Gift of the week
“I’m a strong believer in improving sporting facilities for young people … Building infrastructure that supports participation in sport is an important part of government’s responsibility to support a healthier and more active society” – George Osborne launching a new £8m fund for 3G pitches – enough to build 14 a year – two days before Birmingham council started consulting on plans to close 20 of its pitches, due to government cuts.
• Also reining it in: Knowsley council raising pitch hire fees for local clubs by 100% due to budget cuts – a move that follows Worcester council’s 45% rise, and Carmarthenshire floating a plan, since frozen, to increase pitch fees by 380% – plus 2,007% for cricket.
Also putting back
Fifa: committing to donate “all £1m generated from 2014 World Cup commercial public viewing fees” to their Football for Hope scheme for deprived parts of Brazil. The deal comes 12 months after Fifa spent £5.2m on their World Cup draw TV show, staged in a £1.7m temporary tent.
Other football family news
• Quote of the week: New Nigeria FA head Amaju Pinnick, happy after Fifa ratified his win despite allegations the vote was “illegal, violent and abusive”. Pinnick: “There is no victor, no vanquished. Ours is just one big, marvellous family and here, football is the winner.”
• Best philosophy: Frans Mbidi, elected unopposed as Namibia’s Fifa-endorsed FA president after delegates and his rival candidate walked out during the vote: “I have committed my entire life to football. Nobody can divorce me from this beautiful game.”
• Best haggling: Fifa whistleblower Phaedra Almajid telling France Football how talks unfolded after a Qatari official allegedly offered $1m to an African Fifa executive in 2010. “The [Fifa] gentleman replied, without even a glance at the Qatari: ‘Ah, a million dollars … How about a million and a half?’ The Qatari said he hoped they could count on his support, the man reassured him, and that was that.” Qatar deny wrongdoing.
• Cultural legacy news: Four months after Fifa left the country, Brazil’s Volleyball Confederation directors facing an inquiry over claims they paid friends and family £7.2m in suspect contracts – with money handed to firms “that perhaps don’t exist”. Officials deny wrongdoing.
Festive sackings
• 2 Dec, Cesena director Rino Foschi: “If a coach needs to be sacked we’ll do it, but if not, we won’t. This coach, Bisoli, is untouchable.” 8 Dec: Sacks him.
• 4 Dec, St Mirren manager Tommy Craig: “There’s no doubt at all [about the board’s support]. They’ve been very supportive and I just crack on with the job at hand. I talk to the guys on the board on a daily basis and nothing has ever changed.” 9 Dec: It changes.
• Plus: best exit – Slavoljub Muslin, reacting to his sacking by Russian club Amkar Perm: “It’s about time. Three weeks ago a director turned up and told me there’s no money, and if I want money I must sell my kidney. Disgusting. I’m tired of it. For me, the nightmare is over.”
Social media man of the week
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, 65, engaging with negative fans on Twitter, sending tweets including: “No one asked you to come on to the big kids’ playground. Go back to mummy;” and: “Your number of idiotic tweets, 55,778, and your number of followers, 1,308, gives a good idea of your reputation.” He told another vocal critic to go to bed; the boy, aged eight, hit back: “You’re not my father, you don’t set my bedtime.”
Owner of the week
Moldova: Vladimir Niculae, owner of top-flight FC Veris, reacting to “gross refereeing bias” by pulling his side out of the league. The FA cancelled their results and banned them from all football for three years; the club say Niculae “will address fans in due course”.
Most relaxed
Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb owner Zdravko Mamic weighing up the chances of being dragged into a major anti-corruption inquiry in Zagreb. “It’s possible they might try and arrest me but I’m ready. I’m always two steps ahead. I’m an infallible guy.”
Respect campaign
Romania: CS Mioveni coach Claudiu Niculescu, trying to stay cool: “What can I say about referees? I don’t know what the hell to say. If I say what I mean they’ll ban me, so I’ll say this: referees are tall, handsome, beautiful, elegant, and that’s it.” Plus: “I’m cursed by them, it’s a curse, why always me? It’s like a living nightmare.”
Row of the week
Brazil: Corinthians’ Emerson Sheik on model Veridiana Freitas. “She linked herself to me, she got what she wanted: a little fame. Give it 15 days and she’ll be no one again.” Veridiana: “How low can he go? He spends his time chasing Miss Bumbums and he questions my morals? I’d never attach myself to him for fame, I’ve had four years of fame, I’ve done Playboy. The lesson from all this: never get involved with a footballer, unless you like low behaviour.”
Plus: moving on
Brazil: Model Carol Muniz, 28, denying reports linking her to Atletico-PR midfielder Nathan, 18, after she posted a photo of him online captioned “This kid is a beast.” Muniz, ex-partner of FA president Marco Del Polo Nero, 74, told press: “He’s a child, 18 for God’s sake. It’d be totally inappropriate.”
