Russia and Qatar may lose World Cups `if bribery found`: FIFA official

June 8, 2015

Zurich, Jun 8: Russia and Qatar could lose the right to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups if evidence is found of corruption in the bidding process, a FIFA official was quoted as saying on Sunday.

fifaThe comments by the head of FIFA`s auditing and compliance committee came as bribery claims mounted against disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, the man at the heart of the scandal engulfing football`s world body.

"If evidence exists that Qatar and Russia received the (World Cup) awards only thanks to bribes, then the awards could be annulled," Domenico Scala told the Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung.

He said however that "this evidence has not been provided" so far.

His comments are the first by a senior FIFA official to even open up the possibility of either Russia or Qatar being stripped of the the right to host the football extravaganza.

Swiss judicial authorities are already probing the awarding of the World Cups to Russia and Qatar as part of a far-reaching corruption scandal that has also raised questions about the 2010 event in South Africa.

Around 14 current or former FIFA officials and sports marketing executives are also accused by US prosecutors of taking part in a sweeping kickbacks scheme going back 20 years involving a total of $150 million in bribes.

The revelations have thrown the world of football into turmoil and led to the resignation of long serving FIFA president Sepp Blatter last week, just four days after his reelection for a fifth successive term.

Although Blatter has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing, allegations are swirling around his one-time right-hand man Warner.

Accusations surfaced on Sunday that Warner sought a $7 million bribe from Egypt for votes in the bidding process for the 2010 World Cup and that he pocketed a $10 million payment from South Africa -- the eventual host.

Warner was arrested on May 29 at the request of US authorities and is currently free on $400,000 bail pending a decision in his extradition case.

The 72-year-old former schoolteacher and Trinidadian justice minister has denied all the allegations against him.

The BBC claimed he personally used the $10 million payment to FIFA in 2008 which South Africa says was intended for football development for the African diaspora in the Caribbean, where Warner was the longtime football baron.

The BBC, citing documents it has seen, said Warner laundered the money through a supermarket chain, made cash withdrawals, paid off his credit cards and took personal loans.

In three transactions in 2008, funds totalling $10 million were moved from FIFA`s bank into an account of Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) which was controlled by Warner, then its president.

According to a 2007 email published on Sunday by South Africa`s Sunday Times, Blatter and then South African president Thabo Mbeki discussed the $10 million.

The email came from FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, who has previously said "I have nothing to blame myself for" over the payment.

In another allegation, Egyptian former sports minister Aley Eddine Helal said Warner asked Egypt in 2004 for a $7-million bribe in exchange for seven votes to host the 2010 Cup.

"Warner was the one who approached us from FIFA. He said he could guarantee us seven votes... He asked for one million dollars for each vote," claimed Helal, who on Thursday told an Egyptian TV channel that Warner`s offer had been rebuffed.

Egypt, one of the countries dominating African football, received no votes in the 2004 FIFA ballot.Trinidad`s Sports Minister Brent Sancho, a former international footballer, said he was appalled by the latest revelations against Warner.

"He must face justice, he must answer all of these questions," said Sancho, who played in all three of Trinidad`s matches at the 2006 World Cup finals.

"I`m devastated because a lot of that money should have been back in football, back in the development of children playing the sport," Sancho told the BBC, describing the revelations as a "travesty".

Warner -- still a powerful member of parliament in Trinidad and Tobago -- has taken out paid advertisements in the Trinidadian media, published articles in local newspapers and held rallies with his Independent Liberal Party to defend himself.

FIFA has also been rocked by testimony from disgraced former North American football supremo Chuck Blazer that he and other FIFA executives agreed to accept bribes during bidding for both the 2010 Cup and the 1998 event hosted by France.

Blazer`s testimony -- released last week -- is a key plank in the US probe against FIFA, which federal prosecutors are pursuing as a "Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organisation."

South Africa on Sunday "categorically" denied it paid bribes to secure the football extravaganza -- the first in Africa and one of Blatter`s main pledges when he took over as FIFA president in 1998.

The former chief of France`s 1998 World Cup organising committee last week also denied any "irregularities" over their bid.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Jun 2: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has spoken strongly against the killing if George Floyd in USA, and has now urged the ICC & all the other boards in the world to come together and fight the evil.

In a series of tweets Sammy wrote how the blacks have been suffering for a long time.

“For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter,” Sammy wrote.

He also wrote, “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

“Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.”

Earlier, West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle has said racism exists in cricket too, saying he gets the 'end of the stick' even within teams.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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News Network
February 12,2020

Mount Maunganui, Feb 12: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday berated his bowlers for their mediocre performance as he tried to explain the team's first ODI series whitewash in over three decades, saying that the visitors lacked composure all through.

The five-wicket defeat here meant that India lost the series 0-3 to an injury-plagued New Zealand that had been deflated by a 0-5 whitewash of its own in the T20 format just last week. It was India's first whitewash in 31 years in an ODI series in which all matches have been played.

"The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. It boils down to those chances that we didn't grab. I don't think it was not enough to win games in international cricket," Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

"With the ball, we were not able to make breakthroughs, we were not at all good on the field. We haven't played so badly but when you don't grab those chances, you don't deserve to win," he added.

"Batsmen coming back from tough situations was a positive sign for us, but the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn't enough to win games," he asserted.

The ineffectiveness of Indian bowlers can be gauged from the fact that the team's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah finished the series without a wicket and the attack couldn't dismiss the complete rival line-up even once.

Kohli lauded New Zealand for bouncing back after the T20 hammering.

"New Zealand played with lot more intensity. We didn't deserve to win because we did not show enough composure," he said.

The batting mainstay is looking forward to the Test series, which begins on February 21, to make amends for the disappointment.

"I think because of the Test Championship, every match has that more importance. We have a really balanced Test team and we feel we can win the series here, but we need to step on to the park with the right kind of mindset," he said.

His opposite number Kane Williamson, who missed the first two games due to injury, was lavish in his praise for the home team's grit.

"An outstanding performance, very clinical. India put us under pressure, but the way the guys fought back with the ball and kept them to a par total. The cricket in the second half was outstanding to see," he said referring to the side's effortless chase of a 297-run target.

"We know how good they (India) are at all formats but for us the clarity about the roles the guys had was the most important thing. Outstanding effort against a brilliant India side," he added.

Player of the Match Henry Nicholls, who scored 80 on Tuesday, said his team benefitted from good batting starts during the series.

"To come back and win 3-0 after the T20Is is nice. The way (Martin) Guptill played today allowed us to get ahead. We got a 100-run stand, but we were fortunate enough to get good starts this series," he said.

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