| Red Bulls Clinch a Playoff Spot The Red Bulls clinched a berth in the M.L.S. playoffs and moved into first place in the Eastern Conference when they beat the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night. feeds.nytimes.com |
England v Montenegro: Kevin Davies in squad for European Championship qualifier Fabio Capello calls up Bolton striker Kevin Davies for England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro. telegraph.co.uk |
Fifa widens net in bribery investigation • Bidding nations face potential suspension• New questions are raised over processFifa has widened its investigation into bribery allegations against two members of its executive committee to include the potential suspension of one or more bidding nations involved in the race to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.Following a day of crisis meetings at its Zurich HQ involving the president, Sepp Blatter, and the secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, Fifa attempted to wrest back the initiative in the wake of damaging allegations that Nigeria's Amos Adamu and the Oceania representative, Reynald Temarii, had offered effectively to sell their votes.Adamu has declined to comment. "I'm confident about my integrity but I made a mistake by talking in that way," Temarii said. "I asked the Fifa president to investigate. I gave him a letter. It's important for me that the ethics committee investigates how I manage my relations with bidders."But the claims have prompted a host of questions about the transparency of the bidding process and the likelihood of corruption. Fifa has asked Claudio Sulser, chairman of its ethics committee, to "act without delay to take all possible steps, including the possibility of provisional measures" against the pair and Fifa officials who are also implicated.The ethics committee will meet on Wednesday and could also suspend one or more bidding nations. "Fifa also confirms that the alleged agreements between member associations would also be a clear violation of the bid registration document and the code of ethics. Therefore, an investigation has also been opened into the member associations in question as well as their bid committees," it said.The allegations in question are believed to refer to persistent rumours of vote trading between bidders for 2018 and 2022. Given the way the process has been designed, with both tournaments being awarded on 2 December, some believe alliances are inevitable.However, Valcke, who sits on the executive committee alongside the 24 members but does not have a vote, said last month: "We will send reminders on the rules and conduct via our ethics committee. There are a lot of rumours around 2018-22 but I think we are monitoring efficiently what is done by the nine bidders, and we will also inform our executive committee members again at our next meeting in October about such rumours on vote-sharing and their responsibility."England are bidding for 2018 against Russia, Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium; the 2022 tournament hosts will be from Australia, USA, Qatar, Japan and South Korea.Mohammed Bin Hammam, the Qatari president of the Asian Football Confederation, appeared to suggest last month that vote trading was inevitable. "I will be naturally looking to the interests of Qatar because that is the bid for me. All the bidders are telling me: 'OK, if you vote for me I will vote for you.' That must not be surprising to anybody," he said. The England bid is not believed to be implicated. Those on the England 2018 team hope that the imperative to clean up the process, which could play well for their bid, will outweigh lingering concerns about the potentially negative impact on voters that the prospect of intense scrutiny from the British media could provoke.Fifa's executive committee meets next week in Zurich. The scheduled meeting of the ethics committee Wednesday will discuss whether to suspend Adamu and Temarii after examining the evidence from the Sunday Times investigation.Fifa's rulebook says its officials must refuse "any gifts or other advantages that are offered, promised or sent to them" and are forbidden from "urging or inciting" people to offer bribes "to gain an advantage for themselves or third parties".The Sunday Times filmed Adamu apparently agreeing that $800,000 for artificial pitches should be paid directly to him and Temarii, from Tahiti, appeared to tell the undercover reporters that funding for a football academy could be "helpful" in securing his vote.Adamu, along with the other three African voters, had been heavily targeted by all the bidders because it is the one continent without a country bidding to host either tournament. As such, the votes are seen as disproportionately important.FifaFootball politicsWorld Cup 2018Owen Gibsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Wayne Rooney's future: all smiles before injury at Manchester United training In pics: Wayne Rooney injured in training ahead of Bursaspor clash. telegraph.co.uk |
Ten-man Blackburn holds Sunderland Blackburn held on for a 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Monday in the Premier League despite having captain Christopher Samba sent off in the first half. cbc.ca |