news // 6

FIFA under fire from UEFA

» European Football Association questions FIFA’s decision-making

Michael Sopow
Sports Reporter

of corruption claims being
released, former English
Football Association (FA)
chief David Bernstein has
called for a boycott of the 2018
FIFA World Cup due to major
ethical concerns involving the
arrangement of FIFA’s bidding
process.

The investigation is in
response to a December 2, 2010
vote that decided Russia as the
host country for the 2018 FIFA

that Qatar would be the host

is also a factor.

Bernstein said in a
statement to the BBC, “If I
was (sic) at the FA now, I
would do everything I could to

UEFA [European Football
Association]—and there are
some who would definitely be
on side, others may be not—to
take this line.

“At some stage, you have to

walk the walk, stop talking and
: do something.”

The catalyst for Bernstein’s

n response to an investigation concerns is that in the released
] : bidding report, England was

: criticized for repudiating rules

: in attempting to secure the 2018
World Cup while both Russia

> and Qatar were overlooked in

their own possible corruption.

However, Bernstein’s claims

: of FIFA’s ethical manipulation
: are, as he stated to BBC,
: not independently voiced.
: Reinhard Rauball, politician
: and president of Germany’s
professional football league,

_ : also publicly discouraged FIFA’s
World Cup. The same-day vote : treatment of the World Cup bid

country for the 2022 World Cup report.

“As a solution, two things

> must happen,” Rauball told
: German website Kicker.de in
: a statement. “Not only must
: the decision of the ethics

; “1: = committee be published, but
encourage other nations within Mr. [Michael] Garcia’s bill of
: indictment too, so it becomes
: clear what the charges were and
: how they were judged.”

Garcia is one of the two

: ethics committee judges
: trusted in determining whether

: countries are morally sound in

: their propositions for hosting

: the World Cup. The other

; judge is Hans-Joachim Eckert,

: who Garcia has denounced for

: withholding information in his
: own written summary—the

: summary that supposedly clears
: Russia and Qatar. In light of all
: of the investigation, the UEFA

: has publically threatened to

: leave FIFA if all the information
is not published.

Regarding these recent

: events, head coach of Douglas’
: women’s soccer team Chris

: Laxton said, “FIFA has come

: under a lot of scrutiny over the
: past few years and rightfully

: so. People want them to be
more transparent and more

: accountable, yet they seem to
be going the opposite way...

“They no longer appear to

: have the game’s best interest at
: heart, but instead just want to

: make a lot of money for a small
: number of people. It is hurting
: the game because the sport

: loses credibility. I hope UEFA

: holds them accountable and

: actually stands up for the game
: and reminds FIFA that they

: don’t own the sport.”

theotherpress.ca

 

 

BC Lions season concludes

» ‘A lot went wrong...

Michael Sopow
Sports Reporter

n November 16, the BC

Lions ended their 2014
season with a 50-17 loss against
the Montreal Alouettes. With
a multitude of team injuries
occurring throughout the year—
including starting quarterback
Travis Lulay—BC Lions general
manager and vice president

Wally Buono publicly stated that

the injuries played a major part
in why the Lions performed so
poorly this season.

“We all have to share in
the blame,” Buono said on

the Early Edition, “A lot went
wrong.

“We had a lot of injuries
right off the bat. There was
(sic) times at training camp we
could barely practice because we
hadn't enough healthy bodies.”

Besides Lulay, the other
significant injury was running
back Andrew Harris, who
separated his left ankle. With
the BC Lions finishing second-
last in the west division, Buono
stated there needed to be drastic
change.

Asa result of the dismal

: season, on November 20, the BC
: Lions revealed their decision to

: fire head coach Mike Benevides.
: “Our football team experienced

: avery tumultuous season. Still,

: we believe as an organization

: that the team we had assembled
: was capable of more than what

: we accomplished in the regular

: season and in the playoffs. In

: short, we under-performed

: and failed to meet both our

: own expectations and the

expectations of our fans.”
Though the 2014 season was

disappointing, the BC Lions have
: had some successful seasons in

: the recent past. In 2006, the BC

: Lions defeated the Montreal
November 21 during CBC Radio’s : Alouettes to win the Grey Cup. In
: both 20n and 2012, the BC Lions

: finished the regular season on

: top of the league, winning the

: Grey Cup in 20n as well.

One of the reasons that

: this year’s season has been of

: particular interest is due to the

: fact that Vancouver is set to host
: the Grey Cup for the 2014 season
: on November 30. There are

: roughly 6,000 tickets unsold.

The Grey Cup game will be

: between the Calgary Stampeders
: and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

: with festival events lined up

: throughout Vancouver starting

: November 26.

 

 

 

 

 

EXTRA!
EXTRA!

The Other Press Publication Society is having
their Annual General Meeting. We will be
voting in a new Board of Directors, and going
over the last year in OP. Come for the meeting,
stay for the free pizza.

Who: The Other Press and you!
What: Our Annual General Meeting
When: Monday December 8 at 5:45 p.m.
Where: New Westminster Campus, Room 1220

Why: To review the past year, make any
changes to our Constitution, and vote in our
new Board of Directors. Also, pizza!

If you have any questions, please email
editor@theotherpress.ca