after referee Joseph Lamptey "lost his last bid to overturn a life ban." He was sanctioned in March after it was found he "contrived to engineer that South Africa won the game" (REUTERS, 9/7).
Spanish Superior Sports Council (CSD) President José Ramón Lete said that the "best thing" for Spanish sport, and football in particular, is for Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Ángel María Villar to resign "as soon as possible" so that no censure motion is required. The board of the RFEF "has called for Villar's resignation over his alleged involvement in a corruption scheme" (EFE, 9/7).
The French Professional Football League (LFP) stood up for Paris St. Germain and "strongly" criticized the "insulting words" of La Liga President Javier Tebas toward the club and Neymar. The LFP said, "These words are not worthy of an institution as respectable and effective as the Spanish league" (ESPN.com, 9/7).
FIFA opened a disciplinary case against the German FA (DFB) "after fans chanted Nazi slogans during a World Cup qualifying game in the Czech Republic." German officials said that the fans did not buy tickets through its official process for last Friday's game in Prague. FIFA said that "several incidents" are under investigation and a case is also open against the Czech federation. Home teams are "responsible for security at their stadium" (AP, 9/6).
Oceania Football Confederation President David Chung is "under increasing pressure from football stakeholders" in Papua New Guinea, "where a breakaway group of top clubs is running its own league" and development programs "already with greater numbers and participation" than Chung's FIFA-backed organization. Chung is accused of "rigging his re-election to the Papua New Guinea FA presidency" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 9/7).
Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj "slammed claims that the Iran-Syria game was fixed." He said, "Syria has always been a strong rival for Iran football team. Our players did their best in the match against Syria but we conceded a late equalizer. There was no match-fixing." Rumors of a possible match-fixing conspiracy began before the game and "stem largely from the close political ties between Iran and Syria" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 9/7).
