Embattled FIFA president Sepp Blatter can expect a grilling if he shows up for the latter stages of the under-20 World Cup in New Zealand after the nation’s soccer officials said they were keen to hold clear-the-air discussions with him.
New Zealand Football (NZF) voted against the 79-year-old’s bid for a fifth successive term as FIFA president last week in Zurich, Switzerland, reversing their position after the world governing body became embroiled in another corruption scandal.
A total of 14 FIFA officials and corporate executives have been charged by the US Department of Justice with running a criminal enterprise that involved more than US$150 million in bribes.
NZF were also disappointed the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), the smallest in FIFA with 11 South Pacific nations, had not been given direct entry to the next two World Cup tournaments, with the Oceania qualifier still having to undergo a playoff to reach the finals.
NZF and the OFC had high expectations Blatter would support direct entry, but FIFA’s executive committee decided the current qualification spots would remain the same.
“We are very disappointed at the decision,” NZF chief executive Andy Martin said in a statement yesterday. “I know OFC president David Chung will have similar feelings after all the hard work he has done on behalf of the entire Oceania region toward making direct entry to the World Cup a reality. We now look forward to the opportunity to meet with president Blatter on his intended visit to New Zealand later this month to discuss his plans and understand how we can play a role in that process”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
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Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB