Said & Done: ‘What women will put up with is a bit different from guys’

The week in football – also featuring: Coutinho, Fifa and Onésimo

Martin Glenn






Martin Glenn: equality relaunch.
Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

Quote of the week

Martin Glenn on what the FA learned in 2017: “I think culturally what women will be prepared to put up with has been a bit different from guys. I guess banter would be a case in point.”
His core message on the FA’s diversity agenda, three months after he called racially discriminatory remarks made by Mark Sampson “inappropriate banter”: “We’re there to set an example.”

Also stepping up

Gianni Infantino: starting 2018 with a pledge to keep Fifa executive compensation modest – 12 days before leaked details set out the current wage bill: 37 executives paid $250,000 each plus expenses to attend three meetings a year. Infantino’s broader aim for 2018: “To work hard on restoring the image of Fifa, after all those scams and scandals.”

Also making headlines in the week Fifa unveiled its new “official luxury yacht partner”:

Austria FA president Leo Windtner – denying alleged “breach of trust and corruption” over a $100,000 payment made by Fifa to a charity project run by his wife during Sepp Blatter’s 2015 re‑election campaign. Windtner: “I have nothing for which to reproach myself.”
Liberia FA head Musa Bility – blaming a $600,000 hole in FA accounts on “unknown persons” handing “unknown documents” to auditors. Bility, who failed a Fifa electoral integrity test in 2015, denies wrongdoing.
And Zimbabwe’s FA – denying breaches of “good governance” after an audit showed them paying $72,000 a year in rent to their office landlord, FA president Philip Chiyangwa. Vice-president Omega Sibanda: “I can confirm that all is well in our football.”

And starting over

Ex-Peru FA head Manuel Burga, ready to return to his original profession after being acquitted of racketeering. Burga – censured in court for making throat slashing gestures at a key witness – told media: “My time in football is over. Now I’ll go back to the law.”

Other news: engaging on racism last week

a) Serie A officials, assessing racist abuse from Cagliari fans towards Juve’s Blaise Matuidi. Cagliari apologised for the abuse; Serie A ruled the club would face “no punishment”, because “officials didn’t hear it”.
b) Spartak Moscow’s official Twitter account posting a video of black players training in hot weather captioned: “See how the chocolates melt in the sun.”
And c) Red Star Belgrade, appealing against Uefa imposing a one-game ground closure after fans celebrated the work of ethnic genocide convict Ratko Mladic with songs and banners. Red Star director Zvezdan Terzic: “Uefa behave in a draconian fashion. Honestly, they surprise us.”

Elsewhere: fair play latest

2017: La Liga head Javier Tebas says PSG’s Qatari financial doping “mocks fair play”, “hurts other clubs” and is “destroying the industry … PSG are peeing in the pool.” 2018: Barcelona, backed by €171m of Qatar state aid to 2016, take their five-day spending to €172m. @laliga: “Welcome Coutinho!”

How the move unfolded:
Jan 2017, Philippe Coutinho signs a new five-year deal: “My football is here. My heart is here. I don’t think about any other club. Not at all. I I live it, I smell it, I know what Liverpool means. Dalglish, Rush, Hansen, Souness, Suárez, Gerrard… You define the success of a player by his loyalty or his titles. Or both. I have much work to do.” Aug 2017: Requests transfer. Jan 2018: Joins Barça.

Philippe Coutinho



Philippe Coutinho, January 2017. Photograph: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Best defence

Ipswich director Ian Milne, confident there’s no conflict between the responsible gambling message they helped push in November, and having “exciting new online casino Magical Vegas” as official shirt sponsor: “I don’t think the logo is overly ‘gambling’.”

Most resolute

31 Dec: Torino president Urbano Cairo on coach Sinisa Mihajlovic’s future: “It’s not even a question. I support him now like I’ve always supported him. We’re all together at this club, all aboard one boat with one goal. He stays.” 4 Jan: He goes.

Most distressed

Spain: Third tier Toledo’s coach Onésimo Sánchez – fined for “losing his mind” after his fourth expulsion in three seasons. “I’ve had it up to my balls with this. Every time they lie, every time they make me out as the bad man, and every time I must pay. It’s just another day for Onésimo.”

Most chastened

Germany: Bayer Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich, fined €12,000 for diving when an opposition player brushed his shoulder in the technical area. “It was a slip up: I didn’t want him sent off. But did it look stupid? Yes it did. I’ll pay the €12,000.”

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Best philosophy

El Salvador: Alianza striker Rodolfo Zelaya, “relaxed” after a design error on his new Roman numeral clock tattoo went viral. “People say it has the number six twice, but I don’t care what people say. I’ve never cared what people say. What’s important is how you feel inside.”

And best poise

Romania: Kayserispor coach Marius Sumudica – filmed leaning on a wire fence, falling through it, then trying to style it out. “I knew there were cameras, so I folded my arms and stayed in the ditch. People may mock me, but I got a wet ass, and now I’m on antibiotics.”

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