The Australians are still feeling their way round Asian football and how it operates; or often doesn't. Take Adelaide United. There they were happily looking forward to playing in the Asian Champions League when all of a sudden they are being told that they now have to play a play off against Indonesian champions Persipura.

Lausanne, 1 February 2012 The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has decided to grant the provisional measures requested by the Indonesian Football Club Persipura Jayapura and to order the reinstatement of the club in the AFC Champions League 2012.

Persipura was supposed to play the 2012 AFC Champions League Playoffs (East-Zone) on 11 February 2012 against Adelaïde United FC (Australia).

Former CONCACAF interim president Lisle Austin has seen his one-year ban by FIFA upheld on appeal. Austin was banned by FIFA for petitioning an outside court to reinstate him after CONCACAF's Executive Committee removed him from his post for dismissing then CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer. Austin has one more option through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, but it's highly likely that he will remain suspended until June.

FC Sion is a small club from a small Swiss town, one which only harbors under 30,000 inhabitants. And yet, they seem to be single-handedly taking on and defeating UEFA in perhaps the fall's most intriguin football sideshow outside of Who Wants A Beckham? (PSG is, yes, the perfect fit.)

After being booted from Europe by UEFA for fielding ineligible playesr, they've gone to court to take them on, and in the process, beat them.

Bin Hammam to continue fight after losing ban appeal

Qatari is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to pursue his case against FIFA

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-09-16 08:24:59 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Bin Hammam to continue fight after losing ban appeal

Qatari is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to pursue his case against FIFA

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-09-16 08:24:59 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Former FIFA Executive Committee member, Asian Football Confederation president, and FIFA presidential candidate Mohammed Bin Hammam's appeal of his lifetime ban was rejected by FIFA's Appeals Committee. The decision was announced on Thursday. Bin Hammam has previously promised to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the expectation that his appeal within FIFA would be unsuccessful.

European football's governing body UEFA has decided against allowing Swiss club FC Sion back into the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League, thus maintaining Glasgow Celtic's place in Group I of the competition which begins this Thursday.

FC Sion qualified for this season's competition following an aggregate victory against the Scottish giants in the Play-Off round but were subsequently expelled following a protest from the Parkhead club who claimed that a number of the Swiss club's players were ineligible.

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Lisbon, Portugal

Unfortunately he earned that label. On occasions he displayed a lethal scoring ability; remember his glorious Parma days partnering an incredible Adriano up front? On the pitch he was a performer, an icon to his country and a symbol.

Peter Harrison is refusing to give up the fight in his legal wrangle with Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.
Peter Harrison, Andy Carroll's former agent, withdrew his case against him on legal advice at an FA arbitration hearing last week.
But Harrison is now demanding a personal FA hearing over his claim that Carroll was in breach of contract when he switched the handling of his affairs to rival agent Mark Curtis.

Blackpool scouts will be in Dundalk this evening to watch Ireland u21 international Daniel Kearns in the Airtricity Premier Division clash between Dundalk & Galway United.
Belfast born Kearns has emerged as a Seasiders target and are considering making a bid for the 19-year-old winger who has caught the eye of Ian Holloway after a string of quality performances for Dundalk.

FIFA Player Eligibility in the Context of Ireland: The Actual Rules, the Real Facts and Dispelling the Prevailing Myths.
By Daniel Collins (daniel_d_collins@hotmail.com).
"National identity ... is the foundation of national teams."- Ángel María Villar, FIFA legal committee chairman (June, 2011).

Editor's note: While the following isn't an article about the USMNT, it does have important consequences on CONCACAF, the Gold Cup and the US men's national team.

In the face of five Mexican players testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs after the El Salvador game, should the result still stand?

It's both bewildering and inexplicable how such an astounding level of confusion still reigns over the issue of player eligibility in spite of the fact that there are clear rules in place to govern it (see articles 15-18 of FIFA's Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes), over which an independent judicial body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, has provided ample clarification in a long, thorough and detailed judgment
You could maybe excuse the general public for not knowing any better – it's often fair to trust that those whose professional duty it is to report reliable facts and information to the masses actually know what they're talking about – but when supposedly serious Northern based journalists and media outlets are continually getting the basics of this issue so unfathomably wrong, it's simply unforgivable.

Yesterday's much heralded PSSI congress to elect a new chairman ended as so much of Indonesian football ends. In a farce. Organised by the Normalisation Committee which was empowered by FIFA to arrange new elections, the congress got bogged down in irrelevance as a laughingly named Pro Reform Group stalled, demanding to know why George Toisutta and Arifin Panigoro couldn't stand.

Liverpool used the services of a little-known agent, David Bromley, who is based in Maidstone, Kent, when they signed Andy Carroll from Newcastle United for £35m on 31 January. Carroll himself stated on his contract that he did not use the services of an agent at all; a solicitor, Richard Green, said he had advised him.

Bas Dost transferred to Heerenveen in the summer, where life is not rosy. However, he's still a talent and Ajax wanted him to replaced the enormous shoes of Luis Suarez in the winter window, only the two clubs couldn't come to an accord. Bas wanted the move desperately, taking Heerenveen to arbitration, and the desperation even reached the levels of his agent telling the press that he used to sleep in Ajax pajamas.

Dutch Government members want Chelsea FC investigated after the way they have signed 15 year old Feyenoord wonder-kid Nathan Ake.

Nathan will sign for Chelsea later this month when he'll be 16 years old, but Feyenoord have claimed Chelsea have twice invited the youngster and his agent to London, which is against FIFA regulations.

LONDON, England Chelsea forward Gael Kakuta has joined Fulham on loan for the remainder of the season, both clubs have confirmed. Kakuta, 19, completed his move after passing a medical on Tuesday and the deal was sealed after the squad left London for Wednesday's Premier League game at Liverpool. The talented French teenager is [.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland Ukrainian referee Oleh Orekhov has lost his appeal against a life ban from football for helping fix matches. The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday dismissed Orekhov's appeal against his expulsion by UEFA last March. UEFA found he breached "principles of loyalty and integrity," but did not say which matches were [.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland Ukrainian referee Oleh Orekhov has lost his appeal against a life ban from football for helping fix matches. The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday dismissed Orekhov's appeal against his expulsion by UEFA last March. UEFA found he breached "principles of loyalty and integrity," but did not say which matches were [.

Joey Votto, the reigning National League Most Valuable Player, has agreed to a $38 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds. The deal, which is over three seasons, allows the two sides to avoid arbitration. The 27-year-old was the main reason why the Reds made it to the 2010 baseball playoffs.

Votto hit .

Antonio Cassano made his debut for AC Milan in a friendly against Al Ahli which they won, 2-1. No goalscoring spectaculars but some useful work down the wings for the former Sampdoria player.

Cassano had a very public falling out with Riccardo Garrone, Sampodoria's president of Sampdoria and his situation became untenable with the case going to arbitration.