La Liga President Javier TebasGETTY IMAGES
La Liga President Javier Tebas attacked a plan for new global tournaments as "totally irresponsible," saying that it would "decimate the football industry in countries around the world," according to Murad Ahmed of the FINANCIAL TIMES. FIFA is in talks with a consortium of int'l investors, including Japan’s SoftBank, which has promised $25B to expand the Club World Cup into a "24-strong tournament held every four years, as well as a new league contest for national teams." Tebas called on FIFA to "scrap the proposals despite the two biggest clubs in the country, Real Madrid and Barcelona, publicly supporting the plan." He said, "My obligation is to protect the football industry in Spain and these tournaments [would] really damage the football league and the football industry here. I’ve already said to Real Madrid and Barcelona in regard to this: there will be food now and hunger tomorrow" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/21). REUTERS' Shrivathsa Sridhar reported Tebas said that a bigger Club World Cup would mean the top clubs "will accumulate more wealth, thereby reducing the competitiveness of national leagues." He said, "This will cause a deconstructing of the national league. We already have this problem in Europe. We have to face it and find a solution because the Club World Cup will make it even worse" (REUTERS, 5/21).
A LATER DATE: In London, Massoudi & Ahmed reported FIFA delayed a vote on a $25B proposal to create two new global tournaments, "postponing a showdown" on a move that has polarized football clubs, leagues and federations around the world. FIFA informed its ruling council on Tuesday that it negotiated an extension to a deadline set by the int'l consortium of investors that tabled the proposal, sources said. The int'l governing body "will provide an update on the discussions at its next council meeting on June 10," the sources added (FT, 5/22).
CASE CLOSED: In London, Ed Malyon reported FIFA, in agreement with WADA, "closed its investigation into possible anti-doping rule violations by Russian footballers" selected in the 2018 World Cup squad after finding "insufficient evidence" to assert that players had broken rules. The investigation, sparked by findings in the McLaren reports, "involved the re-testing of samples, searches for scratch marks on samples and interviews with key witnesses." But FIFA "failed to find evidence of wrongdoing" (London INDEPENDENT, 5/22).
A HELPING HAND: REUTERS' Ivanova & Shurmina reported a Russian marketing agency "offered to help restaurants" in cities hosting the World Cup "use fake reviews to bump up ratings on review site TripAdvisor," the agency’s owner confirmed. Marketing company Bacon Agency said that it can "circumvent TripAdvisor’s algorithm for detecting fraudulent posts and publish reviews in foreign languages ahead of an influx of fans from abroad." For 35,000 rubles ($570), the agency "promises a spot in TripAdvisor’s top 10 list." The company said, "We are offering to help tourists find you, and to leave their money specifically with you" (REUTERS, 5/21).
