Man of the week
Lord Sugar – warning Sky’s £4.17bn will go straight through football “like prune juice” and hurt the England team – 23 years after he urged them to pay more for the rights. Sugar told Sky, purchasers of his Amstrad dishes: “Bid £60m per season – blow ITV out of the water.”
Still finding a balance
Premier League head Richard Scudamore – last week “not uncomfortable” with clubs refusing to pay the living wage, but last month “really proud” of their co-funding of the PL Kicks scheme – extended in London to tackle “poverty, deprivation and a lack of self-esteem”. Scudamore: “The clubs have stepped up yet again to make a real difference to young people’s lives.”
Football family news
• Mixed week for: Sepp – passing Fifa’s in-house election candidate integrity check, part of Fifa’s transparency agenda; and facing allegations from Germany’s Der Spiegel that officials doctored a critical 2014 ethics report in his favour. Fifa deny wrongdoing.
• Good week for: Sepp’s nephew Philippe, head of Fifa’s first-choice marketing agency Infront – staying on as chief executive under the firm’s new Chinese owners. Wanda Group, who paid €1.05bn, say Infront are “best-positioned to actively support China’s bidding efforts for major sports events”.
Elsewhere: breaking down barriers
Seven-term Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou, 68 – looking to modernise CAF by dropping an out-dated rule obliging executives who reach 70 to step down. CAF say they are “bringing the policy into line with Fifa’s”.
PR news: most upbeat
• Alassane Ouattara – president of Ivory Coast, poverty rate 42.7% – signing off $3.4m bonuses for his Africa Cup of Nations winners, including a free house each – illustrating how “Ivory Coast is united once more. This is a lesson in rallying people together.”
• Less content with it all: Equatorial Guinea’s 34-year-term millionaire despot Teodoro Obiang, pinning the semi-final riots which hit his nation’s image on a “childish” element – “the enemies of progress and peace for the people of Equatorial Guinea”.
From the boardroom
Last week’s FA headlines:
• Belgium FA head Steven Martens resigning amid allegations of financial mismanagement, which he denies, after an audit revealed questionable contracts and a €206,000 deficit on revenue of €60m. “It’s been four fantastic years.”
• Italy FA president Carlo Tavecchio setting aside last year’s comments about black players being “banana eaters” by launching his new “Racists? An ugly race” campaign. Tavecchio: “We’re a dynamic federation – only through education can we keep our game healthy.”
Manager news: moving on last week
• 30 Jan: Barcelona B coach Eusebio Sacristan. “It’s great to know I have the president’s backing, to know we’re as one.” President Josep Maria Bartomeu: “He has our confidence. We’ve not even thought about sacking him.” 8 Feb: Thinks about it. 9 Feb: Sacks him.
• 28 Jan: Villa chief executive Tom Fox: “When things aren’t going well, fans bay for blood. But that’s not the way that I or the owner will make a decision. To put it all on the manager – that’s a bit of a false narrative” 11 Feb: Puts it all on the manager.
• 11 Feb: Cheltenham chairman Paul Baker on lazy journalism: “Yes I did meet with Paul [Buckle] but unfortunately the papers are less well-informed about the outcome of the meeting … It’s business as usual.” Buckle: “I have no concerns … the chairman told me to do what we can to avoid the drop. I’m crystal clear about the future … we have to get the team together, get some spirit and harmony around the group and get everyone on the up again.” 13 Feb: Leaves by mutual consent.
• 18 Jan: Recreativo Huelva president Pablo Comas calling for an end to the tension around coach José Luis Oltra. “Dismissal hasn’t entered our heads. Let’s all be calm, have some tranquillity, patience, confidence, and we’ll find a solution.” 10 Feb: Finds the solution.
Court case of the week
Chile: Prosecutors alleging a substitute at Alianza Patagual’s game against Alianza San Rafael reacted to a refereeing decision by “threatening the official with a revolver, then a shotgun”. Prosecutor Gabriela Fuenzalida alleged the player took his kit off and tried to hide among fans when police arrived. The case continues.
Best intervention
Colombia: Deportivo Cali coach Fernando “Freckles” Castro explaining why he ran down the touchline and threw a stretcher on to the pitch five minutes before the end of a tight 2-1 win. “I wasn’t time-wasting. My player was hurting bad and the Red Cross did nothing. Do you have to be dead these days to get a stretcher? I was there to help.”
Most gleaming
Diego Maradona: denying he had a facelift after press reported eye-bag removal and a skin peel, with a photo captioned: “Diego appears gleaming with his girlfriend, 30 years his junior”. “I had nothing done, I just got thin. I put the champagne back in the fridge.”
Plus: love news
Brazil: Model Amanda Pinheiro on the enduring need for class. “Many Wags desire fame, they take advantage and show off in the press, go out with anyone, and that’s up to them. I’m just more discerning. I do take delight in players’ bottoms – but I do nothing to lead them on.”
