Olympiakos manager Zico suggested there was a French refereeing conspiracy in his team’s 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday, complaining there shouldn’t have been a second goal. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is French and many of his players are from the country. The four match officials – referee Stephane Lannoy, assistants Eric Dansault and Laurent Ugo and fourth official Antony Gautier – are all from France.
FIFA says the United States’ World Cup qualifier against Honduras will take place in San Pedro Sula next month despite turmoil in the Central American country. FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said Tuesday following an executive committee meeting that the crisis in Honduras following the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 hasn’t caused safety concerns that jeopardize the match.
A rough soccer match that led to name-calling — including taunts of “little man” and disparaging remarks about one player’s turban — eventually resulted in the beating of a soccer dad who suffered five facial fractures and a broken nasal passage, an Edmonton court heard Tuesday.
Overshadowed by D.C. United’s second-half collapse and damaging loss Sunday was the controversial decision by referee Baldomero Toledo to stop play so quickly after goalkeeper Josh Wicks went down and then restart the match with a drop ball eight yards from the net.
The Premier Soccer League have lashed out at the violence that rocked Rufaro on Sunday moments after the derby clash between Dynamos and Lengthens and have threatened to hand a stiff penalty to DeMbare for the wild behavior of a section of their fans.
FIFA sees the lack of airport infrastructure as the biggest problem facing Brazil ahead of the 2014 World Cup. “The main concern in relation to Brazil is airports,” FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke told the O Globo newspaper ahead of the governing body’s executive meeting in Rio on Tuesday.
FIFA’s medical chief has watched the rise in career-ending fouls over the past two years. Now he wants referees to show more red cards and coaches to do their part in curbing violent play.
A black player was racially taunted by spectators at a Spanish second division soccer game between second-place Real Betis and leader Cartagena, according to the referee.
Soccer’s European governing body is investigating 40 cases of match-fixing involving Champions League and UEFA Cup matches. Peter Limacher, head of disciplinary services at UEFA, told The Associated Press on Friday that the cases involved early qualifying matches of clubs “mainly from eastern Europe” over the last four years.
IFK Goteborg goalkeeper Kim Christensen has been cleared to play for the Swedish league leader this weekend, three days after admitting he moved the posts to make the goal slightly smaller during a midweek game.