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Racism in the Game

Rio Ferdinand (England and Manchester United Defender) backed calls by the European Parliament for FIFA to grant officials the power to abandon matches if there is racist chanting from the stands.

Ferdinand, who is Black, also said officials should impose larger fines or deduct points to crack down on racism in the game.

FIFA handed out a $90,500 (Cdn) fine to the Spanish Football Association after Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright Phillips (England) were taunted by monkey noises during a game played in Santiago Bernabeau Stadium in England’s 1-0 loss in November, 2004. Ferdinand said the fines were “a joke”.

Brazil striker Ronaldinho, 2-time “World’s Best Soccer Player” has become a comic book hero in Brazil.. Ronaldinho Gaucho was developed by Maurice deSouza, nationally acclaimed comic book artist. The character, a boyish soccer player, was launched in Ronaldinho’s hometown of Porto Alegre. The only other soccer character created by deSouza is “Pelezinho“(Little Pele) based on Pele, the legendary Santos star.

Two members of Vietnam’s National team were arrested and charged with match fixing during the Southeast Asian Games held in December in the Philippines. Striker Pham Van Quyen and midfielder Le Quoc Vrong face charges of gambling and organized gambling. Five other players are under suspicion. Reportedly tens of thousands of U.S. dollars were exchanged in match=fixing against Malaysia and Myanmar. Vietnam beat Burma 1-0, Malaysia 2-1 in the semi finals but lost to Thailand 3-0 in the final. A player could face a lifetime ban if convicted.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he’s confident there will be no match fixing in the World Cup set to begin June 9th, because the fans would “murder any players involved”. Germany (World Cup host), Brazil and Italy have uncovered cases of match fixing in the past year. In Germany, referee Robert Holzer was sentenced to 29 months in jail in November and Brazil’s top court declared eleven top division games void in October after a referee admitted guilt. Blatter added that most offences occurred in soccer clubs and not in National teams.

Scandal Brewing in Brazil: The newspaper Veja claimed Brazilian championship games have been fixed in favor of Internet gambling. Under the blazing headlines “Dirty Game”, the report said referees have been arrested and that the scandal is the greatest ever seen in Brazilian soccer.

FC Barcelona’s Ronaldinho was voted World Player of the Year by his fellow pros. Ronaldinho was also voted FIFA player of the year in 2004.

The British government denied entry to five African teams which were to play in the Homeless World Cup Soccer Tournament in Edinburgh, Scotland. Teams from Kenya, Zambia, Burundi, Cameroon and Nigeria were denied visas because according to the Foreign Office, some players had indicated they wee too poor to pay their expenses while in Scotland and some failed to prove they intended to return home after the tournament. Organizers have accused the British government of hypocrisy.

Madrid bought out Robinho’s contract with Santos for a reported $35.5 million (Cdn) and signed him, believing they had ended the dissension between the player and his former team. Madrid officials said the contract fee would be paid to the Brazilian Soccer Confederation (CBF) initially and not to Santos. Robinho had missed three games since returning from the Confederation Cup and has been fined an undisclosed amount by Santos for every day he has refused to appear. He reportedly instructed his lawyers to take his case to Labor Court. He also said Santos President Marcelo Teixeira promised to release him last year for $31. million (Cdn), a fact Teixiera denies.

CBF states Robinho has a $50 million (US) clause in his contract, which runs through to 2008, and they will not allow Robinho’s transfer unless the entire buyout fee is paid. CBF also said FIFA may hand Robinho a four month suspension if he breaks his contract. CBF added that they cannot allow the transfer because the current request does not follow the requirements of the law. Santos president Marcelo Teixeira is trying to keep the player for at least one more season.

Edmonton's role in the 2007 World Youth championships will expand and Montreal can expect more matches. The changes are as a result of the York University (Toronto) stadium project being cancelled. The Toronto Argos were pegged to contribute $20 million and had agreed to cover any cost overruns. The 25,000 seat stadium was going to cost $70 million ($27 million from federal funds - $8 million provincial) but changes in the planned stadium design necessitated by the cash shortage caused by the Argos. decision to withdraw from the project and stay put at the former Sky Dome (now Roger's Centre) killed the project. Bob Lenarduzzi, Vice- Chairman of the committee behind Vancouver.s bid said that although losing the stadium in Toronto is "unfortunate, it won't impact the tournament". The Hamilton Tiger Cats have expressed interest and the CSA has reopened talks with Sherbrooke, Quebec. Sherbrooke had also expressed interest in a hosting role but joined with other Quebec cities is backing Montreal's bid.

Dmitry Piterman, President of the Spanish League’s Deportivo Alaves of Victoria has signed a letter of intent to operate a USL First Division franchise (expected to be in the San Francisco area). It will be the first time in USL history that a European Club will own and operate a USL franchise.

Oakland: One year after the San Jose Sharks left, the Bay Area is getting another team. MLS has signed a deal with the owners of baseball’s Oakland As to bring a team back to the area.

Canada’s Senior Men’s Team Loses Their Coach And Fires Their COO

Vancouver native Frank Yallop, 43, has resigned as coach of the National team to join the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS). Yallop took over the national team December 16, 2003 and led it to a 8-9-3 record but it was no secret that he was extremely disappointed when Canada failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Dale Mitchell, another Vancouver native, is reportedly a contender to replace Yallop. Mitchell is currently the head coach of Canada’s U-20 Men’s squad.

Yallop returns to the league where he began his coaching career as an Assistant with Tampa Bay in 1999 and became the head coach of the San José Sharks in 2001 leading them to MLS titles in 2001 and 2003. He was also named MLS Coach of the Year in 2001 and has the 3rd highest winning percentage (.595) in league history.

The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) fired its COO (Chief Operating Officer) Kevan Pipe who had led Canada’s soccer efforts for the last 20 years. CSA President Colin Linford said, the Association is looking for a new direction as they begin the search for Pipe’s replacement as well as a new coach and new Technical Director after the resignations of Yallop and Dick Bate. Canada has not qualified for the Men’s World Cup since 1986 and is currently ranked 71st between Lithuania and Venezuela. They are ranked 7th in the CONCACAF (North and South America and the Caribbean) region.

Controversy Continues with Women’s National Team

Three of Canada’s National team members have been left off the team and are threatening to sue. Captain Charmaine Hooper, Sharlota Nonen and Christine Latham were dropped on the eve of a World Cup Qualifying tournament in South Korea.

The Canadian Soccer Association reported the players were suspended for failing to play in a pair of exhibition games against China in August.

The players say the decision was made because they failed to commit soon enough to the residency program funded by Whitecaps owner Greg Kerfoot. The program would host national players in Vancouver while training for next year’s World Cup and the 2008 Olympics.

The three players said they feel pressured to play for the Whitecaps if they commit to the residency program -”It was strongly suggested you should move to Vancouver” said Hooper “If you are in Vancouver, you are going to be playing for the Whitecaps”, she added.

National team Coach Evan Pellerud countered Hooper’s statements saying the requirement for the program is only that the players be in Vancouver while training camps are being held.. Hooper played for the New Jersey Wildcats last year, Nonen and Latham are members of the Atlanta Silverhawks and all are currently based in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Burnaby’s Christine Sinclair , who says she agrees with the suspensions, has been named captain to replace the veteran Hooper. Sinclair said the three players let the team and country down by not competing in August against China.

Peace Queen Cup:

Canada topped Group A defeating Italy, South Korea and Brazil.. The championship match will be played November 4th between Canada and the U.S . Team USA topped Group B by defeating Australia and The Netherlands and tieing Denmark to advance to the Final.