Football Shorts – The Brazilian Edition

41 South Korean Players Banned For Match-Fixing

The Korea Football Association banned 41 players for life after a match-fixing scandal rocked the country. It first erupted in 2011 and referred to games played the year before, and led the South Korean government to threaten to wind up the K-League if no action was taken by the KFA.

FIFA extended the player’s bans to a worldwide ban last week, but offered 21 of the players a reprieve as they turned themselves in during the voluntary reporting period and expressed “grave regret” about their involvement in match-fixing. Those players would need to agree to undergo a probationary period of two to five years if they accepted their second chances. FIFA said in a statement:

“The probation is voluntary, which means that the respective player has to inform the K-League that he wishes to return to football. At this point, the player then has to commit himself to one of a variety of community services related to football.

These services include the provision of coaching classes for local football clubs for youth and adult players, involvement in and support of football for those with disabilities, and the support of ongoing and future domestic anti-match-fixing activities.

The reinstatement of the respective player in football after the probation period will only be decided by the Korea Football Association (KFA).”

The hard-line stance on Korean football is a positive step in eradicating match-fixing. It’s been a problem for years in football, and almost every step taken to get rid of this blight on our game seems to fail. By simply banning anyone even remotely involved in it, maybe the players and clubs will think twice about getting involved.

Brazilian Prostitutes To Become Bilingual For The World Cup

You read that correctly. Prostitutes in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte are signing up in droves for free language classes in order to be ready for a barrage of foreign visitors during the 2014 World Cup. Cida Vieira, president of the Minas Gerais state Association of Prostitutes, told the media:

“When all this chatter about being ready for the World Cup started last year, we decided the women needed to be prepared for it too. This is important for the dignity of the work, the women need to be able to negotiate a fair price and defend themselves.”

In a crazy way, it makes perfect sense. God bless Brazil.

Brazil’s World Cup Winners Awarded A Bonus…50 Years Late

Seeing as we’re on the subject of Brazil, the 1958, 1962, and 1970 World Cup winning squads have been awarded a bonus and monthly pension by the Brazilian government as thanks for the role these squads played in the country’s development.

Brazil’s sports ministry said the 54 players or their survivors will be given a one-off bonus of 100,000 reais (£30,610) and will also qualify for a monthly stipend of 3,916 reais. Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said:

“I think that the Brazilian people recognise the debt we owe to these athletes. It is worth stressing that football back then did not offer the salaries and sponsorship deals they do today. The athletes were almost like artisans and the country cannot conceive that these people who lifted the name of the country are going through tough times.”

The move has caused a fair bit of controversy however, and radio host Atila Nunes has been one of the most outspoken opponents:

“This is a tremendous slap in the face to all those Brazilians who have worked their whole lives and don’t get that amount of money…if anyone should be assisting the old players it should be the Brazilian Football Confederation and not ordinary tax payers.”

Others have asked why only winners get the pension when other players who trained and played just as hard did not. And why only soccer? What about champions in other sports? One player is in agreement and actually rejected the money. 1970 winner Tostao said in his newspaper column:

At the time we were well rewarded for the title. World Cup winners who are going through difficulties should be helped by the government, through Social Security, just like any other citizen, and by the existing government entities that help ex-athletes. The CBF and clubs also have an obligation to help ex-players who need assistance.”

This Week’s Racism Row

…and as a football fan, I’m ashamed to have to write that sentence. FIFA have ordered both Bulgaria and Hungary to play their next home World Cup qualifiers behind closed doors after their fans were found guilty of racist and anti-Semitic behaviour in recent games.

A group of Bulgarian supporters racially abused Denmark substitute Patrick Mtiliga every time he touched the ball after coming on during the second half of their 2014 World Cup qualifier in Sofia in October while Hungary have been punished following anti-Semitic chanting by fans in a friendly at home to Israel in August. Quotes from FIFA on Bulgaria:

“During the Bulgaria match, fans were warned by the stadium announcer about their behaviour in the 73rd minute. Although the level of abuse subsided, audible racist abuse still continued until the final whistle.

“The disciplinary committee agreed that the offensive, denigratory and discriminatory actions of a small group of Bulgarian supporters, was shameful and a clear breach of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. In addition, the incendiary devices thrown, which can pose considerable threats to personal safety, are also not tolerated.”

FIFA said about Hungary’s case:

“The members of the FIFA disciplinary committee were unanimous in condemning an abhorrent episode of racism, anti-Semitism, and of political provocative and aggressive nature perpetrated by supporters of the Hungarian national team.”

Back to Brazil now, and Udinese defender Danilo has been sentenced to a year in jail for racist abuse after a trial in Brazil. The 28-year-old, recently linked with a move to Juventus, was caught by cameras when playing for Palmeiras in 2010 calling Atletico Paranense opponent Manoel a ‘monkey’ in his native Portuguese tongue, as well as spitting in the player’s face. Danilo is hopeful is the sentence will be reduced on appeal to a £100,000 fine so he can return to football.

Brondby Cut Wages By 25%

The Danish SuperLiga side have announced that wages at the Copenhagen club are to be cut by 25 per cent across the board. An initial 10 per cent wage cut is to be implemented immediately with a further 15 per cent coming in three months in order to try and keep the club in existence. Chief executive Tommy Hakansson said in a statement:

“We hope and believe that all employees will agree to this as it is the key to securing the short and long-term capital and liquidity and the continuation of the club.”

The once-great giants of Danish football have been in financial crisis since 2009, and it seems things are only getting worse for the Drengene Fra Vestegnen.

Addicted To Twitter

We all like to spend time on Twitter (@Manky365 by the way) but Marvin Sordell seems to have taken it a bit too far with the Bolton and England U21 star being given special help by his club over his addiction to the social networking site. After his move from Watford last year, Sordell has struggled with life in Bolton (wouldn’t we all) and manager Dougie Freedman is worried he is being distracted by Twitter.

“It has been quite a move for him and he’s not quite settled. There have been small issues off the field with his tweeting, let’s not hide, and we’re trying to deal with it.”

Sordell has faced issues on Twitter before, leading to a 13-year-old fan being banned from attending Millwall matches after racially abusing the player via the website. That led to a group of Millwall fans being arrested for holding up a banner reading “Sordell is a ****” during Bolton’s trip to The New Den in November. Freedman insists that Sordell can shake off his off-field problems and make the most of his talent.

“He’s never had a problem on the field. He works very hard at training, he’s fit, and against Premier League opposition I thought he did reasonably well. We have just got to get him settled down and help him with some of the off-the-field antics.”

Bayern Munich Fine Players For Wearing The Wrong Socks

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos have been punished for wearing white socks instead of the approved black socks used by the entire squad during a training session at a winter camp in Qatar. Bild reported that club captain Philipp Lahm was instructed to determine the size of the fine and to collect the money from the pair. Head coach Jupp Heynckes was quoted as saying:

“We have a common goal. We need discipline. It starts with everyone wearing the same socks.”