Russian prosecutors reveal plot to disrupt WC
MOSCOW, April 17, (Agencies): Russia’s chief prosecutor says law enforcement agencies have thwarted an alleged plot by right-wing soccer fans to derail events at the World Cup.
Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika’s report to the upper house of parliament says the suspected organizers — described only as “extremists” — envisaged engaging members of the radical soccer fan group T.O.Y.S. to disrupt World Cup events in the city of Samara on the Volga River.
Chaika’s report released by the Tass news agency on Tuesday didn’t elaborate on the actions the perpetrators planned to take.
The radical nationalist group was outlawed by a Russian court last year on charges of fomenting extremist sentiments. Known for its hard-line nationalist views and conflicts with other fan groups, T.O.Y.S. is a faction of fans of the second-tier club Krylya Sovetov Samara.
Local media reported last year that a leader of T.O.Y.S., Evgeny Gavrilov, was given a suspended prison sentence and banned from attending football games after being accused of propagandizing far-right ideology. Members of the group reportedly have also been accused of attacking migrants. Samara is one of 11 host cities for the June 14July 15 tournament and will host six games, including a quarter-final.
Russia, Colombia, Senegal and Australia are among the teams due to play there in the group stage.
FIFA charged World Cup host Russia with fan racism on Tuesday, less than two months before the tournament begins.
Monkey chants were aimed at black French players, including Paul Pogba, during France’s 3-1 friendly win over Russia in St Petersburg last month.
“Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Russian Football Union for this incident,” FIFA said.
The RFU said it is cooperating with the FIFA investigation.
“A request has been made to the Interior Ministry to identify several persons who were involved in these incidents,” RFU antidiscrimination officer Alexei Smertin was quoted as saying Monday by the Tass news agency. “If these people’s guilt is proven, then there’s a high likelihood they won’t be allowed to attend World Cup and Russian league games.”
Russia was previously charged with racist behavior by its fans at the last two European Championships. On both occasions, the RFU paid a fine.
Pogba
Andy Carroll’s last-gasp equaliser spared Joe Hart’s blushes after the West Ham goalkeeper made a costly blunder in Monday’s dramatic 1-1 draw against Stoke.
Stoke substitute Peter Crouch poked home from closerange after Hart made a hash of holding onto Xherdan Shaqiri’s soft shot with just 11 minutes left at the London Stadium.
The former Liverpool striker’s first goal since November put relegation-threatened Stoke within touching distance of their first win in 10 games.
But Carroll came off the bench to rescue West Ham with a superb volley in the 90th minute.
It was a bitter blow for Paul Lambert’s Stoke, who remain second bottom of the Premier League.
Stoke are five points from safety with only four games left to avoid slipping into the Championship.
Champions League semifinalists Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Roma and Liverpool plus English powers Manchester City and Manchester United were among the European giants named Tuesday to the sixth International Champions Cup.
The 18-team, 27-match tournament kicks off less than a week after the conclusion of the World Cup in Russia during pre-season workouts for every club and primarily in the United States with other matches in Singapore, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Italy and Spain.
England’s six powerhouse clubs — Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and the Manchester clubs — will take part.
A highlight will be a Champions League quarter-final rematch between Pep Guardiola’s City and Liverpool on July 25 at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
A call from the video assistant referee (VAR) to award a penalty during the half-time break in a Bundesliga match has sparked more controversy in Germany.
Mainz’s 2-0 home win against Freiburg on Monday night became controversial after the players were ordered to return from their dressing rooms for the penalty to be taken. “It was very strange, we were already sitting in the dressing room. We couldn’t believe it at first,” said Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow.
The VAR system will be used at a World Cup finals for the first time in Russia this June.
However, the incident in Mainz is just the latest in a series of controversial scenarios which VAR has caused this season in Germany, where the system is being trialled.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is ready to drop established players for the FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday after the Old Trafford club’s weekend defeat by Premier League bottom side West Bromwich Albion.
United suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to West Brom on Sunday, handing the title to Manchester City, and Mourinho said his team were the “masters of complication”. They next visit Bournemouth on Wednesday before facing Spurs at Wembley.
Asked if he would rotate his players for the midweek league game on the south coast, Mourinho indicated that some of those who played against West Brom would feature again at Bournemouth because they had lost their place for the semifinal.
Relegation-troubled Cologne has signed Markus Anfang as coach for next season, when the club will most likely be playing in Germany’s second division.
Cologne, which is last in the Bundesliga with four rounds remaining, says the 43-year-old Anfang, a native of the city, will switch from Holstein Kiel along with assistant Tom Cichon for the 2018-19 season. Both signed three-year deals.
Anfang, a former midfielder, played for Fortuna Duesseldorf, Kaiserslautern, Duisburg and Schalke, before he started his coaching career with Kiel in September 2016. He led Kiel to promotion from the third division in his first season, and the side is well placed to earn another promotion to the Bundesliga this year.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport says FIFA was right to let Manchester City sign teenager Benjamin Garre from Argentine club Velez Sarsfield.
CAS says its judging panel dismissed Velez’s appeal against a FIFA ruling that cleared City of wrongdoing. The court will publish the reasoned verdict on Friday.
Velez complained to FIFA in 2016 that City broke rules preventing trafficking of minors by signing Garre after he turned 16.
The English Premier League champion said it could register Garre with the English Football Association and FIFA because of his Italian passport. FIFA respects European Union laws allowing free movement of 16- and 17-yearolds.
Top leagues across Europe are opposed to FIFA’s expansion plans for the 2022 World Cup and future editions of the Club World Cup, the European Leagues president Lars-Christer Olsson has said.
FIFA plans to expand the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 for the 2026 tournament but the global governing body’s president Gianni Infantino has said he was open to introducing the proposal at the 2022 finals in Qatar.
The European Leagues, an umbrella group for 32 professional leagues and associations from 25 European countries, is against the proposed expansion, which would add extra days and matches to the event.