Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta up for Ballon d’Or

Nov. 29 | SAO PAULO: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta were on Thursday shortlisted for this year’s Ballon d’Or, football’s world governing body FIFA and sponsors France Football magazine said. Barcelona forward Messi, 25, has...

FIFA urged to allow Brazilian food at cup

Nov. 4 | SAO PAULO FIFA is under pressure to allow sales of a native Brazilian sandwich in stadiums at the 2014 World Cup amid allegations that the governing body is bowing to corporate sponsors such as McDonald’s. The row centers on acaraje, an iconic black-eyed...

Messi heads Ballon d’Or shortlist

Oct. 30 | PARIS: Fresh from hitting his 300th career goal in a weekend swamping of Rayo Vallecano, Barcelona icon Lionel Messi heads a 23-strong shortlist for a fourth FIFA/France Football Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) award. National team captains and head coaches...

Cuban players defect in Toronto

Oct. 14 | TORONTO: Three members of the Cuban men’s soccer team competing in the World Cup qualifying tournament have defected, international football’s governing body said. FIFA said the players defected Thursday, one day before a game against Canada. The...

Safee’s ban a blow to Malaysia’s Suzuki Cup hopes

Oct. 12 | PETALING JAYA – By ERIC SAMUEL: The national team suffered a cruel blow ahead of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup title defence when striker Mohd Safee Sali (pic) was banned indefinitely by the All-Indonesia Football Association...

Tardelli: Ireland will go for broke against Germany

Oct. 10 | DUBLIN: Republic of Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli insists his side won’t just play for a draw against Germany in Friday’s crucial World Cup qualifier. Ireland have been hit with a series of injuries ahead of the Dublin clash and...

UN urges FIFA to do more to ensure green Brazil World Cup

Oct. 10 | BRASILIA: The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) urged world football governing body FIFA Tuesday to do more to ensure an environmentally friendly 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A UNEP study released here assessed South Africa’s performance at...

Neville warns England to fear San Marino

Oct. 9 | LONDON: England assistant coach Gary Neville has warned his players to think of the humiliation they would suffer if San Marino cause one of the all-time great shocks in Friday’s World Cup qualifier. Roy Hodgson’s side are huge favourites...

FIFA puts off ruling on S. Korean

Oct. 6 | SEOUL: FIFA has postponed its disciplinary ruling on a South Korean player over a post-match political gesture at the London Olympics, a report said Saturday. The international governing body failed to reach a conclusion at a meeting at its Zurich headquarters...

FIFA suspend Bin Hammam aide

Oct. 3 | LAUSANNE, Switzerland: FIFA on Wednesday suspended Najeeb Chirakal, an aide to ex-Asian soccer chief Mohamed Bin Hammam, for failing to cooperate with an investigation into the Qatari by world football’s governing body. Chirakal, FIFA said, was...