Christine Sinclair… Hard for her to say she’s sorry
It was suffragist Nellie McClung who uttered one of the most famous lines in Canadian history: “Never retract, never explain, never apologize — get the thing done and let them howl.”
That statement could apply to Sinclair.
“I don’t regret what I said,” said Sinclair.
“It was a very intense time, I was very emotional, I wouldn’t want to change it.”
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Christine Sinclair
FIFA has been investigating Sinclair since the semifinals of the 2012 Olympics, when she publicly criticized the work of Norwegian referee Christina Pedersen after Canada dropped a hearbreaking 4-3 extra-time decision to the United States.
Here is the statement that was issued by the CSA on Friday, in its entirety:
“The Canadian Soccer Association has been notified by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee of decision 120450 CAN ZH rendered on 5 October, 2012 that Canada’s Women’s National Team player Christine Sinclair has been suspended for four (4) matches and fined for displaying unsporting behaviour towards match officials after the match played between Canada and USA of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament London 2012.
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The eyes of Canadian soccer fans need to be trained on Edmonton’s City Council Chambers on Oct. 31.
The discussion — and possible vote — that will take place there could set off shockwaves that could even hamper or boost Canada’s plans to bid for the 2026 World Cup.
It’s clear that Edmonton City Council has a conundrum on its hands. It has three plans — ranging in cost from $12 million to $35 million — on how it can best get Commonwealth Stadium ready for the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2014 and, of course, the Women’s World Cup in 2015. Those three plans will be examined, after being tabled in a committee meeting on Tuesday. And the word is the Canadian Soccer Association will have representation at council chambers on Halloween.
The CSA will be hoping for the treat, not the trick.
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FC Edmonton practices at Commonwealth Stadium in April, 2012.
On Tuesday, members of city council decided not to vote on a funding framework for the renovation of Commonwealth Stadium, with an eye to have the revamped stadium ready for the 2014 U-20 Women’s World Cup. The City’s Community Services Committee was given the option of three renovation plans — but it was decided not to actually put any of the funding models to a vote till the end of the month.
It’s clear that the city recognizes that Commonwealth, a concrete giant that reminds you of stark Communist-era architecture, desperately needs an upgrade if the city is to attract any of the marquee matches. With Vancouver already having a renovated BC Place in operation, and a new $32.5 million soccer centre planned for the UBC campus, Edmonton is playing catch-up when it comes to Western Canada’s host cities.
What Edmonton does have working in its favour is the legacy of the 2002 U-19 Women’s World Championship, which saw Commonwealth Stadium slammed for women’s junior-level soccer in a way that FIFA had never seen before (or seen again). That still resonates with FIFA officials.
The city has undertaken a feasibility study for a new 10,000-15,000-seat soccer stadium, which would become the home for FC Edmonton. But Commonwealth’s status as a Women’s World Cup venue is a separate issue.
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FIFA said Wednesday that its investigation into the Canadian women’s national team is ongoing, but that it will not take any action before Thursday’s Olympic bronze medal match with France.
“In view of the elements currently at its disposal, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee considers that further investigation will be needed regarding incidents that occurred after the conclusion of the match between Canada and the USA on 6 August at Old Trafford,” read a press statement from FIFA. “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee is therefore not in a position to take any decision at present. Further information will be provided in due course, but not prior to the bronze medal match between Canada and France on 9 August.”
“The Canadian Soccer Association supports the work of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and will continue to cooperate fully,” said Victor Montagliani, President of the Canadian Soccer Association, in a release issued Wednesday. “We will work closely with FIFA to ensure a prompt and fair resolution in this matter.”
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Canadian teams made 106 transfers in the first half of 2012 — the wide majority of them deals that didn’t involve a buying or selling price.
FIFA has released its midterm report on the international soccer marketplace — and it finds that transfer spending is on the decline in 2012, as the worldwide economic downturn and financial fair play rules in Europe are forcing more and more teams to take a more calculated approach to spending.
According to FIFA, Canadian teams acquired a total of 58 players in the first half of 2012, while 48 moved on. But, altogether, the total amount of transfer dollars in ALL of the deals was… USD$100,000. No Canadian team actually sold a player, so all 48 departures were free deals, loans or trades. Meanwhile, there was only a total of $100K spent on transfers.
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As press conferences go, the announcement of Canada’s 2015 Women’s World Cup host cities was about as anticlimactic as they get.
Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg were named the host cities for the tournament. What cities will actually get big games (semifinals and final, as well as the Canada matches) will be determined later. Each of the cities will also host games at the 2014 U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Halifax dropped out and Toronto was never interested (that is, city government, not the fans in Canada’s largest city) because it has the Pan Am Games in 2015.
So the six host cities was a done deal. In fact, it was such an obligatory presser that the first question that FIFA president Sepp Blatter fielded from the press gallery was about Brazil 2014. In fact, the press conference handlers had to ask the media to keep the questions to the 2015 WWC.
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Terry Dunfield
CONCACAF announced that, after discussions with FIFA, the decision has been made to wipe away the yellow cards accumulated by players during the first two rounds of World Cup qualifying.
And that means Canadian midfielders Terry Dunfield and Julian de Guzman, who had a yellow each from the previous round of qualifying, will enter the next phase of World Cup matches with clean slates. So, neither player will be walking a tightrope when he next plays for Canada in an official qualifying match.
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With one line in its matchday preview, BSC Young Boys has come clean about why Canadian midfielder Josh Simpson hasn’t played a game for the club since joining the club in mid-January.
In advance of this weekend’s Swiss league match against Sion, Simpson was listed as “questionable.” The reason?
In German, the club listed Simpson on the match report as being questionable dur to “Spielberechtigung.” Translated from German. “Eligibility.” (See it HERE)
Not an injury. Not a flu. It’s an eligibility issue that’s keeping Simpson off the field. And for Canadian soccer fans, it’s a scary proposition.
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The Bell Media empire, which includes CTV, TSN and RDS, announced Thursday that it had secured the rights for the 2015 Women’s World Cup and the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar World Cups.
“This is a historic day for Bell Media and sports broadcasting in Canada . We are thrilled that FIFA has recognized our unmatched ability to produce, promote and market the World Cup to all Canadians,” said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports, in a release issued by Bell Media. “Our production team has a long legacy of delivering outstanding coverage of major international events across multiple platforms. In this partnership, FIFA can expect Bell Media’s coverage to not only serve avid Canadian soccer fans but also showcase their marquee events to non-traditional sports fans. We’ll be working closely with our partners to put a national spotlight on the 2015 Women’s World Cup ensuring the event has a long-term impact on the future of soccer in Canada.”
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on Haber scores again for Maccabi Haifa
on Ottawa Fury FC unveils three logo possibilities on TFC waives little-used forwards Morgan and Bennett
on Ottawa Fury to unveil its NASL logo on May 25 on Canadian striker Cox named NASL Player of the Week
