I'm hitting pause on the A-League and going on the Euro football holiday I've always dreamed of
At the time this column usually goes live next Monday morning, I’ll be in the stands at Selhurst Park watching Crystal Palace take on…
Football’s ruling body FIFA has dismissed conspiracy theories around the 2014 World Cup draw, saying there was no manipulation at last week’s event in Brazil.
“These rumours are totally unfounded,” FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer said on Tuesday.
There was speculation after Friday’s draw that Argentina was not placed by chance in group F, along with Iran, Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Argentine reports said reporters were told ahead of the draw in which group Lionel Messi’s team would be, and the team’s World Cup base camp was set up before the draw in Belo Horizonte, where they will play against Iran.
Twitter posts allegedly accurately predicting the composition of group F added to conspiracy theories, so did allegedly FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, for opening the balls containing the team names not fully visible behind his lectern.
But FIFA said “all the preparations for the draw were monitored and validated by three representatives of Ernst and Young”, and that seven cameras were constantly focused on Valcke during the draw, with the show’s TV director deciding on the spot which camera angle was shown.
Click here for the full draw of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
At the time this column usually goes live next Monday morning, I’ll be in the stands at Selhurst Park watching Crystal Palace take on…
And just like that, another A-League regular season (sans one game) is in the books and we look ahead to the finals. Let's recap…
Salah was dropped from the starting side for the visit to London - and the striker was involved in a furious confrontation with Klopp…
Liverpool have fallen further out of contention for the Premier League title - but that's perhaps the least of Jurgen Klopp's problems. Just as…
Liverpool have reached a verbal agreement with Feyenoord for their head coach Arne Slot to succeed Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.…
The past 18-24 months have been an enjoyable ride for Arsenal and their fan-base after almost a decade of turbulence. Mikel Arteta has been…