A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Long looking to avenge Villa defeat
WEST BROM striker Shane Long wants to avenge one of his biggest disappointments in football by winning at Aston Villa in tomorrow’s derby.
Long was playing for Reading two seasons ago when he scored twice to give them a shock 2-0 half-time lead against Villa in a home FA Cup quarter-final.
But Long’s dreams of playing at Wembley in the semi-finals were shattered when Villa hit back to win 4-2.
Long said: “Getting relegated with Reading was a bad day but that Villa cup defeat was up there as one of the biggest disappointments of my career.
“If Reading had won, it would have been the first time they had got to the cup semi-finals.
“At half-time, we were told to go back out and see out the first 15 minutes of the second half at 2-0.
“Within 10 minutes, we were 3-2 down.”
Fifa warn against court actions
FOOTBALL WOULD be “in danger” if other clubs or teams followed the example of Sion and took their grievances to civil courts, the game’s governing body Fifa said yesterday.
Fifas executive committee passed a resolution calling on all members to respect the statute which bans them from taking soccer-related cases to the civil court.
“The structure of organised football is in danger if clubs and players do not respect the statutes of Fifa, the confederations and the associations,” said the resolution.
“Organised football of Fifa would no longer be possible if every club or player went to a local court when they disagreed with decisions which became final and binding.”
Sion were kicked out of the Europa League by Uefa for fielding ineligible players in a play-off tie but later won an injunction at a civil court in Switzerland ordering their reinstatement.
Pearce to coach Team GB
STUART PEARCE insisted he has total control over who he selects for the Team GB Olympic football side at London 2012 after being appointed as the head coach.
Pearce ideally wants a team of players from all the home nations even though the Scottish, Welsh and Irish football associations are all officially opposed to a Britain team as a concept, fearing it could jeopardise their independence with Fifa.
Smoking banned at Euro stadiums
SMOKING WILL be completely banned at stadiums during Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, Uefa said yesterday. “Uefa . . . will enforce a complete ban on the use, sale or promotion of tobacco in all stadia involved in Uefa Euro 2012,” said European soccer’s governing body in a statement. “The regulation will apply without exception to all spaces within stadia perimeters, both indoors and outdoors.”
Uefa said the policy had been drawn up with the World Health Organisation, World Heart Federation and the European Healthy Stadia Network.
“A tobacco-free Euro 2012 is about respecting the health of our spectators and everyone else involved in the tournament,” said Uefa president Michel Platini.
“We uphold the highest standards of health, safety and comfort at our flagship tournament, and tobacco does not fit within them.”
Six clubs for women's league
THE BUS Éireann Womens National League will commence on Sunday, November 13th. The six clubs who have been invited to compete in the league are this seasons Uefa Womens Champions League participants Peamount United, Castlebar Celtic FC, Cork Women’s FC, Raheny United, Shamrock Rovers and Wexford Youths Women’s AFC.
The winner of the league qualifies to the 2012/13 Uefa Women’s Champions League. This season’s final will be played on Thursday, May 17th, 2012 in Munich. The Republic of Ireland has become the latest country in Europe to launch a national women’s football league, with Uefa’s support. Speaking at the launch yesterday, Steffi Jones, of Uefa said: “Starting a national league is an essential step for women’s football development in the Republic of Ireland. Playing in club competitions is the gateway to A-team football and ensures a stable future for women’s football, as well as an incentive for girls around the country.”
Rio de Janeiro to stage World Cup final in 2014
RIO DE Janeiro will stage the 2014 World Cup final with Sao Paulo hosting the tournament’s opening match featuring Brazil, world soccer’s governing body Fifa announced yesterday.
The semi-finals were awarded to Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo, which has only just started work on its stadium and was omitted from the 2013 Confederations Cup warm-up event. The match schedule for the event, which begins on June 12th, could involve a lot of travelling for squads and fans after organisers decided against basing teams in one or two venues.
“The teams will travel around the country so that not just the biggest cities get the best teams,” said Ricardo Teixeira, head of the local organising committee.
The kick-off times for the group stage of the tournament are (local time, there are three different time zones in Brazil) 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm. The quarter-finals will be at 1pm and 5pm, the semi-finals at 5pm and the third-place play-off also at 5pm.
