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Mid-day Ticker: Three Guatemala players banned for life by FIFA, players address racism in England soccer and more

 

By JOSE M. ROMERO

It’s an ugly day for soccer in Guatemala, with three national team players banned for life by FIFA for match-fixing, according to an Associated Press report.

Guillermo Ramirez, Gustavo Cabrera and Yoni Flores were all handed lifetime bans after an investigation found that the three were involved in fixing friendlies against Venezuela in 2011 and Costa Rica in May of this year, plus a CONCACAF Champions League group-stage match in October 2010 between CSD Municipal of Guatemala and Santos Laguna of Mexico.

Guatemalan sides lost all three matches, including a 6-1 defeat to Santos.

Ramirez and Cabrera both had at least 100 caps for the national team and had served as captains. The Guatemalan football association imposed a national ban last month; FIFA made it worldwide Wednesday in Zurich.

Here are more stories from around the world of soccer:

 England’s players union drafts anti-racism plan

The Professional Footballers Assocation, led by chief executive Gordon Taylor, announced a plan to deal with racism in the sport. The plan features six points.

The PFA, the players union in England and Wales, seeks tougher penalties for incidents of racism that could include firings, according to this Telegraph report. 

One part of the plan includes a “Rooney Rule” provision, adopted from the NFL’s hiring policy that must include minority candidates.

Report: Bolton’s new manager still not in place

Bolton seeks to hire former Crystal Palace manager Dougie Freedman, but apparently those negotiations have not concluded, and interim coach Jimmy Phillips will guide the Wanderers Saturday against Middlesborough. 

Phillips managed the team in Tuesday’s draw against Wolverhampton. He had American Tim Ream in the starting lineup, while fellow U.S. international Stuart Holden, who recently re-joined the team after surgery rehab, was not on the active roster of 18.

Kagawa injures knee in UEFA Champions League match

Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa needed tests on an injured knee he suffered in Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League win over SC Braga.

Kagawa “twisted his knee,” Sir Alex Ferguson said, but continued to play for 20 minutes after getting hurt. Kagawa could miss Man U’s next match against Chelsea on Sunday if the injury is deemed serious.

 

 

 

Comments

  1. If this is an example of players getting caught, imagine how much match-fixing there has been with referees. I would suspect that these players were just the tip of the ice berg and that there were people in the Guatemala soccer federation and concacaf involved, including the referees.

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  2. I guess I am just too sheltered, but Rod Carew married a white woman in the 1960s. Racism in sports was pretty much dead by the time we wiped tears after watching Brian’s Song/reading I Am Third.

    The idea of me going to a game and seeing a racist event is so far beyond comprehension it doesn’t even exist and I don’t really think that is because I live in Seattle.

    Does anyone disagree ?………..Unbelievable.

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    • The racism campaign going on over in Europe isn’t restricted to just fans, it also is directed towards current players and scumbags like John Terry (you know, the player that taunted stranded Americans at Heathrow Airport hours after the Sept 11th attacks).

      There are a lot of great supporters groups in Europe and then there are some that seem to be stuck in the Dark Age, which only perpetuates more racism or xenophobia (see Liverpool supporters burning American flags & 9/11 chants).

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  3. Pando Ramirez being banned for match fixing explains him owning the record for worst shooting to scoring ratio in MLS history–he was betting against himself.

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  4. I was hoping they had banned some Guatemalans for faking injuries on the rare occasions when they are leading late in games. They can also ban some Salvadorans and some of the players from Herediano’s game last night vs RSL on the same charges.

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  5. Whites are about 85% of the British population. Maybe the white players should unionize and demand proportionate representation on the pitch.

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  6. to Guatemalen players:

    Bros, you serious? its guatamala. you can cheat for the next 20 years without getting caught and still be as relevant internationally as the French Baseball team.

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