Sports
Fraud Office Probes World Cup Bid
The Serious Fraud Office has been urged to reconsider its decision not to investigate allegations of Fifa corruption during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.
Conservative MP Damian Collins made the call after media claims that former Fifa executive, Chuck Blazer recorded conversations with football officials at the London 2012 Olympics.
Russia would host the 2018 World Cup after England’s unsuccessful bid.
The 2022 World Cup would be in Qatar.
The SFO can investigate “cases which undermine UK commercial/financial PLC in general and the City of London in particular” and has been following bribery claims stemming from the December 2010 decision to award rights for the next two World Cups.
Fifa has already undertaken its own investigation into the corruption allegations, led by independent ethics investigator Michael Garcia.
American Blazer was a member of Fifa’s executive committee from 1996 to 2013.
On Sunday, the media alleged US FBI agents recruited Blazer by threatening him with arrest and prosecution for tax fraud if he failed to cooperate.
The media said Blazer was supplied with a modified keyring that contained a tiny microphone in order to secretly record conversations with leading football officials during a visit to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
“If there is evidence that Chuck Blazer held meetings during the Olympics, that would come under the jurisdiction of the SFO,” Collins told Tidesports source.
“I want to see if they would now be prepared to act.”
Fifa declined to comment about Blazer when contacted.
Tidesports source has seen a letter from the SFO to Collins, sent before the allegations about Blazer were published, which said the crime bureau was watching corruption allegations “with interest”.
The letter added that the SFO did not believe it had the right to launch its own inquiry.
SFO director David Green told Collins: “The allegations that have occurred so far are against non-UK nationals and the alleged conduct took place outside of the UK.”
That could now change if reports of Blazer recording officials in London are accurate.
Green’s letter adds: “I can… assure you that the SFO will continue to keep the jurisdictional position under review.”
Collins wrote to the SFO in September asking it to seek access to the report produced by Michael Garcia.
Garcia spent 18 months interviewing individuals from nations wanting to stage the 2018 and 2022 finals – and wants greater transparency from Fifa.
But Fifa president Sepp Blatter said Garcia’s full report will not be published because of legal issues.
The information that will be eventually be revealed is now in the hands of Hans-Joachim Eckert, a German judge tasked by Fifa with deciding if any individuals breached the organisation’s code of ethics.
He is due to make an interim statement later this month, which may include redacted sections of Garcia’s findings.
Collins is concerned that information relating to claims made by former chairman of the FA Lord Triesman concerning alleged corruption could be contained within Garcia’s files but will not be made public.
Lord Triesman made a series of allegations concerning his time involved with England’s 2018 bid in evidence to a House of Lords committee in 2011.
Furthermore, Collins asked the SFO to consider whether evidence of any additional wrongdoing, which might fall under its jurisdiction, could be revealed by obtaining access to Garcia’s report.
In light of the SFO’s response and Chuck Blazer’s alleged role as an FBI informant, Collins believes Fifa must now publish Garcia’s findings and inform the relevant law enforcement agencies.
“If Fifa is sitting on evidence relating to acts of bribery and corruption, then it is more than just a football matter,” Collins said.
“It is unthinkable they wouldn’t reveal what they have.
“There are people who are stopping evidence being made available. You’ll have to draw your own conclusions as to why that is.”
Basket ball players struggling for honour during a sports event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, recently
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has said that criticism that he and other players chased money by moving to Saudi Arabia is wide of the mark.
The 33-year-old left Chelsea for Al-Ahli in a £16m ($21.4m) deal in 2023, and in May the Africa Cup of Nations winner helped his Saudi club win the Asian Champions League, making him one of the few players to win both that competition and its European equivalent.
But, like many others, Mendy has been criticised for playing for money rather than prestige in the lucrative Saudi Pro League.
When asked about such criticism, Mendy told a Tidesports source, “Al-Ahli’s project came along and they made me feel I had a big role to play.
“Two years later, we won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. So yes, that validates my choice. And I hope the coming years will validate it even more.”
He added: “Some people will quickly jump to conclusions and say the only reason is money. From the start, I always said that when I left Chelsea, I knew I was joining another team where I could win everything , which was no longer the case at Chelsea.”
The Blues have since won the Conference League, Europe’s third-tier club competition, under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
But it comes after the regime’s trophyless first two years, a period which has frustrated some supporters after the success enjoyed under Roman Abramovich’s stewardship in the previous 19 years.
Mendy has also been celebrating what he describes as a historical win with Senegal against England at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, but days earlier he had been in Dakar delivering a different kind of win.
He is the sponsor of Yakaar, a school in Keur Massar, which seeks to improve funding and access to digital learning tools for local children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Famously, as Mendy grew up in France, he was unemployed, aged 22, while struggling to find a club, with members of his family still living on the outskirts of Dakar.
That is why Yakaar, a word meaning “hope”, was chosen, a word Mendy has carried with him in his career.
“Hope is what kept me going. When I was without a club, it was the hope of getting that first professional contract.
“Then the hope of playing for the national team. The hope of making my family proud by doing the job I had always dreamed of.
“Indeed, hope is the best word to describe my career.”
Mendy was also asked whether the responsibility of being an African goalkeeper had weighed heavily on him.
“Of course. When I was in England, there weren’t many African goalkeepers in top clubs,” he admitted.
“Whether nationally or internationally, I had that responsibility. It’s the same for other African goalkeepers like Andre Onana [Manchester United] or Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal).”
The entire refereeing committee has been fired by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), with structural reforms soon set to follow.
According to sources, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has dismissed the entire refereeing committee in response to mounting pressure from clubs demanding structural reform. A major shake-up aimed at modernising Spanish refereeing from top to bottom has now been set in motion.
Head of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), Luis Medina Cantalejo and Head of VAR, Carlos Clos Gomez, have been removed from their positions. They are joined by several senior officials, including Antonio Rubinos Perez and three vice presidents, who are also stepping down. A new leadership model will be introduced, led by a CEO and a sporting director, aiming to overhaul how refereeing is managed covering assessments, promotions, and daily operations. While the leadership changes are sweeping, the current pool of referees in La Liga and the second tier will remain, ensuring continuity on the field during the transition.
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new two-year contract with Al-Nassr that means he will stay with the Saudi Pro League club until beyond his 42nd birthday.
The Portugal captain, 40, joined the Riyadh-based team in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances, having criticised the club and said he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr deal had been due to expire at the end of June and there was speculation he could leave, but that has now been quashed.
In a post on X, Ronaldo wrote: “A new chapter begins. Same passion, same dream. Let’s make history together.”
Although Al-Nassr have not added to their nine domestic titles during Ronaldo’s time at the club, they have benefited from a flood of goals from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Ronaldo scored 35 times in 41 matches across all competitions last term and was the league’s top scorer for a second consecutive season.
He has managed 99 goals in appearances overall for Al-Nassr and is well on his way to reaching 1,000 senior goals in his career, with a current tally of 938 for club and country.
Having helped Portugal win the Uefa Nations League a little over two weeks ago, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Sporting and Juventus forward will almost certainly now be targeting a sixth World Cup appearance next summer.
Only a month ago, Ronaldo posted on social media to say “the chapter is over”.
That came after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al-Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.
The comment fuelled rumours that Ronaldo was ready to leave the league where he reportedly became the best-paid player in football history with an annual salary of £177m when he joined.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino raised the prospect of Ronaldo joining a team involved in the Club World Cup after Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the extended tournament which is being held in the United States.
Ronaldo said he had received offers from participating teams but had turned them down.
The decision to stay until at least 2027, which is certain to be highly lucrative, appears to rule out any future prospect of Ronaldo returning to play at the highest level in Europe.