FIFA president Sepp Blatter said any player or official who is found guilty of match-fixing will be banned for life.
Blatter was speaking on a visit to Zimbabwe, a country that has been blighted by controversy over the past few years.
In 2009, a number of national team players, including captain Method Mwanjali, told an inquiry by the Zimbabwe FA that they were paid to lose matches during a tour of Asia.
As a result ZIFA chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya was suspended from duty.
The FIFA president had stern words for those involved in match-fixing scandals, but stressed that FIFA would only intervene when all legal processes were completed.
We must let the jurisdictional organisation of the different states, and when these people are condem…
The first English Premier League match to ever be staged in Wales will take place on Saturday when Swansea City host Wigan Athletic.
The historic occasion will be held at the Liberty Stadium as Swansea look to win their first points of their maiden Premier League campaign.
Brendan Rodgers side were smashed 4-0 by Manchester City on Monday, but they will not be the only side to be on the wrong end of a result against Roberto Mancini s big-spenders.
The perfect chance to bounce back comes on Saturday and with a noisy home following cheering them on, the Swans will fancy their chances of getting all three points.
Wigan started their season against another promoted side, and although they took an early lead, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Norwich City at th…
Bordeaux won the Derby de la Garonne on Tuesday, defeating Toulouse 3-1 to reach the round of 16 of the Coupe de la Ligue.
Despite having goal-scorer Nicolas Pallois sent off with 27 minutes left, Bordeaux triumphed over their local rivals to join fellow Ligue 1 clubs Lorient, Bastia and Caen in the next round of the French knockout competition.
Toulouse struck with just six minutes left to give themselves slim hope of forcing extra time in front of their home fans but they could not find another two goals, losing their third straight match in all competitions, while they have not beaten Bordeaux at home since 2011.
Pallois gave Bordeaux the lead in the 17th minute with a header, while Diego Contento made it 2-0 by half-time with a volley from Mariano s cross aft…
Gordon Taylor has slammed FIFA for not insisting on some form of counselling as part of Luis Suarez s four-month ban from football.
Liverpool striker Suarez was prohibited from all football related activity for four months and banned from Uruguay s next nine competitive international matches for biting Giorgio Chiellini in their 1-0 FIFA World Cup win over Italy.
The incident marred Uruguay s progression into the last 16 and marked the third time in his career that Suarez has been punished for biting.
The 27-year-old received a seven-match ban for biting PSV s Otman Bakkal in 2010, and was then suspended for 10 games for doing the same to Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in April 2013.
However, Suarez enjoyed a superb campaign last season, scoring 31 g…
Alessio Cerci made a significant financial sacrifice to end his disappointing spell at Atletico Madrid and clinch a permanent return to Serie A with Verona.
Italy forward Cerci joined Verona on a free transfer this month following the mutual termination of his Atletico contract.
He joined Atletico from Torino in 2014, but made just seven league appearances for Diego Simeone s men and was loaned out to AC Milan and Genoa in the 2015-16 season.
Cerci saw just 14 minutes of LaLiga action last campaign, but is now hopeful he can rediscover his best playing with Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini.
I gave up a lot of money to come to Verona, because I believe in myself, Cerci told a media conference
I know I can still give so much to football an…
Jose Mourinho hailed Nemanja Matic as a genius following his Manchester United debut against Sampdoria.
Matic completed a £40million move to United from Chelsea on Monday, linking up with Jose Mourinho for a second time after the Portuguese brought him to Stamford Bridge in 2014.
The Serbia international signed a three-year contract with an option for a further 12 months and played the opening 45 minutes on Wednesday, featuring at the base of United s midfield as they beat Sampdoria 2-1.
And Mourinho told MUTV: This is Matic.
In my opinion, to play simple in that position is genius, and he s a genius because he makes everything so simple, the team runs, the ball runs, he’s fantastic in his position.
The way he plays, he plays with his brain…
Manchester United are working to find an agreement with Rennes over a proposed transfer of Eduardo Camavinga, according to Fabrizio Romano.
United have already agreed a deal to sign winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, and they re reportedly in talks about a move for Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane. With the Camavinga effort in mind as well, it seems they re working on reinforcing all three lines of the team ahead of the upcoming season.
The 18-year-old is a central midfielder whose ability and maturity often belies his young age. In 2020-21, he made 39 appearances for his current club, 35 in Ligue 1 and four in the Champions League. He scored once and produced three assists. He was previously heavily linked with Real Madrid, while some reports claim Bayer…
Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain helped Juventus move seven points clear at the top of Serie A with a resounding 4-0 win over 10-man Lecce at the Allianz Stadium.
Fabio Lucioni s first-half dismissal left lowly Lecce, who had started brightly, facing a daunting task yet it needed a moment of brilliance from Dybala to open the scoring after 53 minutes.
Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi were guilty of woeful misses in the opening period but the former lashed home his 23rd Serie A goal of the campaign from the penalty spot before excellently setting up Higuain.
Matthijs de Ligt added a fourth that was harsh on Lecce as Maurizio Sarri s men stretched their lead on Lazio, beaten 3-2 by Atalanta last time out, albeit their rivals have a game in hand.…
Oleksandr Zinchenko has called on Arsenal to aim higher than a spot in the Premier League s top four, saying the Gunners fans deserve to see them challenge champions Manchester City.
Arsenal hold a two-point lead over City at the Premier League summit following their 1-0 win at Chelsea on Sunday – their third successive victory in meetings with big six rivals.
Zinchenko collected four Premier League medals before swapping City for Arsenal in July, and wants the Gunners to adopt the mentality of title contenders.
It starts in the dressing room and it s on the pitch as well, Zinchenko said following the win at Stamford Bridge.
We are trying to push each other, we are trying to help each other. I think this is the right way to do it.
We have a …
Romelu Lukaku returned to Chelsea training on Monday after missing their past five games with an ankle injury.
Belgium international Lukaku was forced off in the 23rd minute of the 4-0 Champions League win over Malmo on October 20 following a rough tackle by Lasse Nielsen.
Timo Werner hurt his hamstring in the same game and has also been absent since, but Chelsea went unbeaten in their five games without the attacking duo.
The Blues averaged 2.6 goals in that run. In their eight games in all competitions this season when Lukaku and Werner have featured, the Blues have averaged 2.1 goals.
However, the 11 Premier League goals Chelsea scored during the pair s absence came from an Expected Goals (xG) of 6.2, suggesting their impressive performances in…