FIFA Orders Enforcement of Ejections
In a move intended to “protect the authority of the referee,” FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, mandated Tuesday that any player ejected from a match must immediately serve a minimum one-game suspension in the same competition and does not have the right of appeal.
The rule, already in place but inconsistently enforced, will take effect worldwide once FIFA notifies its 204 member nations.
Players can still appeal longer suspensions, but the one-game ban imposed for a red card or two yellow cards is automatic. The only way it can be avoided is if the referee afterward admits a case of mistaken identity or concedes that he made an incorrect decision.
“We have to protect the authority of the referee, which is the foundation stone of the game,” Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president, said in Zurich, Switzerland.
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FIFA Must Pay
Because FIFA could not properly organize the printing and distribution of tickets to this year’s World Cup in South Korea and Japan, it will compensate Japanese organizers financially for the extra $4 million in costs they incurred.
“We have accepted FIFA’s offer for an apology payment,” Hisao Shuto, an organizing committee spokesman, said in Tokyo.
Contrary to Blatter’s promise of “transparency” in FIFA financial dealings, Shuto said FIFA had requested that the compensation amount not be disclosed.
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Sanchez Drops Out
Hugo Sanchez, former Real Madrid and Mexico World Cup striker, withdrew his bid to become Mexico’s next national team coach, saying the time was not right and that he wanted to concentrate on his position as coach of UNAM in the Mexican league.
Sanchez’s surprise withdrawal leaves three candidates under consideration: Argentine coaches Ricardo Volpe and Carlos Bianchi and Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari.
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Coliseum Games
Four Mexican league clubs will play in a double-header at the Coliseum tonight as part of pre-qualifying for the 2003 Copa Libertadores. Cruz Azul will play Morelia at 6 p.m. and Toluca will play Pachuca at 8.
The Galaxy, which has a 7:30 p.m. Major League Soccer playoff game against the Kansas City Wizards at the Rose Bowl, did not protest the double-header because the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy, reportedly is an investor in the pre-Copa Libertadores event.
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Romario Benched
Brazilian striker Romario, a 1994 World Cup winner, was benched for a game for “ungentlemanly conduct.” He slapped Fluminense teammate Andrei in the face for making a defensive mistake in a 6-0 loss to Sao Paulo in a Brazilian league game.
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Tunisia Gets Lemerre
Roger Lemerre, who was fired as France’s coach after the defending world champion was ousted in the first round of the Korea/Japan World Cup, was named coach of Tunisia’s national team.
Reports from Tunis said Lemerre had accepted a salary of $21,700 a month on a contract that will run through the 2004 African Nations Cup finals, which Tunisia will host.
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Italian Clubs Shine
Three goals by Filippo Inzaghi after a solitary strike by Clarence Seedorf earned AC Milan a comprehensive 4-0 victory on the road over Deportivo La Coruna of Spain, and Juventus won by an even larger margin--5-0 at home in Turin over Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine--as the two Italian clubs continued their strong start in European Champions League play.
Manchester United and Barcelona also remained unbeaten after impressive road victories. Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored twice as Manchester United defeated last season’s runner-up, Bayer Leverkusen, 2-1, in Germany, and goals by Patrick Kluivert and Luis Enrique earned Barcelona a 2-0 win over Galatasaray in Turkey.
