csconstantine.com

* Calls for review in light of corruption scandal

* FIFA should act against “cancerous tumour”

* Blatter re-election should not be delayed

(Adds details, background)

BERLIN, June 1 (Reuters) - The head of Germany’s soccer federation on Wednesday called for soccer’s governing body FIFA to re-examine the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, following a corruption scandal.

“There is a considerable degree of suspicion that one cannot simply sweep aside, and I must expect that awarding this World Cup under these conditions needs to be examined anew,” Theo Zwanziger told German television, referring to Qatar.

“I first would like to comment on how that should be done when I know more about the facts. Like I said, I’m an outsider and was not a member of the executive,” he said.

The game’s reputation has come intense scrutiny after a spate of corruption allegations, the suspension of two senior FIFA officials and suggestions Qatar bought the 2022 World Cup, accusations the Gulf state has strenuously denied.

“If FIFA behaves the way people expect, that is by clearly taking action against this cancerous tumour of bribery, then there is no need for these concerns,” Zwanziger said, referring to fears sponsors could start pulling out.

“None of us could have imagined such a scandal. There is no end to the suspicions falling on members the FIFA executive,” he said.

“The task now is to shed light in a determined fashion, punish the guilty and develop mechanisms that prevent something like this from ever happening again,” Zwanziger added.

He rejected a call by the English soccer federation FA to delay the re-election of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, as this would leave the body without a leader to take charge and finally get to the bottom of the allegations.

Zwanziger however said he was pushing for a secret ballot, so any critics could submit a protest vote without fear of any reprisals. (Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Labels: German, Qatar, Reuters, reviewed, soccer, wants, World

By BRIAN MURPHY Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—The Gulf state of Qatar must do more to improve workers’ rights as it embarks on a massive building boom before hosting soccer’s 2022 World Cup, an international labor group said Tuesday.

But a report by the International Trade Union Confederation said there “is little sign” so far that Qatar’s leaders are willing to change rules to allow trade unions to address other issues that activists claim can leave workers open to exploitation.

“Conditions for migrant workers in the Middle East are unacceptable,” said Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the Vienna-based union confederation. “The World Cup is a time when the eyes of the world will be on Qatar and the other nations in the region.”

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers - mostly from South Asia - work in construction and other projects across the Gulf, but enjoy few rights and are often burdened by debts to labor recruitment agencies back home. Some governments, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have boosted efforts to improve work conditions in recent years.

The union group’s report, however, cited other long-standing complaints such as bans on trade unions, substandard “barrack-like housing” for laborers and sponsorship rules under which workers cannot easily change jobs or resign.

The report expressed concern that Asian workers and others could “fall victim to agencies seeking to make quick money from the World Cup recruitment boom.” The group said it would press FIFA, the sport’s governing body, to ensure that companies and World Cup suppliers are “actually respectful of workers’ rights.”

Qatar - with super wealth from oil and gas - plans tens of billions of dollars in transportation improvements and stadium construction for the tournament. The construction bonanza will add to a growth rate that is already among the fastest in the world.

The country’s ruling family, however, also is not accustomed to outside pressure for reforms and will likely face increased scrutiny linked to the World Cup.

Other places around the Gulf have come under similar calls to enhance labor rights.

In March, more than 130 international artists and writers vowed to boycott a branch of the Guggenheim Museum under construction in Abu Dhabi unless authorities do more to protect the rights of workers on the site. The petition cited an unsafe working environment, movement restrictions and withholding workers’ travel documents among the violations.

The Abu Dhabi-based authority in charge of the Guggenheim construction and other projects said Tuesday that it appointed the international auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to monitor “worker welfare.”

The statement said the oversight will include living conditions and whether any violations occur such as withholding workers’ personal documents or illegal recruitment fees. About 10,000 workers are assigned to Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat island project, which includes the Guggenheim and planned branches of the Louvre museum and New York University. The work force is expected to rise to 20,000 by the end of next year.

Labels: boost, group, Labor, Qatar, rights, SportsTicker, worker

DOHA, Qatar (AP)—Qatar hired Milovan Rajevac of Serbia Sunday to coach its national side, following the firing of Frenchman Bruno Metsu after the team’s quarterfinal exit at the Asian Cup last month.

The 54-year-old Rajevac will take over on March 1 and has signed a contract for an undisclosed amount through the 2014 World Cup. Rajevac coached Ghana until 2010 and most recently was in charge of Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli.

He said Sunday his immediate goal is qualifying for the next World Cup and the 2015 Asian Cup and felt the country had some good, up-and-coming players.

“All coaches dream of managing a national team and I am thrilled to be leading Qatar,” said Rajevac, who also has been an assistant at Qatari club Al Sadd. “I think Qatar can raise its ratings at the Asian level. We saw good performances from Asian teams in the World Cup and Qatar can be one of the teams at the 2014 World Cup.”

Qatar Football Association president Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said Rajevac was chosen over several other unnamed candidates due to his extensive experience in the region.

“Rajevac is very experienced. I think he can take Qatar forward,” Al Thani said. “There were many names but we opted for him because he knows the players in the Middle East.”

The choice of Rajevac, however, may disappoint some Qatari fans who were looking for a bigger name to help rebuild the team ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which the tiny Gulf nation will host. Currently, the team is ranked 90th in the world and considered one of the minnows of Asian football.

Rajevac replaces Metsu, who struggled since taking over in 2008 from Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati. The team missed out on the 2010 World Cup and last year fell in the quarterfinal stage at the Gulf Cup, which sent its ranking tumbling to 114th—its worst ever.

The country improved to 90th after its Asian Cup performance but it was not enough to save the job of Metsu, who guided Senegal to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. Qatar was praised for overcoming an opening loss to Uzbekistan to reach the quarterfinals but Metsu also angered fans after his team squandered a 2-1 lead in a losing effort against 10-man Japan.

Labels: coach, Football, Qatar, Rajevac, takes

(adds details)

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played in the summer as originally planned and will not be co-hosted with neighbouring countries, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said.

Blatter, reiterating comments made by soccer’s governing body two weeks ago, said there were no plans to stage a winter World Cup and any request to do so would have to come from the Qatari hosts who have already said they plan to stage the event in summer.

“Everything is settled now for summer and with all 64 matches in the territory of Qatar,” he told the BBC in an interview.

“In the bidding documents it was clearly established that the executive committee reserved the right to change anything in the bidding process, but here in this case it must come from Qatar.

“Qatar has not moved for the time being. I think for the time being this matter is on ice because we have just signed in the last days the final documents.”

Qatar were chosen as hosts in December, winning a contest also featuring Australia, Japan, South Korea and United States.

Their bid was based on a summer World Cup using air-conditioned stadiums to combat the desert heat.

Despite this, there has been wide support for a winter World Cup with Franz Beckenbauer and UEFA president Michel Platini backing a January-February tournament.

Platini also suggested a “World Cup in the Gulf” with Qatar sharing matches with neighbouring countries.

Blatter denied supporting a winter tournament himself and said he was impartial, although he feared a winter tournament could clash with that year’s Winter Olympics.

“I’m not in favour of one or the other although January and February would be in conflict with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) of which I’m a member.

“Who said first we should play in winter? It was Franz Beckenbauer, secondly Michel Platini, thirdly it was the professional players’ union, FIFPro.”

(Reporting by Brian Homewood in Garmisch-Partenkirchen; Editing by Justin Palmer)

To comment on this story: sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: alone, Blatter, Qatar, Reuters, summer

QATAR MASTERS
Final round leaderboard:
-14 T Bjorn (Den) -10 A Quiros (Spa) -9 R Cabrero-Bello (Spa), M Brier (Aut) -8 D Howell (Eng) -6 T Aiken (SA), S Hansen (Den), R Karlsson (Swe)
Selected others: -5 S Garcia (Spa), R Finch (Eng) -4 D Clarke (NI), O Wilson (Eng) -2 M Kaymer (Ger)

The Ryder Cup vice-captain, 39, led by one overnight and parred the first 14 holes before birdies at 15, 16 and 18 sealed his 11th European Tour title.

Spaniard Alvaro Quiros posted a four-under 68 to finish second on 10 under.

Lee Westwood, who missed the cut, remains world number one after Martin Kaymer - who needed a top-two finish to depose him - ended in a tie for 28th.

"It's a big win for me and hopefully it can push me on to bigger things now," said Bjorn, who turns 40 on 18 February. "When I play golf like this I know I can be up there with the best in the world.

"I'm going to hit 40 but I'm sure it won't affect my golf too much. I've got to stay fit and healthy but I feel I'm playing well.

"There was a lot riding on today and it's great to get back up into the top 60. I can start looking up rankings again now."

Bjorn, celebrating his first title since winning the Portuguese Open in June 2010, added: "It's been a while so I feel good today. It's nice to get one done finally - and in a strong field.

"I put a new driver in my bag and it gave me another 10 yards, which gave me confidence. I started rolling a few puts in on second day and I think I only had one bogey in the last three rounds.

"I said a round of 72 would have been difficult to catch in these conditions, and after holing a few putts I knew if I could stick to my gameplan and not make mistakes I would be all right.

"I've seen enough in my time to know you've got to go all the way until then end but when I hit the tee shot on the 18th I knew I'd be ok."

Kaymer, who could only manage a final-round 71, said: "I was in a position to finish in the top 10 I thought but the greens are not my friends here in Qatar.

"Today I played my best golf all week even with a double bogey at the 12th hole. It's just that the putts didn't drop and while it's a disappointing thing on one hand, I am looking forward to going to Dubai and leaving this tournament behind."

The Desert Classic, which starts on Thursday, will see Kaymer, Westwood and Tiger Woods in the field, the first time since October - when Westwood went to number one - that the top three players in the world have contested the same event.

"I'm not worried about being number one or Tiger going past me and pushing me back to number three as long as I am in the top five on the rankings," Kaymer added.

Austrian Markus Brier, who was only one behind Bjorn at the start of the round, could only manage a closing one-over 73 to finish in a tie for third with Spaniard Rafael Cabrero-Bello.

David Howell was the highest-placed Englishman with a final-round 68 to finish outright fifth on eight under par.

Labels: Bjorn, chance, Kaymer, Masters, misses, Qatar, Sport, Thomas

DOHA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Qatar have sacked coach Bruno Metsu after he failed to guide the hosts past the quarter-finals of last month’s Asian Cup.

Qatar, who have never made it to the semi-finals of the tournament, were beaten 3-2 in the last eight by eventual winners Japan after a last minute winner from Masahiko Inoha.

“I would like to thank Bruno for the work he has done since taking on the position last summer. His commitment to the job could not be questioned and I wish him the best for the future,” Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani told the team’s website (www.qfa.com).

“The recruitment process for the new coach begins now and we will do everything to get the right man for the job.”

All eyes have been on the tiny Gulf nation since they were awarded the rights to host the 2022 World Cup finals by world governing body FIFA in December.

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Patrick Johnston; to query or comment on this story, email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: after, coach, Metsu, Qatar, Reuters

(Drops final word from headline, no changes to copy)

DOHA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Qatar have sacked coach Bruno Metsu after he failed to guide the hosts past the quarter-finals of last month’s Asian Cup.

Qatar, who have never made it to the semi-finals of the tournament, were beaten 3-2 in the last eight by eventual winners Japan after a last minute winner from Masahiko Inoha.

“I would like to thank Bruno for the work he has done since taking on the position last summer. His commitment to the job could not be questioned and I wish him the best for the future,” Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani told the team’s website (www.qfa.com).

“The recruitment process for the new coach begins now and we will do everything to get the right man for the job.”

All eyes have been on the tiny Gulf nation since they were awarded the rights to host the 2022 World Cup finals by world governing body FIFA in December.

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Patrick Johnston; to query or comment on this story, email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: coach, Metsu, Qatar, Reuters