Man of the week
Sepp Blatter – asked if relying on African football head Issa Hayatou’s backing to secure his Fifa re-election looks right, given Hayatou’s 2011 reprimand for taking kickbacks. “This is an absolutely disgusting declaration you are doing here. I reject it.”
• The other highlights from last week’s Caf general assembly in Cairo:
a) 68-year-old Hayatou removing the rule barring presidents aged over 70. Sepp backed Hayatou – who denied links to alleged Qatari bribes last year – to secure an eighth term: “You are unbreakable; a pillar of African football.”
b) Oil-rich Gabon winning the right to host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, with rival bid teams attacking an “embarrassing” lack of transparency in the voting.
c) And Egypt’s FA officials taking an unexpected stand against “moral corruption” at the event – walking out of the opening ceremony when a belly dancer appeared on stage. They came back when she finished. FA statement: “Board members were surprised by this at such an international event.” Performer Dina Talaat: “My agent told me they wanted me to perform. I don’t understand the fuss.”
Meanwhile: most relaxed
Also making news last week: Ghana FA executive George Afriyie – reacting to his arrest over claims he plotted to assassinate journalist and outspoken FA integrity critic Patrick Osei Agyemang. Afriyie said the claim, based on a tip-off from a taxi driver, was “false and a waste of time … How can somebody even think of something like this? Anyway, I call it a job hazard.”
Elsewhere: awkward timing of the week
3 Apr: Indonesia’s Super League unveils a three-year deal with its new title sponsor, Qatar National Bank. @QNBLeague: “Let’s take to the next level!” 10 Apr: QNB League suspended after two games over alleged widespread club corruption.
Proudest benefactors
The £2.86bn Glazer family: agreeing to pay full-time Manchester United staff the living wage. “Manchester United is fully supportive of this initiative and will be implementing it from 1 July, a year earlier than agreed.” The move excludes subcontractors.
• Last week’s other living wage news: Uefa’s average salary for its 483 employees reaching £97,000 – trailing behind Fifa’s £128,000 average for its 474 staff. Fifa’s individual executive pay remains undisclosed.
Anniversary of the week
Massimo Cellino - ending his first year at Leeds in exile in Miami. His day one pledge in April 2014: “Me, I sort out the fucking problems at Leeds. The fans, they’re tired of eating shit and shutting their mouths. The supporters here are lovable, passionate. They will enjoy this, I promise.”
• Also delivering: Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston, overseeing early relegation a year after telling fans: “I’ve always said stability is the most important thing, and I stand by that, even though we’ve had a few years of horrific instability. Stability is massively, massively important. As far as backing managers and bringing players in, that’s what we do. I think we do that well.”
Plus: best newcomer
12 Mar: New Wigan chairman David Sharpe, 23. “Malky’s a big part of what we are doing here. We made some brave, brave decisions together to take this club forward … It’s something Malky has done, and we are fully behind him.” 6 Apr: Sacks him.
• Looking ahead: Sharpe on how new manager Gary Caldwell will stay in charge, even if they go down. “That shows how much I believe in Gary. He’s got a free hit at it really … This is a long-term thing.”
Other manager news
France, Feb: Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot “loses serenity” with press questions about coach Jean-Luc Vasseur: “Let’s address this. He’s not going. In 2012-13 I stood by Hubert Fournier despite a dire run, despite a relegation risk, and in 11 years I’ve only ever fired one coach during a season, and that was an emergency. So, just stop this.” April: Sacks him.
Fine of the week
Italy: Bologna striker Daniele Cacia fined for telling agent Gianluca Fiorini via WhatsApp: “If you keep talking, I know where to find you and I’ll massacre you”; and: “Darling, perhaps you do not understand what situation you have put yourself in, a prick like yourself, but remember, I am Calabrian and Calabrians do not forget.” Cacia was fined for “acting in an unsporting manner”.
Staying out of trouble
Romania: Steaua owner Gigi Becali, spending his first week since being released from prison on holiday with monks at a monastery. “Monks are more important than any government a country could have.” Becali earned praise from former Romanian League president Dumitru Dragomir: “Gigi is changed, not the same. You can see it in his eyes. It’s like he’s related to God. He’s related to Jesus.”
Busy week for
Diego Maradona: playing in Colombia’s Match for Peace - “I want peace with all my heart”; and appearing on YouTube dancing with partner Rocio Oliva while singing a tribute to his former girlfriend Veronica Ojeda. Argentinian media reported: “Diego appears happy, more so than Rocio, as he sings: ‘You’re a bitch, you’re a liar, who abandoned me like a dog.’ Ojeda hit back: ‘I’m speechless.’”
Plus: love in the air
Argentina: Model Charlotte Caniggia, daughter of former Benfica striker Claudio, linked “with a move for Cristiano Ronaldo”, three years after she set out her policy on players, while aged 19. “I’m too young to know if I’ll marry a footballer. I don’t like Spaniards. I like Italians, Argentinians. But a man must dress well, that’s fundamental. For without that, and a Ferrari, there is nothing.”
• Charlotte’s advice in 2011 from her mother Mariana Nannis: stay flexible. “There are two reasons a woman selects a footballer: for love or for money. I, however, chose both. I have over 200 dresses that I never wear. One must keep up with fashion.”
