United in potential Champions
League reprieve after FIFA threaten Swiss FA
17 December 2011
FIFA's threat to suspend
Switzerland from world football if its national association does not discipline
FC Sion could hand Manchester United a Champions League reprieve.
If the suspension took effect,
Swiss champion FC Basle would be prevented from playing Bayern Munich in the
Champions League round of 16 in February.
Basle advanced ahead of Manchester
United, who would logically be reinstated by UEFA.
Switzerland's Football
Association has a further incentive to meet FIFA's demand - it is scheduled to
host Lionel Messi and Argentina in a February 29 friendly in Bern.
Swiss FA leaders were meeting
Saturday to weigh the FIFA ultimatum.
Sion has breached football's
rules in a legal saga since 2009 when FIFA imposed a one-year transfer ban for
breaking transfer regulations in the signing of goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary.
On Saturday, FIFA criticised 'the
attitude of the club repeatedly trying to circumvent this decision in a legally
abusive manner,' in a statement issued after a meeting of its executive
committee.
Sion's determination to fight
football and legal authorities led it to launch a series of civil court actions
against UEFA since being expelled from the Europa League in September for
fielding players that were signed during the transfer ban.
FIFA and UEFA were backed on
Thursday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld UEFA's right to
kick Sion out of the competition based on FIFA's transfer sanction.
FIFA stepped up the fight
Saturday by ordering the Swiss FA to enforce a ban on registering six Sion
players signed in the offseason during the transfer embargo.
'As a consequence, all matches in
which the relevant players participated shall be declared forfeit or three
points shall be deducted respectively,' FIFA said.
'Should this deadline not be
respected, the Swiss FA will be automatically suspended from Jan. 14, 2012
onwards.'
Under the terms of a FIFA
suspension, a country's national and club teams, referees and officials are
prohibited from taking part in international matches and meetings, or receive
FIFA funding.
Lord Goldsmith, who served as the
UK's Attorney General between 2001 and 2007, was listed by FIFA today as part
of the committee mandated to propose reforms to the game's world governing
body, which has endured a damaging 2011.
Former FIFA presidential
candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam was handed a lifetime ban for bribery in July,
while Jack Warner, a FIFA vice-president and president of the confederation
governing football in North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF),
resigned from all football activity in June having been charged with the same
offence.
No comments:
Post a Comment