Webb loses appeal against FIFA fine
Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder David Silva (left) vies with Stoke City’s US defender Geoff Cameron (center) and Stoke City’s Austrian defender Moritz Bauer (right) during the English Premier League football match between Stoke City and Manchester City at the Bet365 Stadium in Stoke- on-Trent, central England. with which Guardiola’s team was moving the ball around, it was hard to see a way back for Paul Lambert’s men.
Yet the next meaningful attack came from the struggling hosts and might have resulted in an unlikely equalizer.
Xherdan Shaqiri, with the ball on the by-line, pushed it through the legs of fullback Oleksandr Zinchenko and cut it back to the edge of the area for Badou Ndiaye for a corner.
It was a rare positive moment for Stoke and one that was short- lived with City soon pressing for a second goal.
After 26 minutes, an exquisite Kevin De Bruyne cross appeared to have set up Silva for a chance only for the Spaniard to miskick six yards out, with Fernandinho sending the rebound over.
Jack Butland was forced to beat De Bruyne to a weak back-pass from Bruno Martins Indi, Jesus just missed connecting with a freekick close to goal and, as the half closed, Butland saved well from Fernandinho before Leroy Sane volleyed wide.
Even when City goalkeeper serious action of the evening, it was from his own player, as Kyle Walker intercepted Butland’s long clearance with a deflection the Brazilian was forced to tip over his crossbar.
By the time Silva claimed his, and City’s, second goal from the the home side.
This effort was as pleasing on the eye as the first, after Fernandinho won the ball and played in Silva who exchanged perfect passes with Jesus.
It was left for Silva to finish, over the body of Butland as the goalkeeper rushed out, capping a performance that was all the more remarkable given the Spaniard has recently been returning to his homeland on a regular basis to spend time with his new- born son.
Former CONCACAF chief Jeffrey Webb lost a partial appeal against his punishment for involvement in the FIFA corruption scandal on Monday ( Tuesday in Manila).
Webb, who was CONCACAF president for three years from May 2012, was banned for life and fined one million Swiss francs ($1.056 million, 856,000 euros) by the FIFA adjudicatory chamber in September 2016 for offenses including “conflict of interest” and “corruption”.
Ex-FIFA vice president Webb, 53, appealed against the fine but world football’s governing body announced on Monday that his appeal had been rejected.
He was arrested in Zurich in 2015 and extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty in an American court to charges including fraud, money-laundering and racketeering and agreed to forfeit $6.7 million (5.4 million euros).
Webb, who was president of the Cayman Islands FA at the age of just 26 and became the youngest ever football confederation boss when he took over at CONCACAF, is still to be sentenced in the U.S.