The Spain jersey that will be used in the 2018 World Cup "has sparked controversy" after being linked to the country's Republican flag of the 1930s. The jersey has the colors red, yellow and blue, "but some say that from afar the blue appears to have the same purple tone of the Republican flag" used from '31-39. Apparel maker adidas said that there is "no political implications in the jersey, and that the design was agreed upon" with the Spanish Football Federation (AP, 11/7).
Fans in Germany want video assistant referee testing in the Bundesliga "to be
axed after the system's chief was replaced amid accusations of match-fixing." Germany and Italy are trialing the VAR this season as FIFA assesses "whether it will be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia." But the system "caused outrage" in Germany, and the Cologne center -- where all scenes are reviewed by assistant officials -- "is being blamed for unfair rulings" (
London DAILY MAIL, 11/7).
Italy was given an official warning by FIFA for delaying the kickoff in its match against Macedonia. It is the country's fourth transgression of the campaign (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 11/7).
Serie A side Atalanta was fined €20,000 ($23,171), "after shrapnel from a firecracker injured a photographer." The league found that fans "launched a firecracker over the dividing fence, the blast from which caused injury to a photographer due to shrapnel, without further injury" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 11/7).
