June 30, 2022
The brief from today:
Real Madrid women’s coach gets extension
Alberto Toril, the Real Madrid Femenino coach, has just received a contract extension until 2024. Under him last season, the team was able to finish third in La Liga, and reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Of course, the team was in the news last week when former forward, Kosovare Asllani, had some harsh comments regarding the culture in the women’s team—specifically the treatment of injured players. To be fair, the tension Asllani mentioned seemed to primarily involve Toril’s predecessor, David Aznar, who was sacked in November of last year. The club has put their faith in the Toril for the time being and he will aim to repay that, but also has to ensure the players’ well being.
Toril will have to calm things down at Madrid
Pakistan Football Federation suspension lifted
FIFA has lifted a suspension placed on the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) in March 2021. The suspension, according to FIFA, was due to third party interference in the nation’s football governing body. FIFA had a normalization committee in Pakistan that would be in charge until they held elections to determine the PFF’s leadership structure, but that never manifested. After 18 months without elections, a group—elected by the Supreme Court in 2018 to manage the PFF—took over the federation office in March last year. Since FIFA didn’t recognize this group’s authority, the result was a suspension on the PFF. As of today, however, FIFA claims they’ve received assurances that their committee is back in control at the federation offices, and are also managing the finances once again. As a result, the suspension has been lifted. The PFF was warned by FIFA, in its statement, that any future third party interference would bring further suspensions. In addition, the deadline for the committee’s remit to hold elections has now been extended until June 2023.
New Chelsea owners launch inquiry
Todd Boehly and Clearlake, Chelsea’s new owners, have opened an inquiry regarding toxic workplace culture under the previous ownership. The review, which will be handled by an external party, stems from alleged bullying in a specific department at the club. A New York Times article reported that former employee, Richard Bignell, committed suicide in January due to issues stemming from the workplace culture at the department in question, even including the coroner’s report which made the link to “[his] despair following the loss of his job.” The new ownership, along with the launch of the inquiry, released a statement saying, “The club’s new board believes strongly in a workplace environment and corporate culture that empowers its employees and ensures they feel safe, included, valued, and trusted.” They’ve even gone a step further and attempted to contact Bignell’s family via his legal team.
