Said amp; Done: Leeds, Marco Polo Del Nero, and western media bias
Quote of the week
Alexei Smertin, Russia 2018 antiracism Tsar, on more bad press over fan abuse of black players. Smertin, who revealed in 2015 how “when fans give bananas to black guys, it’s just for fun”, blamed “western media bias. Racism is rare here.”
• Also not buying it: Russian Premier League head of security Alexander Meitin– upset by “how it suits the western media to show us in a negative light … They never mention our fans’ kind acts, their trips to orphanages.” His view on bananas, as set out in 2012: fans who throw them are being generous. “Bananas are a nutritious fruit and a yellow fruit. They make everyone happy.”
Setback of the week
Indicted Brazil FA president Marco Polo Del Nero, 77 – banned for life for bribery eight months after he rebranded with a new tagline: “Integrity is my commitment”. His message in 2015 while suing Romário for alleging “vast shenanigans”: “I’m transparent. I do nothing under the table.”
• Among Del Nero’s strongest work in the past four years:
a) Ordering Chapecoense to fulfil their final league game in 2016, two days after the air crash that killed 19 players. Club president Ivan Tozzo: “I told him we don’t have 11 players left. He said: ‘Yes you do, reserves, injured players. Use them, make up the rest with kids.’”
And b) Allaying concerns in 2014 over his “personal credibility” by ending his relationship with 23-yearold Playboymodel Katherine Fonteneleand dating 28-year-old Sexy Magazinemodel Carol Muniz instead. Local press said the couple were brought together by “a shared delight in helicopters and yachts”. Muniz told cynics: “It’s all perfectly natural. People can call me a gold digger, but that’s just their ignorant prejudice. I ignore them. Even Jesus had his critics, huh?”
And making it better
Stepping up as Brazil’s new FA president-elect: Rogério Caboclo, winning the vote unopposed. Caboclo – Del Nero’s chief FA finance officer and ally since 2014 – says he’ll bring a fresh new era “founded on two pillars: efficiency and integrity”.
Meanwhile
Also new last week from the family:
a) Fifa’s PR team defending the 2026 bid processafter a week featuring an alleged internecine plot to discredit Morocco and @realDonaldTrump tweeting threats to voters. Fifa: “The World Cup bid process is fair, objective and transparent.”
b) Sepp Blatter, discussing his plans for the summer: “I’ll be at the opening match, if Vladimir invites me. Then two Fifa presidents will be present: Infantino and me. Because I am still president. I was never voted out, just suspended.”
And c) A textbook Fifa story arc: 2015: Senior Fifa executive Constant Omari joins the Fifa Reform Committee set up to combat fraud and embezzlement. 2018: Omari arrested in DR Congo in a $1m embezzlement probe. He denies wrongdoing.
Elsewhere: motive of the week
Andrea Radrizzani – explaining his decision to take Leeds on a tour of Myanmar funded by a bank implicated in ethnic cleansing in a region where he owns TV rights: “We simply want to do some good. We’ll share the famous values and ethos of Leeds United.”
Take of the week
Ken Bates,Monaco-based tax exile, upset by the FA selling Wembley to raise funds to cover public sector cuts at grassroots level. “They have no moral authority to sell it. How dare they?”
Best cost control
Premier League clubs – announcing a record £4.5bn2016-17 revenue figure this month, with a combined £500m pre-tax profit. 3: Number of those clubs accredited as Living Wage employers.
Manager news
Making changes this month: • Egypt: Zamalek president Mortada Mansour, making it 24 coaches since 2014 by hiring Christian Gross “to turn our form”. Mansour’s previous best effort to turn their form: hiring “sorcerers” in 2016. Coach Mido, sacked live on TV, said Mansour paid the men £600 a match, then ousted three players for being “bewitched”: “I have photos to prove it.”
• Spain, 24 Apr: Sevilla president José Castro, defending Vincenzo Montella. “Vincenzo feels strong, courageous, confident – and that same confidence is what the board has in him. This is our unanimous decision.” 28 Apr: Sacks him.
• Colombia, 15 Feb: Santa Fe president César Pastrana, explaining his relationship with coach Gregorio Pérez: “It’s nonsense to say we don’t get on – there’s no friction here. If we ever disagree I just get the red wine out and the problems go away. What a great man. What a great guy.” 14 Apr: Sacks him.
Loneliest battle
Turkey: Kayserispor’s Romanian coach Marius Sumudica, picking up his third ban this season for referee abuse. “They want respect, but where is the respect for me? I cannot go one centimetre out of my technical box without officials yelling at me. Show me respect. Is it so much to ask?”
Contrition of the week
Nigeria: Heartland FC, issuing a statement after fans put a referee in hospital. “This delightful game was marred by the attitude of the referee. He marred it right from the onset.”
Most got at
Argentina: Second-tier strugglers Santamarina, “feeling low” after their training ground was dug up in the night by “men seeking worms to sell to anglers … We thought nothing else bad could happen to us. We find this sad and lamentable.”
And save of the week
Argentina: Viajantes de Pergamino coach Luciano Susin, “grateful” to referee Dario Cid for saving his life with chest compressions. Susin, who had a cardiac arrest while abusing Cid about a disallowed goal, says Cid’s help was “welcome” but “it is clear that the ball crossed the line”. Cid told local media: “First I resurrected him, then I expelled him. I was doing my job.”