Greece provoked fresh concern from European soccer’s governing body UEFA on Wednesday over governmental interference, which could lead to the Euro 2004 winners’ international suspension.
UEFA secretary-general Gianni Infantino made plain his unease over proposed amendments to a draft bill to curb violence in domestic sport in a letter to the Greek Football Federation.
“We are very surprised to learn that some new changes seem to have been submitted today to the Greek parliament,” Infantino told federation president Georgios Gkirtzikis.
World soccer body FIFA and UEFA disagree with Greek Minister of Sports Stavros Kontonis’ bill amendments focusing on the right of the government to intervene and the extent of the jurisdiction of the federation especially in terms of international sports authorities.
Infantino said that “any deviation from the joint FIFA/UEFA proposals might be considered as contravening the principle according to which all FIFA and UEFA member associations have to manage their affairs independently and without the influence of any third parties.”
The Greek parliament debated the bill on Wednesday, with a vote expected yesterday.
Under the new legislation, the government would have the right to impose fines ranging from 10,000 euros to 25 million euros (US$11,400 to US$28.4 million) for violent incidents, to order the postponement or cancellation of sporting events and even to prohibit teams from playing in European competitions.
The legislation also includes the possibility of fines to be imposed on media outlets for showing or inciting violence and prison for individuals from unrecognized supporters’ clubs for issuing tickets.
It also sets out guidelines on the use of cameras and electronic ticketing, while referees will be required to submit financial statements of their wealth to authorities.
“We would like to inform you [Gkirtzikis] that it is absolutely crucial for both FIFA and UEFA that all amendments as proposed by FIFA and UEFA in the letter sent on May 2 to the Greek Sports Minister and as explained to the latter during the meeting held on May 4 in Geneva are duly taken into account, which means without making any amendments to the wording of these proposals,” Infantino said.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
Taiwan yesterday defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ farm team 5-1 in their final warm-up game ahead of their World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool C opener. Taiwan’s bullpen used an unconventional rotation, with a different pitcher throwing each inning for the first seven innings. Together, they combined for eight strikeouts while allowing only four hits. The lone run surrendered came in the bottom of the eighth inning after a pitcher from Japan’s independent league took the mound. The pitching strategy was designed to preserve the arms of the Taiwanese ahead of their game against Australia at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow morning. Taiwanese-American Stuart Fairchild
RSS