Tag: FIFA

  • The official ball & song to be launched in Istanbul

    The official ball & song to be launched in Istanbul

    The officiall ball and song launch for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 will be held on Saturday, 23 February in İstanbul. The famous shopping mall of Istanbul, named Istinye Park, will host the launch, starting from 14:00 CET, and also open to all visitors.

    2015658_FULL-LND

    TRT, the national broadcaster of the tournament, will broadcast the launch live.

    At the first time, the official song of the cup, Yıldızlar Buradan Yükseliyor, which means ‘Stars are Rising From There’ in Turkish, will be presented to the public live from the group Gece, who are the Sony Music partners that is the official sponsor of FIFA.

    Furthermore, the officall ball for the tournament, which has been produced by adidas, the official sponsor of FIFA, will also be launched.

    On the launch day, people can buy the opening match tickets, which will be in Kayseri, three groups matches of Turkey, which will be in Trabzon and Rize, and the final game of the cup, which will be in Ali Sami Yen Arena, Istanbul, from the Biletix ticket boxes in the shopping mall.

    World-record trial

    The freestyle footballers, Jeremy Lynch and Bill Wingrove, will perform at the launch, trying to break their own world record in ‘on the sole while balancing on the back of a person’.

    During the launch, there will be a panel also about the FIFA U-20 World Cup with the participation of the famous people from the sporting, TV and media world.

    via The official ball & song to be launched in Istanbul – FIFA.com.

  • Race Row: Blatter Urged To Quit As Fifa Boss

    Race Row: Blatter Urged To Quit As Fifa Boss

    BlatterFifa president Sepp Blatter is facing calls to step down after he said racist incidents in football matches could be settled with a handshake at the end of the game.

    Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers’ Association, told Sky News the comments were “disgraceful”.

    “He has presided over a lot of issues that just haven’t been good enough,” he said. “If he’s going to be the leader of world football then I’m not going to be a follower.

    “I believe you can be kicked about, of course you have banter, but when that becomes racist, when that is prefaced with the colour of your skin, it is not acceptable.”

    Les Ferdinand – the older cousin of footballing brothers Anton and Rio – told Sky Sports News it was “about time we stopped hearing from him (Blatter)”.

    Asked if he believed the head of world football should now go, he said: “I certainly do.

    “Like a lot of these people, they don’t understand racism. It’s never happened to them so they’re making comments on a subject they know nothing about.”

    In two interviews, Mr Blatter appeared to make light of racial abuse between players during matches.

    “There is no racism. There is maybe one of the players towards another, he has a word or a gesture which is not the correct one, but also the one who is affected by that, he should say that this is a game,” he said.

    “We are in a game, and at the end of the game we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination.”

    He later issued a statement on Fifa’s website claiming he had been “misunderstood”.

    Mr Blatter said: “What I wanted to express is that, as football players, during a match, you have ‘battles’ with your opponents, and sometimes things are done which are wrong.

    “Having said that, I want to stress again that I do not want to diminish the dimension of the problem of racism in society and in sport.

    “I am committed to fighting this plague and kicking it out of football.”

    The comments came as the FA charged Liverpool player Luis Suarez with racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.

    The FA is also investigating claims that England captain John Terry racially abused QPR player Anton Ferdinand. Terry denies the allegation.

    Anton’s brother, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand described Mr Blatter’s comments as “condescending” in remarks posted on Twitter.

    He tweeted: “If fans shout racist chants but shake our hands is that OK?

    “I feel stupid for thinking that football was taking a leading role against racism…..it seems it was just on mute for a while.”

    The England player was also critical of Fifa’s attempts to clarify Mr Blatter’s comments with a statement on their website underneath a picture of the Fifa president with South African minister Tokyo Sexwale.

    Mr Ferdinand wrote: “Fifa clear up the blatter comments with a pic of him posing with a black man…I need the hand covering eyes symbol!!”

     

    Shaking hands doesn’t resonate with the zero-tolerance approach we encourage and certainly wouldn’t resonate with the victim of the abuse.

    Anti-racism campaign Kick It Out

    The Fifa boss replied directly to the footballer saying: “The ‘black man’ as you call him has a name: Tokyo Sexwale. He has done tremendous work against racism and apartheid in Africa.”

    The remarks have received widespread condemnation in the British media but little attention in newspapers elsewhere in Europe.

    The FA-backed anti-racism groupKick It Out was scathing about Mr Blatter’s remarks, accusing the Fifa president of being “worryingly out of touch”.

    It said: “Shaking hands doesn’t resonate with the zero-tolerance approach we encourage and certainly wouldn’t resonate with the victim of the abuse.”

    Mr Blatter recently won a fourth term as Fifa president, despite allegations of corruption among delegates.

    Times sports writer Matthew Syed told Sky News: “It’s an astonishing intervention from Blatter.

    “He has a track record of coming out with very ill-judged comments, we’ve seen it before with women’s clothing in football, gay rights in Qatar.

    “And this is a really characteristic gaffe by somebody who many people who support football around the world cannot understand is in the position that he is.”

    Ladbrokes have now slashed the odds of Mr Blatter being out of his current job by the New Year to 2/1.

    Sky

    Ferdinand terry

  • Fenerbahce at center of Turkish match-fixing probe

    Fenerbahce at center of Turkish match-fixing probe

    (CNN) — The president of Turkish football champions Fenerbahce has been arrested as part of a nationwide investigation into match-fixing.

    Fenerbahce's Alex De Souza celebrates after scoring against the club's Istanbul rivals Besiktas in February
    Fenerbahce's Alex De Souza celebrates after scoring against the club's Istanbul rivals Besiktas in February

    Aziz Yildirim was among three club presidents to be detained during a raid on 12 provinces which began on Sunday and concluded on Monday, according to the Anatolia News Agency.

    Fenerbahce vice-president Sekip Mosturoglu and the club’s new signings Sezer Ozturk and Emmanuel Emenike were also taken into custody, along with more than 50 others including former player and current staff member Cemil Turan.

    “Club president Aziz Yildirim was detained in a probe into match-fixing allegations in the Turkish football league,” read a statement on the Fenerbahce website.

    Fenerbahce Sports Club has never been and will never be engaged in any unlawful and illegal activity

    –Fenerbahce club statement

    “We would like to stress our trust in our legal system once again, wishing that the truth will come on as soon as possible. Everyone should know that Fenerbahce Sports Club has never been and will never be engaged in any unlawful and illegal activity. We are proud of our clean and victorious past.”

    FIFA to meet with Interpol in match-fixing investigation

    Yildirim, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, was taken to hospital for tests after falling ill on Monday before being returned to police custody, the Hurriyet Daily News website reported.

    Turkey’s ruling party, the AKP, said the arrests were part of its battle against criminal organizations.

    “This shows that Turkey is quickly moving toward becoming a real state of law,” Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.

    Also detained in the operation were Sivasspor’s president Mecnun Odyakmaz, Giresunspor president Omer Ulku and former president Olgun Peker, Diyarbakirspor’s former president Abdurrahman Yakut and Mersin Idmanyurdu vice-president Besir Acar.

    Fenerbahce won a record 18th league championship last season on goal difference from Trabzonspor after both teams finished on 82 points.

    The club’s win over Sivasspor in the final week is among the matches being investigated, as well as the game against Eskisehirspor.

    Last month the Turkish football federation handed out lifetime bans to 11 people after finding that 17 domestic games were manipulated between 2008 and 2010, while another 23 were suspended for between six months and three years.

    via Fenerbahce at center of Turkish match-fixing probe – CNN.com.