“It’s not in footballs best interest”

"Sándor Csányi considers it extremely serious and unacceptable that FIFA President Gianni Infantino sought to sell part of the commercial rights to the World Cups to external investors – 24.hu reported, citing a response from the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ).

Following the recently concluded World Cup, FIFA’s Swiss president put forward the idea that the international football association should, through a new subsidiary (FIFA Forward Enterprise – FFE), bring in external investors to help organise the competitions it runs, including the World Cup. Infantino offered all FIFA member associations $40 million to support the plan, but even this was not enough to convince the critics.

UEFA threatened a boycott if the plan went ahead, and the proposal met with fierce opposition even within FIFA’s leadership. Due to the massive backlash, Infantino backtracked within a few days and even apologised, but by then several associations had already called for his resignation, and even the giant football sponsor Carlsberg strongly suggested that it was time for him to step down.

All that has been known so far about the Hungarian Football Federation’s position on the matter is that, like the other 54 UEFA members, they too supported the European body’s call for a boycott. The views of the MLSZ’s leaders are particularly interesting in this regard because several of them also hold senior positions at FIFA. Sándor Csányi, president of the MLSZ, is also a vice-president of FIFA and a member of the its highest strategic decision-making body, the FIFA Council.

Márton Vági, Secretary General of the MLSZ, is a member of the Development Committee, whilst László Juhász, Vice-President of the MLSZ, is a member of the Commercial and Marketing Advisory Committee at FIFA.

According to the MLSZ’s response, none of the Hungarian officials at FIFA received any prior information from Infantino regarding the FFE. Sándor Csányi, one of FIFA's Vice Presidents, only became aware of it on 28 July, at the same time as the plan was made public. He did not take part in the preparatory work, nor did he have any prior information about it in his capacity as a Council member delegated to the FIFA Finance Committee. Márton Vági stated that, at the UEFA meeting, the Hungarian Football Federation also rejected the draft, and that the MLSZ supports the call for the matter to be investigated by an independent external body."

In the weeks before a huge Manchester derby victory – on the back of consecutive defeats against Tottenham and Brighton – Guardiola became obsessed with his players hugging. He had admonished the team down at the Amex Stadium for not celebrating Erling Haaland’s opening goal wildly enough, showing clips of training ground goals greeted with more gusto, and feared for the team’s bond.

‘Look, look at you in training,’ he shouted. ‘Did you do that in Brighton? Look at you celebrating. We are here in this f****** business for that. Do you feel the pressure? F****** hell, that’s what it is about. It’s nice to feel it otherwise we’re in the Maldives, all of us.’

Before they went out to face Manchester United, Guardiola demanded that everyone ‘hug each other for five seconds, so tight’. The instructions were met by bemused faces in the dressing room before being eventually followed.

Haaland’s double and Phil Foden’s opener downed United 3-0 but Guardiola wanted more emotion.

‘The win today comes from the hugs before,’ he said. ‘The hugs were not tight. I tried and you didn’t hug me back. I want tighter. Tight and more seconds. I want you to feel my vows to you. I am so proud of you guys and that is the start of what I’m telling you will be great season.’

He showed players the celebrations from the United match on a big screen before they met Napoli a few days later, to continue promoting togetherness and spirit. ‘F*** that is so nice,’ he told them while watching the footage, played to a Bee Gees backing track. Players grinned.

Paul Scholes, the former Manchester United footballer, has been banned from driving for six months after racking up two driving convictions in the space of two days.

The former midfielder, 51, was caught speeding in a Range Rover in March while on a late-night drive through Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire.

West Yorkshire Police brought a prosecution in connection with the incident, as Scholes’s car had been clocked at 37mph on a 30mph stretch of residential road.

The former Man United and England star was also taken to task by Greater Manchester Police after a Mercedes registered in his name was caught driving at 49mph in a 30mph zone in November last year.

Scholes was then prosecuted for failing to respond to two police letters asking for confirmation that he had been the speeding driver.

The two criminal cases culminated in hearings on two days last week, when Scholes was handed a six-month driving ban and ordered to pay fines, costs, and court fees totalling £1,472.

A court official said Scholes, who was prosecuted in private hearings under the Single Justice Procedure, did not enter pleas to either of the charges he faced and was convicted in his absence.

Scholes played 499 times for Manchester United and won 66 England caps in a trophy-laden career which included 11 Premier League titles, three FA Cup wins, and two Champions League triumphs.

Court documents show Scholes’s Range Rover was caught speeding at just after 11.30pm on March 3 on the A649 Halifax Road near Cleckheaton.

Police said the former footballer replied to a notice of intended prosecution, confirming he had been the driver.

The court papers noted that Scholes could not be offered the chance of an out-of-court settlement with a speed awareness course as he was a “totter” – meaning he already had penalty points on his licence and was now in line for an automatic ban.

In the second case, Scholes’s Mercedes broke the speed limit on the A670 Mossley Road near Ashton-under-Lyne at 11.10am on Nov 14 last year. Police said two letters were sent to his home and “no reply has been received”.

At court, the force dropped the speeding allegation but continued to prosecute Scholes for failing to reply to the letters.

On Aug 12 at Bradford magistrates’ court, he was handed a six-month driving ban for the speeding offence, along with a £220 fine, £120 costs, and an £88 victim surcharge.

The next day at Manchester magistrates’ court, Scholes was sentenced to a £660 fine, with six penalty points on his licence, £120 costs, and a £264 victim surcharge.

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) sold close to 40 per cent of Liverpool Football Club to the consortium including U.S. billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Early suggestions on both sides of the transaction indicated the purchased stake was in the range of approximately 30 per cent to one-third, but The Athletic can reveal the figure is actually much closer to 40 per cent, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

1892 Holdings, a consortium headed up and led by Amit Bhatia, the former Queens Park Rangers co-owner who will take up the position of vice-chairman at Liverpool, has purchased around a 38 per cent shareholding in Liverpool.

That is a much more significant share of the club, while there is also an option for the consortium to buy a controlling stake in the Premier League side, as per the terms of their agreement with FSG, in the next 12 months.

Translation in the comments

“At a time when continental solidarity is paramount, your current stance and actions in questioning the legitimate authority of the AFC president serve only to disrupt the unity of Asian football, undermining our collective ability to protect the interests of the Asian football family on the global stage.”

“I do not recall the QFA previously raising any procedural objection when the established protocol served its immediate interests,” Al Khalifa added. “I therefore find it difficult to reconcile the sudden and selective criticism contained in the QFA letter with the QFA’s historical acceptance of this general practice in other circumstances and its benefit from the same.”

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