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Fifa step up fight against match-fixing

FIFA has stepped up its fight against match-fixing ahead of next month’s World Cup, including setting up a confidential hotline for players, coaches and referees to report any attempts to bribe them.

Soccer’s governing body said yesterday all matches at the showpiece tournament in South Africa would be monitored by Early Warning System (EWS), a company formed to watch for match-fixing, while more than 400 bookmakers had agreed to report any irregular betting.

“Fifa takes very seriously the fight against irregularities in the football-betting market and potential match-fixing situations in football,” the association said in a statement. “Although it is impossible to guarantee that any competition is safe from attempts to externally influence matches, FIFA is doing everything in its hands to ensure that the risk is minimised.”

New ball horrifies Brazil's Cesar

BRAZIL goalkeeper Julio Cesar is horrified by the ball which will be used at the World Cup, likening it to a cheap one bought from the supermarket.

“It’s terrible, horrible,” said the Inter Milan player, widely considered to be the world’s top goalkeeper.

“It’s like one of those balls you buy in the supermarket.”

The World Cup ball was billed as the first perfectly round ball by Fifa.

BAYERN Munich defender Philipp Lahm will captain Germany in place of injured Michael Ballack and Manuel Neuer will be the starting goalkeeper, coach Joachim Low said yesterday.

The 26-year-old right back, who also played in the 2006 World Cup, has won 64 international caps and scored three goals, making him among the most experienced players in the squad.

More ticket chaos as Fifa's system collapses

POLICE were called in to control angry crowds trying to buy seats for the World Cup yesterday after Fifa’s ticketing system collapsed under the strain.

Soccer’s governing body put 90,000 new tickets on the market, including seats at the previously sold-out final and semi-finals, causing a new rush by South Africans.

Some people had been queuing for more than 24 hours to get tickets but when the system opened it immediately collapsed, as it did last month when over-the-counter sales first began in South Africa.

Prosecutors charged two cleaners at a Johannesburg hotel for stealing money from members of Colombia’s national soccer team, in South Africa for a friendly match ahead of the World Cup, police said yesterday.

The hotel in Johannesburg’s affluent Hyde Park suburb is to host Slovenias World Cup squad, due on June 7th.