Said & Done: 'All they ever wanted was Tavecchio on the cross'

Quote of the week

Carlo Tavecchio: reflecting on his record after a “media witch‑hunt” forced him out as Italy’s FA president: “Two hundred and forty people work for me here. Two hundred and forty people are in tears.”

• His take-away message for the press, a week after Italy’s World Cup exit: papers should “publish all my achievements in football”, not keep listing his missteps. Tavecchio said talk of his four financial crime convictions; his six-month racism ban; his leaked comments about “lousy Jews” and “keeping gays away from me”; his reference to female players as “handicapped”; his call for clubs to host lap dancing venues; and new claims he sexually harassed a female executive, telling her “come here and let me touch your breasts”, which he denies, distracts from his “record of success … All [the press] ever wanted was Tavecchio on the cross.”

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Elsewhere: trip of the week

Fifa 2.0’s Gianni Infantino, visiting Azerbaijan for an audience with president Ilham Aliyev. Infantino said Aliyev – who denies election fraud, a £2.2bn corruption racket and having LGBT people “rounded up” – was delivering “a real football country, in the truest sense of the word”.

Meanwhile in New York

Among this month’s Fifa trial highlights so far: former Paraguay FA head Juan Ángel Napout denying taking bribes in “cash, property and Paul McCartney tickets”; and lawyers for ex-Peru FA head Manuel Burga denying he made two throat-slashing gestures at a key witness in court. Burga’s attorney said his client had just been “scratching a skin complaint”. Both deny all charges.

Best moral lead

Fifa partner Adidas – who stayed loyal through the corruption crisis, arrests and bans – ready to take a lead if the trials go badly. “We expect from our partners that they abide by laws. If a partner is convicted we have a problem with that.”

Plus: stoic of the week

Qatar 2022 head Hassan al-Thawadi – holding the line against new press allegations of bid corruption arising from evidence in New York. “We’ve suffered abuse – but do we ever regret bidding? No, we will never regret it. Anything of value will never come easy.”

Other news: most got at

Lazio communications director Arturo Diaconale – still reflecting on why media “overplayed” last month’s coverage of Lazio fans mocking the Holocaust. “It’s a form of racism against Lazio. It means that now we too must adopt the mindset of a minority group, one marginalised and hurt by prejudice.” His broader message: “Lazio will fight this. We are not children of a lesser god.”

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Message of the week

Premier League head Richard Scudamore, launching this year’s Rainbow Laces campaign. Scudamore - sorry in 2014 for his “inappropriate banter” about “gash”, “big-titted broads” and “female irrationality” – pledged a top-down drive for “equality and diversity”: “Premier League football is for everyone, everywhere.”

Most insulted

Portugal’s referees’ association, threatening strike action unless players and press demonstrate they can go 20 days without “slurs implying bias or corruption”, including use of “offensive terms such as ‘octopus’, ‘padre’, ‘deacon’ and ‘golden whistler’ ... We demand serenity and respect.”

Setback of the week

Romania: Former Brasov owner Ioan Neculaie, jailed for two years after he reacted to a flat tyre on his car by “taking out a gun and shooting all the other tyres too”. The court heard Neculaie, who had a suspended manslaughter sentence, was “making a point to his chauffeur”.

Spat of the week

Nicolás Russo, president of Argentina’s Lanús, accusing Brazil’s Grêmio of “foul play” in their Copa Libertadores final first-leg, including “aggressive ball boys who were 35- or 40-year-old men. One tried to punch our keeper, but he missed.”

• Upsetting Grêmio coach Renato Gaúcho: officials missing a foul in the area (“even Stevie Wonder saw it”), and “fuss” over his use of a drone to film Lanús training pre-match. “Sure we hired a spy, it’s normal. People need to get over it.”

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Clarification of the week

Algeria coach Rabah Madjer, denying he “went too far” by stopping a press conference to tell a veteran journalist: “Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up ... retire, you enemy of Algeria.” Madjer: “I’ve done an extraordinary job, so I corrected his criticisms. I showed him no disrespect.”

Manager news: making moves

• Germany: TSV Oldenburg chairman Erdal Sarigül, sacking coach Boris Ekmescic after a 3-1 defeat without telling him. Ekmescic said he found out while reading match reports online: “I’m glad I read it, or I’d have gone into training as usual. Seriously.”

• Mexico, 23 Sep: Tiburones Rojos de la Veracruz president Fidel Kuri Mustieles unveiling new coach José Cardozo as heralding a “new era”: “Now we’re moving, now we’ll fight for bigger goals, battle for every ball, rise as winners. José will give us that punch we need.” 23 Nov: Sacks him.

Plus: best attitude

Romania: Liga IV Venus Bucharest’s keeper Emil Constantinescu, reflecting on their 26-1 defeat to Academia Rapid. “If they didn’t score the first 10 goals, I think we could have won it. But we take some positives. We get our heads up, and we go again.”