UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said that the new Nations League competition will "give national team football a boost" when it gets underway next month. Ceferin: "Supporters realize that most friendlies fail to deliver competitive and meaningful football. The relationship between club and national team football needed rebalancing. That was the thinking behind the UEFA Nations League" (REUTERS, 8/23).
Anti-discrimination organization Kick It Out Founder Herman Ouseley said that homophobia in football is now "harder to tackle" than racism. Ouseley said that he "knew of Premier League players terrified of the potential cost of declaring their sexuality." Ouseley added that "we all have to work harder" before we will see an "openly gay top-flight footballer." He hopes next month's England-Switzerland friendly, "dedicated by the FA to the charity's 25th birthday," will help (TELEGRAPH, 8/22).
Sussex police "breached the Freedom of Information Act and have been issued with a decision notice" by the Information Commissioner's Office after failing to explain why they alleged EPL side Crystal Palace fans were armed with "knives and knuckle-dusters" at the Crystal Palace-Brighton game in November. The police apologized to both clubs and their supporters in December after Sussex Police Superintendent Simon Nelson suggested that incidents around the game represented "a return to the dark days of football" (London GUARDIAN, 8/22).
