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Backheel Breakfast: America is here to take down FIFA
USA! USA! USA!
Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images
It is widely accepted fact that FIFA is a corrupt organization, in which bribery is standard. Someone who matters has finally decided that people should go to jail for this. Swiss authorities arrested FIFA officials in Zürich on Wednesday, and they're likely to be extradited to the United States on various corruption-related charges. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement about the allegations against the arrested individuals, most of which relate to CONCACAF and CONMEBOL events.
Swiss authorities have started an investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup votes. It appears that the FIFA presidential election will go ahead as scheduled, despite Sepp Blatter saying it should be delayed. At least one voting member has openly said they will be voting for Prince Ali.
In the news
The guy who ghost-wrote “I am Zlatan” says all the quotes are made up. (Who Ate All The Pies)
If I was the president of Napoli, I’d imply Rafa was leaving on Tuesday, call a press conference for Thursday and deny it has anything to do with him leaving on Wednesday. If I was president. (Guardian)
Danny Welbeck won’t play in the FA Cup final. (ESPN FC)
Germany has named their squad for the USMNT friendly. (Bundesliga)
Fiorentina goalkeeper Neto says he’s just letting his agent pick his new team. (Football Italia)
You should be reading
Michael Caley says Alan Pardew is the Premier League manager of the year. (ESPN FC)
Mat Nashed on a Palestinian-Lebanese goalkeeper who dreams of playing for Palestine. (Vice)
Phil Costa on how much going to Wembley sucks. (The Set Pieces)
Fun with transfer rumors
The section in which nothing should be taken seriously. It’s rumor season, so this section will be expanded, and as the summer rolls on, will probably be bigger than the actual news section.
Real Madrid aren’t buying Marco Reus this summer. (AS)
Bayern Munich have apparently bid for Matteo Darmian. (Football Italia)
Manchester United are rivaling Arsenal for Karim Benzema. (Guardian)
Meanwhile, Liverpool and Spurs are fighting over Mandzukic. (Mirror)
And now for a totally insane rumor: Tevez to Liverpool? Nahhhh. (Telegraph)
Tuesday’s games
Watch highlights of Tigres’ Copa Libertadores win here. (FootballManiaChannel)
What to watch on Wednesday (click for listings, all times ET)
USA vs. France (1 p.m.) - Catch some U-23 Yanks in the Toulon Tournament.
Dnipro vs. Sevilla (2:45 p.m.) - The Europa League final is now for a Champions League place, so it’s massive.
Internacional vs. Santa Fe (6:30 p.m.) - The Copa Lib undercard.
Cruzeiro vs. River Plate (9 p.m.) - The main event. The winner might be the favorite.
3 MLS games (from 10 p.m.) - There are no truly garbage MLS teams and every game is watchable. What a world.
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