Soccer Capsules: Tutu, Beckham, Theron to attend WCup draw

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Nelson Mandela will address soccer officials by video message at Friday’s World Cup draw, which will be attended by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and South African Oscar winner Charlize Theron.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke also will welcome former South African President Frederik W. de Klerk at the International Convention Center.

The 91-year-old Mandela, the former president, is frail and makes few public appearances. Mandela and de Klerk shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for their role in ending apartheid.

David Beckham, who scored in three consecutive World Cups, is also expected to attend. He hopes to make the England squad for the June event.

South African President Jacob Zuma will start off the 1½ hour show. The draw, led by Valcke, will set up the eight groups of four teams.

Thousands of guests will attend the draw, which will be televised in numerous countries. From Greece to Japan, Ghana to New Zealand, soccer fans have been waiting to find out what teams their country will face in the opening round of the World Cup, which starts June 11.

Valcke will swirl the balls in the pot and come up with combinations of groups that will look fortunate for some and cruel to others.

One spot is secure. Host South Africa will kick off the tournament at the Soccer City Stadium on June 11, and play its other first-round matches at Pretoria and Bloemfontein.

After the draw, FIFA expects a global rush on tickets.

"It is the kickoff for all people who are waiting and looking, knowing where they should fly and in what cities they should stay," Valcke said.

Other guests include former greats Michel Platini, the current UEFA president, and Franz Beckenbauer, who has won the World Cup for West Germany as a player and coach.

Hosting the World Cup is widely seen as a coming of age for South Africa, which has made giant strides since Mandela became the first president of the desegregated nation in 1994.

Underscoring the historic feat, Makhaya Ntini, the first black player in South Africa’s national cricket team, will be assisting the draw. He’ll be joined by Matthew Booth, the only white player on the Bafana Bafana national soccer team during the Confederations Cup.

"We cannot wait for Friday to arrive," Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said. "It will be a wonderful show."

FIFA meeting looks at extra help for refs

JOHANNESBURG — FIFA may decide Wednesday whether to help referees with video technology or extra officials at next year’s tournament in South Africa.

Faced by a storm of protests that it wasn’t doing enough to help referees, FIFA’s executive committee is holding an emergency meeting in Cape Town two days ahead of the World Cup draw. The meeting comes after Thierry Henry’s hand ball put France in the World Cup and eliminated Ireland.

The executive committee of soccer’s world governing body has many options. It can decide to do nothing, let the referees have the benefit of the 26 or so TV cameras that surround the field. It can give the fourth official a TV monitor or copy the Europa League experiment and have an extra match official at either end of the field to help the others.

David Dein, the former English Football Association vice chairman who has become a leading consultant on the future of the game, is a strong supporter of TV technology but believes FIFA will go for the extra officials.

"Let’s give the referees help. They actually want the help now," Dein said at the Soccerex business conference in Johannesburg. "They’ll put the two extra officials probably. It’s already in the Europa League as an experiment. Everybody’s wired up and it will be interesting to see how it works.

"Technology is a huge subject and it’s been brought to the boil by the Thierry Henry incident. You’ve got critical decisions at the top level that affect the game so much. OK, they are looking at extra officials, but don’t slam the door on technology."

Henry’s hand ball was not spotted by Swedish referee Martin Hansson and the goal stood even though millions saw TV replays of him controlling the ball with his left arm and hand to keep the ball in play.

FIFA rejected an Irish appeal for the game to replayed and the idea of adding Ireland as a 33rd team.

Regardless, FIFA still has the task of finding better ways to avoid similar situations.

Gerard Houllier, who is technical director of the France national team, doesn’t want to see soccer take on the full extent of TV technology but understands how it can help in small doses.

"I am very much in favor of goalline technology, but I have mixed feelings about video technology in general," Houllier said Tuesday. "I am very reluctant because you can’t have 26 cameras at a game in the Faeroe Islands. And you have to leave the referee to know the game and to interpret.

"With the Thierry Henry hand ball as an example, the fourth official should have a monitor. He should never talk to the referee but, in some circumstances, the main referee could ask him through the microphone if there was something controversial he couldn’t see."

The hand ball debate is not the only matter on the agenda of the executive committee. FIFA also wants to discuss the latest wave of match-fixing and betting scams coming out of central and eastern Europe. It is also concerned that the playoff systems used for the World Cup may have given some of the teams an advantage.

The playoffs in Europe involved eight of the group runners-up playing against each other home and away. Blatter believes one country gets the advantage of playing the second leg at home and it becomes unfair. FIFA will look at the playoffs with one game on neutral turf.

-- Robert Millward

ESPN’s Skipper joins US World Cup bid committee

NEW YORK — ESPN’s John Skipper joined the committee that is trying to bring the World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022.

Skipper, the network’s executive vice president for content, has been among the biggest proponents of expanding soccer broadcasting in the U.S.

"His expertise across the company’s array of platforms will greatly serve our ability to communicate the attributes of our bid throughout the rest of the bidding process," USSF president Sunil Gulati, chairman of the U.S. World Cup bid committee, said Tuesday.

ESPN and ABC, both owned by The Walt Disney Co., will broadcast next year’s World Cup and own rights to the 2014 tournament.

England and Spain are seen as the leading contenders for 2018. The U.S., the 1994 World Cup host, is viewed as a top candidate for 2022. FIFA’s executive committee will vote in December 2010.

Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands-Belgium, Russia and Spain-Portugal have filed to host both World Cups. Qatar and South Korea bid for 2022 only.

Other U.S. board members include former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, University of Miami president Donna Shalala, men’s national team star Landon Donovan, former women’s team star Mia Hamm, comedian Drew Carey, Washington Post chief executive officer Katharine Weymouth and New England Patriots and Revolution owner Robert Kraft.

L.A. to submit bid to host World Cup in 2018 or 2022

LOS ANGELES — The City Council has voted to submit a bid for Los Angeles to become a host city of the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

The council voted Tuesday to submit an application to be included in the U.S. bid, which must be given to FIFA by May 14.

Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands-Belgium, Russia and Spain-Portugal have also filed to host both World Cups. Qatar and South Korea bid for 2022 only.

The executive committee of FIFA, the sport’s governing body, will decide in December 2010.

Councilman Tom LaBonge, who sponsored the motion, says Los Angeles has a great record of hosting international sporting events, including the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Stanford Stadium in Northern California were two of nine buildings used nationwide for the 1994 World Cup.

Russia says train bomb won’t harm World Cup bid

JOHANNESBURG — Russia is confident that the train bombing that killed 26 people last week won’t harm its bid to stage the World Cup.

Russia is bidding to stage either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. Bid committee chief executive Alexey Sorokin said Tuesday that Friday’s attack on the Moscow to St. Petersburg train should not have a negative effect on the nation’s chances of holding the event for the first time.

Sorokin said every country has suffered from terrorist attacks and there were few exceptions among Russia’s World Cup competitors, adding "we are a huge nation. We have friends, we have enemies and we are a target like everyone else."

FIFA: Ireland cannot be extra WCup team

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — FIFA says Ireland will not be invited to the World Cup as a 33rd team despite the hand ball by Thierry Henry that helped France eliminate the Irish in a playoff.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said it was "impossible" to change the structure of the tournament. He said it would open FIFA to a host of other complaints of teams that felt they were cheated during qualifying.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Monday that the Irish had written to soccer’s world governing body asking to be let into the 2010 tournament in South Africa because of Henry’s hand ball.

Elsewhere

Golden Ball winner Messi pays tribute to Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi paid tribute to Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and his teammates after winning the Golden Ball by a record margin.

The Argentina forward won the European Footballer of the Year award by the biggest margin ever after helping the Spanish club win the Champions League, Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles last season.

The 22-year-old Messi received 473 of a possible 480 points to beat Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, last year’s winner, by 240 points.

Messi said that Guardiola’s arrival brought stability to the team.

Serbia president faces fine for WCup toast

BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbian President Boris Tadic has appeared before a judge on charges that he broke the law by having a champagne toast at a soccer stadium after Serbia qualified for the World Cup.

Tadic appeared in court Tuesday to face misdemeanor charges for drinking alcohol at a sports venue after Serbia’s 5-0 victory over Romania in October.

The president told a judge he "was not aware that alcohol consumption, even for the purpose of a toast, was forbidden." But Tadic said he’ll "take full responsibility for the committed offense."

Tadic, his sports minister and the head of Serbia’s soccer federation face fines ranging from $450 to $750 for the toast. The judge will mail the verdict.

Cagliari fined $15,000 for fans’ racist chanting

MILAN — The Cagliari soccer team has been fined $15,000 after fans chanted racist abuse at Juventus midfielder Mohamed Sissoko.

The Italian league imposed the fine Tuesday after Sissoko, who is black, was targeted by Cagliari fans in Sunday’s Serie A game.

Juventus was also fined this season after fans sang racially offensive songs about Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli.

Juventus and Inter Milan will meet again Saturday. There are concerns Juventus fans will again target Balotelli, who is of Ghanaian descent. Last season, Juventus had to play a match in an empty stadium after fans targeted him.