VIENNA — FIFA would help fund a global agency to tackle corruption in sport, its president Gianni Infantino said Monday.
Creating a body like the World Anti-Doping Agency to address financial corruption, match-fixing and the influence of organized crime in sport has been talked about for more than a decade without a detailed proposal.
“We at FIFA are ready to invest in it,” Infantino said, suggesting “maybe the creation of such an agency would help make sport safe in the decades to come.”
As Infantino spoke at a United Nations event in Austria, the corruption trial was opening in Switzerland of three men, including Qatari soccer and television executive Nasser al-Khelaifi and former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke.
Their case arose from years-long American and Swiss investigations of suspected corruption in soccer that removed a generation of international leaders from office and helped lift Infantino to the FIFA presidency in 2016.
His funding pledge was made when signing a cooperation agreement between FIFA and the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime, which connects international officials and programs.
Speakers at the event included diplomats from Russia and Qatar, winners of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting votes in 2010 that FIFA later asked Swiss federal prosecutors to investigate.
No convictions have been secured in Switzerland, though criminal proceedings are also open against Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter and former UEFA President Michel Platini for alleged mismanagement of FIFA funds not directly linked to World Cup bidding. They were questioned in the past two weeks.
“Never again. Never again corruption in football,” said Infantino, who is himself under investigation in Switzerland over meetings he had with then-attorney general Michael Lauber.
Lauber left office two weeks ago after being disciplined for failing to declare a June 2017 meeting with Infantino where he took no notes and misleading a subsequent internal investigation.
PSG – Neymar news: Paris Saint-Germain says it “strongly supports” Neymar’s claim to being racially abused by a Marseille player during their feisty match on Sunday.
[ VIDEO: Brawl sees PSG finish with 8 men, Marseille with 9, in latest upset ]
PSG’s brief statement on Monday added it was looking forward to the LFP, the governing body of the top French leagues, investigating the facts behind a Ligue 1 match which featured 17 cards.
Neymar was one of five players sent off after an injury-time brawl including punching and kicking at Parc des Princes.
Teammates Leandro Paredes and Layvin Kurzawa, and Marseille’s Jordan Amavi and Dario Benedetto were also red-carded.
Neymar told officials as he went off he was racially abused. He went on social media regretting only that he didn’t punch Gonzalez in the face.
Sheffield United – Wolves: Two lightning-quick goals got Wolves’ season off to a fast start in a 2-0 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday.
Raul Jimenez scored in his 100th Wolves appearance and Romain Saiss scored within minutes as Wolves built a two-goal lead within six minutes.
Wolves produced the game’s best chances and were responsible for four of the match’s six shots on target.
1. It’s one game against a good defense but… it’s okay to wonder if Blades have the strike corps to deliver anywhere near the top half finish they produced in 2019-20. Blades’ 39 goals conceded last season was the fourth-fewest in the PL and masked over the fact that their finishing was bottom-third (tied with Brighton at 39).
Seventeen of those goals came from forwards: Oli McBurnie (6), Lys Mousset (6), Billy Sharp (3), and David McGoldrick (2). All are back but there’s a reason the Blades are sniffing around Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster. McBurnie was quite good, to be fair, getting involved in all sorts of mayhem and challenging every ball he could reach within reason. But it may be asking a lot for him to shoulder the burden of double-digit goals on this team.
2. Jimenez picks up where he left off: The Mexican star has been linked with many clubs all over Europe since exploding with Wolves, where he supplied 44 goals and 18 assists in his first 99 appearances for the club. No. 100 saw yet another goal thanks to some atypical backtracking from the Blades’ Enda Stevens, begging the question how any side loses sight of the El Tri hero.
3. Deeper Adama: Wolves’ Spanish menace Adama Traore was still electric, completing six of nine dribble attempts, but the forward-thinking man was decidedly a bit further back. Stationed behind Pedro Neto on the right, part of his positioning may have to do with Wolves going ahead 2-0 so early but keep an eye on him should he remain at the Molineux.
It’s between the goal scorers as is often the case. Saiss gets the nod for being impactful in his own end, as defenders are wont to do in soccer matches. Six clearances, two blocked shots, and an interception to go with 87 percent passing a goal and a struck post.
Wolves struck twice in the first six minutes, both goals coming from the heart of the box.
Raul Jimenez opened the scoring when he chopped a terrific Daniel Podence cross past Aaron Ramsdale.
Then the sixth minute saw Saiss rise above a sea of Blades and Wolves to plant a Pedro Neto corner kick beyond the reach of Ramsdale.
Blades then began to find some footing in the match, and brought some more fire out of the halftime locker room as Enda Stevens popped a left-footed shot over the bar from in-tight.
John Fleck smashed the far post in the 51st minute on a set-up from John Lundstram and George Baldock couldn’t put the rebound on frame through a sea of players.
A corner at the other end nearly gave Wolves their third but Saiss’ powerful header bounded wide of the far post.
Saiss’ solid day almost ended with an ugly injury when John Egan trod on the back of his foot in the box, but he was able to continue and saw Ramsdale push his shot off the bar before Jimenez slapped the rebound wide.
Saiss then cleared a McBurnie header off the line in the second minute of stoppage to prevent a nervy ending.
Brighton – Chelsea: Frank Lampard’s quest to return Chelsea to the top of the Premier League pecking order resumes on Monday (Watch live at 3:15 pm ET, online via Peacock) with a newly rebuilt squad after spending more than $250 million during the summer transfer window.
After finishing fourth in his first season managing at Stamford Bridge, it is perhaps a bridge too far to expect Lampard to mount a serious title challenge in 2020-21, but expectations are undoubtedly raised by the flurry of transfer activity. 21-year-old German midfielder Kei Havertz, the most expensive of the bunch at $82 million, is widely viewed as the crown jewel of the Blues’ summer haul and is expected to make his Chelsea debut from the start on Monday.
Brighton, on the other hand, will be looking to build upon a satisfactory — if uninspiring — first season under a new manager of their own, Graham Potter. The Seagulls finished 15th last season and avoided relegation by seven points. If they are to make any significant strides in their final placing this time around, Potters’ side will have to score many more goals. Neal Maupay scored 10 in his first PL season and Leandro Trossard chipped in with five of his own, but no one else managed more than three goals. Brighton’s 39 goals in 38 games was only good for fifth-fewest in the PL.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Brighton – Chelsea this Monday with team news, odds, stream link and more.
Star American winger Christian Pulisic misses out on Monday’s clash as he only recently returned the training following a hamstring injury in the FA Cup final. Elsewhere for the Blues, a pair of Germans — Timo Werner and Kai Havertz — have been selected for their Chelsea debuts after signing for a combined $150 million this summer.
Frank Lampard, on increased expectations: “I’m very aware that a club like Chelsea, even though we had a transfer ban, even though the year was difficult, expectations are going to go up hugely. And I just have to accept that as part of the job, and try and go about my job as well as I can. And then if I am having relationships, between managing up [to the board] or managing around me, I have to be as good as I can with those, because they’re really important.”
Graham Potter, on Chelsea’s title chances: “The intention is clear — they want to compete, they want to compete at the top. They had a really good season last year in terms of finishing fourth with an embargo, introducing young players, and still managing to get into a Champions League spot was really good. I am guessing for a club like Chelsea and for somebody like Frank, who has competed at the top for all of his career, that they are going to push on and try to compete for the title.”
Chelsea (-160) are overwhelming favorites with Brighton sitting at +400 for anyone thinking of taking the upset. Even the draw (+320) represents good value if a slow start for Chelsea is what you foresee.
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Brighton were a mid-table side when it came to their defensive record in 2019-20, so they’ll hardly be a walkover for Chelsea. Don’t be surprised if Chelsea are slow to hit their stride on Monday — or the first month or two of the season — and struggle to put all the pieces together. Brighton might just get something from this one, in a 1-1 draw.
Toronto FC has turned to Liverpool for its latest signing, as the Major League Soccer side has loaned Tony Gallacher from the Premier League outfit.
Gallacher, 21, is a left back who came to Liverpool with 17 senior appearances at Scottish Championship side Falkirk and has spent most of his time at Anfield with the U-23s in Premier League 2.
The loan runs through the end of the MLS season. Justin Morrow has run the left flank for a long time at TFC and injured left mid Richie Laryea started a handful of matches at the spot this summer. Center back Chris Mavinga has also seen time on the left.
Gallacher was one of the players who suited up for Liverpool against Aston Villa in the League Cup when Jurgen Klopp opted to bring his entire senior team to Club World Cup. He passed at 88 percent in that game and managed a shot on target in what is his only first team experience to date with the Reds.
Spurs have had a few players go on loan to MLS teams while Josh Sims went from Southampton to New York Red Bulls.
It would be interesting to see if MLS sides are viewed as good loan options over League One or Championship sides as PL clubs continue to consider their brands in the United States.
