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LONDON –– FIFA's self-acclaimed transparent reform process headed by New York lawyer Michael Garcia came within hours of being sabotaged from within the organisation last week, Reuters has learned.

The position of Garcia himself and his role as the head of the Independent Ethics Commission looking into alleged corruption surrounding the voting procedure for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and the 2011 FIFA presidential election, came under threat from a number of senior FIFA power brokers.

Members of FIFA's executive committee have told Reuters they would have considered their positions had the investigation into FIFA's affairs by Garcia been halted before he had completed his work.

A number of reform-minded members confirmed they stopped the plan before it was even discussed in full session, after being approached in the corridors between sessions of the executive committee meetings at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich on Thursday and Friday.

At almost exactly the same time, Garcia was in Zurich carrying out further investigations into FIFA's workings.

There is no suggestion FIFA President Sepp Blatter played any role in the plan to stop what he has widely acclaimed as FIFA's new "transparent" reform process.

Reuters understands from sources connected to the story that the plan not only involved removing Garcia from his post as the chief investigator into alleged corruption at FIFA, but also the game worldwide.

When approached to comment on the alleged plot to end the investigation, FIFA's British Vice  President Jim Boyce told Reuters that as far as he was concerned, he would have had to consider his position had any attempt to halt the investigation succeeded.

Northern Irishman Boyce, 70, who is also the head of FIFA's referee's committee and steps down from the committee in 15 months time, said: "There was a bit of informal chat about the possibility that some people wanted to see Garcia removed from the inquiry and that it might be raised at the exco meeting but it wasn't.

"As someone who has been brought up with honesty and integrity — and it was a great honour for me to be asked to be a vice president — if this had been proposed at the exco meeting or I thought for one moment Garcia would be removed in any fashion from carrying out his full investigation, I and others would be aghast and would have had to consider our positions because things at FIFA have been improving greatly."

FIFA executive committee member HRH Prince Ali told Reuters: "I am very happy that Michael Garcia will continue in his work. There were some questions raised about the necessity of having an Independent Ethics Committee but to be honest, I think that idea was stopped.

"There were certain people like myself who could not accept that this could happen.

"He was supported by our congress and given a mandate and I am very happy he will continue with his work."

FIFA did not respond to requests for a statement, while a spokesperson for Garcia's office in New York issued a "no comment" reply to a request to establish if Garcia was aware of the plans to end his role.

Double bid

Last week it was reported that Garcia had spoken to some of the 13 members of the executive committee who are still in office and who took part in voting for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The 2018 World Cup was awarded to Russia and the 2022 finals to Qatar on the same day in Zurich on December 2,
2010, and one senior FIFA source told Reuters: "I have never understood to this day why there was a double bid. It still makes no sense to me."

The reform process was instigated following the scandals that engulfed the awarding of those finals as well as the 2011 presidential election campaign.

It was approved by Congress in June 2011 while Garcia himself was appointed in
June 2012 at an extraordinary executive committee meeting.

MADRID – La Liga is set for one of the most exciting finishes in years after Barcelona blew the title race wide open with a win at Real Madrid in Sunday’s “Clasico” that left Atletico Madrid the masters of their own destiny.

Not since Real and Barca finished tied on 76 points in 2006-07, with Real crowned champions by virtue of a superior head-to-head record, and Sevilla stayed in the hunt down to the wire has there been such a close three-way fight for the title.

Barca’s 4-3 victory at the Bernabeu means Real and Atletico both have 70 points with nine games left, with champions Barca, chasing a fifth La Liga crown in six years, a point behind.

Atletico’s impressive achievements under Argentine coach Diego Simeone have shaken up a league increasingly dominated by Barca and Real, the world’s richest clubs by income.

Atletico have about a fifth of their wealthier rivals’ resources but the inspirational Simeone has managed to mould his unfancied squad into genuine contenders in Spain and on the European stage.

If they finish level on points with Real, Atletico will win the title, their first since 1996 when Simeone was a player there, as they have a better head-to-head record thanks to this month’s 2-2 draw at the Calderon and a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu in September.

Likewise, Barca have a superior head-to-head over Real after beating them 2-1 at the Nou Camp in October, the last time the Madrid club lost before Sunday.

Atletico and Barca drew 0-0 at the Calderon in Madrid in January and play each other at the Nou Camp on the final day in what could turn out to be a nail-biting climax to the campaign.

In the next round of matches, Real face a potentially tricky game at Sevilla on Wednesday, when Barca host Celta Vigo (1900) and Atletico are at home to Granada.

“The league is starting again from scratch and we are back in the battle for the title,” Barca coach Gerardo Martino told a news conference after his side’s success at Real, the Madrid club’s first defeat in 32 matches in all competitions.

“I always thought the three teams would be up there until the end and that’s how it has turned out,” added the Argentine.

“Today was our last chance and we did not want to be knocked out of the race.”

A win for Real on Sunday would have restored their three-point lead over Atletico and all-but killed off Barca’s challenge but instead they are licking their wounds after suffering only their second home defeat this term.

Captain Sergio Ramos was sent off in the 63rd minute for tripping Neymar when he was through on goal and the centre back and his teammates criticised referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco, suggesting he had not been entirely objective.

Key match 

However, coach Carlo Ancelotti, like Martino in his first season in Spain, refused to be drawn into the debate and urged his players to focus on regrouping for the Sevilla game.

“Now we need to forget this match and think about the one on Wednesday, which could be a key match for the season,” the Italian told a news conference.

“Luck was not with us but the team showed good physical condition and we are hopeful and capable of quickly putting this game behind us.

“I have said many times that this league is open until the final day. We are not happy because we missed a good opportunity but not to worry.

“There are nine games left and it will be very intense for everyone. The league is open for the three teams and each match could be decisive.”

FRANKFURT, Germany — It wasn’t always so easy for Bayern Munich.

Bundesliga championships used to be decided on the last day of the season, or even in the last minute. In a famous episode in 2001, Schalke thought they had won their first title and their fans and players were already celebrating — too soon, it turned out.

Schalke had beaten Unterhaching 5-3, while Bayern Munich was losing 1-0 in Hamburg. Both teams were even on points but Schalke had a better goal difference.

The match in Hamburg went into injury time and Bayern scored to snatch the title with a draw.

Precise German timekeepers say Schalke had been “champion” for four minutes and 38 seconds before Bayern pulled off their stunning feat, leaving Schalke to be “the champion of the hearts” but with no silverware to show.

Such extreme drama and suspense seem very unlikely any time soon.

Bayern won last season’s championship with six games to spare and had 25 points more than Borussia Dortmund in the end.

This season, Bayern may top even that.

If they win on Tuesday at Hertha Berlin, Bayern will have the title with seven games to spare, the earliest champion in the Bundesliga’s 51-year history. Bayern is 23 points ahead of Dortmund.

By winning 2-0 in Mainz on Saturday, Bayern notched their league-record 18th consecutive win and stretched their unbeaten run to 51 games — also a record.

While Bayern can be entertaining to watch, their dominance is such that the title race in the Bundesliga has become a huge bore.

It’s a close battle for second and an interesting struggle to avoid relegation involving some big-name clubs such as Hamburg and Stuttgart, but the title has been practically decided by the 12th round, when Bayern took a four-point lead.

Bayern are unbeaten this season — and look likely to go all the way without a loss — and have drawn only two matches, against Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen. They won 3-0 at Dortmund and their victories include a 7-0 rout at Werder Bremen; 5-1 against Schalke; 6-1 in Wolfsburg. They have scored 76 goals, while second-best Dortmund have 17 fewer. Bayern have conceded only 12 goals, 17 fewer than Dortmund.

“It’s not easy for us to play outstanding games all the time with a 23-point lead,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said in Mainz, where Bayern came alive in the last 10 minutes to score twice.

Last season, Bayern accomplished an unprecedented club treble by sweeping the Champions League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup.

It could do the same this season, but Guardiola says the Bundesliga has the most weight for him.

“That’s where you have everything, games with wind, with rain, with a good pitch, with a bad pitch, injuries. That’s where the whole year counts,” he said.

The coaching transition between Jupp Heynckes and Guardiola has gone very smoothly.

Bayern’s possession-based game resembles Guardiola’s Barcelona, but Bayern show more purpose in attack. Bayern spend most of a game in the opponent’s half, attacking early and strongly. Any loss of ball results in two or three players swarming the opponent to win it back quickly.

MIAMI –– If there was ever a tennis match that was going to be a fight to death it would probably be between fiery Spaniard Rafa Nadal and the battling Australian Lleyton Hewitt.

Perhaps more than any other players on the ATP Tour, Hewitt and Nadal have constructed careers around the relentless fighting spirit that has come to characterises their game and on Saturday the two warriors stared across the net at each other in a second round clash at the Sony Open.

If the two had come together in their primes, the 27-year-old Spaniard and the 33-year-old Australian might have produced a rivalry as electric as Nadal and Roger Federer.

But on Saturday it was Nadal, a champion at his peak pounding his way to a one-sided 6-1 6-3 win over a fearless brawler whose best fights are in the past.

While Nadal has won 62 titles, including 13 grand slams and 26 Masters series events, a victory on the Miami hardcourts is not among them and while he was happy to offer Hewitt plenty of respect he was not about to show the former-world number one any mercy.

“No I cannot feel that way [sorry] for him,” said Nadal, a three time Miami finalist. “I am here to try my best I know how dangerous Lleyton is and I admire him so much.

“He’s a great example for me, he keeps playing with passion and love for the game and that is a great example for the kids to.

“All the respect to.”

With his opening round victory on Thursday, Hewitt joined Nadal and Federer as the only active players with 600 or more career wins.

Following that milestone win, Hewitt said the reason he continued to play was for moments just like Saturday when he had the opportunity to play the game’s best.

After the rout, the Aussie said he felt the same way.

“I hung in there did everything I could but he was too good,” said Hewitt, whose 29 career titles include two grand slam wins. “He was just too good.”

“Even when I felt like I was able to push him around he found away to get back into the point.”

“He hit the ball really clean right from the start. I hung in there did everything I could but he was too good.”

Nadal landed the first blow breaking Hewitt to open the match and then immediately landed another shot breaking him and before the match was 15 minutes old the Australian was pinned on the ropes in a 4-0 hole.

Hewitt, dressed mostly in black, a black baseball cap turned backwards on his head, finally stopped the slide holding serve at 4-1.

But Nadal would hit back with another break to finish off the first set and take a 1-0 lead.

Hewitt dug in and tried to make a match of it in the second but it was Nadal delivering the knockout punch with a break for  5-3 and holding serve to complete the win in just over an hour.

“I played the right way,” said Nadal. “Lleyton played much better in the second set, played more aggressive, some good rallies. I was very happy with the way with way I played at the end of the first set.”

“When I had the long rallies I did. I think I did what I had to do today.”

LONDON –– The Premier League lived up to its reputation as the most entertaining and exciting league in the world on Saturday as the goals flowed, records were broken and a major controversy added extra spice to the heady mix.

From the early afternoon kick-off at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea crushed Arsenal by a record 6-0 to the evening game across London at Upton Park where champions Manchester United beat West Ham 2-0, millions of viewers in over 200 territories around the world certainly got their money’s worth.

The Premier League’s latest TV broadcasting rights deal for 2013-16 is worth in excess of 5 billion pounds ($8.25 billion) with a global TV reach unparalleled by any other league.

Recent British government figures show that tourists coming to England who watch Premier League games spend in excess of 800 million pounds a year on tickets, merchandising, transportation and all the other sundries in getting to and from a match.

And those who were at Stamford Bridge, Upton Park, Cardiff City Stadium or the Etihad in Manchester on Saturday would not have been disappointed.

The 32 goals scored on the day was the highest total on one day since 35 were scored on December 29, 2012 and with Chelsea and Liverpool hitting six and Manchester City scoring five, it was the first time since May 1998 that three teams had scored five or more goals on the same afternoon.

Early start 

The drama started early at Stamford Bridge where Arsene Wenger began the day by celebrating his 1,000th match in charge of Arsenal but ended it admitting he took full responsibility for “the nightmare” of the defeat that followed.

While Wenger entered the record books for his longevity, Chelsea rewrote their own by scoring their biggest ever win over their London rivals and their biggest league win under manager Jose Mourinho whose unbeaten home league record in his two spells as Chelsea manager now stretches to 76 games.

It was the first time Arsenal had conceded six goals in a top flight match in London since they lost 6-0 to West Ham in 1960, and the first time in the Premier League era they have had a player sent off for mistaken identity.

The day’s major controversy began when Arsenal midfielder  Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain dived to punch a shot from Edin Hazard clear and conceded a penalty but referee Andre Marriner sent off his team-mate Kieran Gibbs for the offence instead.

Fans around the world saw a TV camera close-up of Oxlade-Chamberlain telling Marriner that he was the player who committed the offence.

The incident highlighted one of the great ironies of the global game as referees and their assistants are not allowed to consult TV replays in cases of uncertainty.

So while millions around the world knew exactly what had happened, the referee had to live with his mistake.

While not exactly apologising, he “expressed his disappointment” to Arsenal later, but even if he had sent off the right man, on Saturday’s evidence Chelsea still would have crushed Arsenal whose title challenge now looks over.

Manchester City’s and Liverpool’s though are both alive after City beat bottom-club Fulham 5-0 with a Yaya Toure hat-trick, which included two penalties, and Liverpool won 6-3 at Cardiff.

The league’s top scorer Luis Suarez took his tally for the season to 28 goals by scoring his third hat-trick of the campaign in a pulsating match which Cardiff led twice.

Rooney strikes 

Those results left Chelsea four points ahead of Liverpool at the top and six clear of City, though City have three matches in hand. Arsenal trail Chelsea by seven points, although they do have a match in hand.

Manchester United’s hopes of retaining their title have ended but although they are in seventh place, 18 points behind the leaders, David Moyes’ men are showing definite signs of improvement and made their mark on Saturday’s action in a very special way.

Wayne Rooney scored both of their goals in their 2-0 win at West Ham, and the first, a contender for Goal of the Season,  evoked memories of David Beckham’s famous strike from the halfway line against Wimbledon in 1996.

Rooney was just inside the West Ham half, more than 50 metres from the West Ham goal, when he smashed an audacious shot high into the air which flew over marooned goalkeeper Adrian, bounced once and ended in the back of the net.

In another perfect TV moment, the camera closed in on his old teammate Beckham watching in the director’s box with a smile beamed all over his face.

Rooney’s though, was not the only truly spectacular goal of the day as Norwich City’s Ghanaian-born Norway international  midfielder Alexander Tettey delivered another never-to-be-forgotten moment in their 2-0 win over Sunderland.

Tettey, 27, who had not scored for Norwich in the league in any of his previous 42 appearances, blasted home an unstoppable volley from 25 metres out to seal a precious victory.

And anyone who can’t get enough of the Premier League won’t have to wait long for their next instalment with the Manchester United-Manchester City derby on Tuesday the pick of five catch-up games being played in the coming week.

AMMAN — Rafat Haron was crowned champion of the first round of the Kumho Drifting Championship held at SOFEX racetrack on Friday with the participation of 29 drivers.

Haron led the pack with 91 points, followed by Omar Al Kukhun with 89.75 points and Mohammad Al Kukhun in the third place with 89.25 points.

Safety officials and firefighters dealt with one accident during the race when the car of Sami Jabali caught fire.

No injuries were caused.

Drivers were judged according to speed, angle and perfect track line (90 points), showmanship (5 points) and smoking tyres (5 points).

ZURICH — FIFA President Sepp Blatter refused to comment on allegations linking Qatar’s winning World Cup bid to payments received by voters.

Blatter said at a news conference on Friday “I have not even the right” to discuss claims published this week by the Daily Telegraph.

The British newspaper said it had evidence that a Qatari company controlled by former FIFA board member Mohamed Bin Hammam paid almost $2 million to former FIFA vice president Jack Warner’s family after the December 2010 vote.

Blatter referred questions to a statement on behalf of its ethics investigation panel, which was “aware of the material identified in the published article”.

The claims were aired as Blatter and other FIFA executive committee members were being interviewed in Zurich as part of an investigation by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests, won by Russia and Qatar.

Pressed further on the subject, Blatter insisted he will not comment “until they have finished their work”.

Garcia is expected to deliver a report this year to the judging panel of FIFA’s ethics court.

“As with any allegations of misconduct by football officials the ethics committee will take whatever action it feels is appropriate,” the statement on behalf of Garcia said.

Still, he has limited jurisdiction at best. Bin Hammam is already banned from football for life, and Warner resigned in June 2011 to avoid a previous FIFA investigation into a cash-for-votes scandal linked to the Qatari’s failed presidential bid.

As future World Cup hosts continue to trouble FIFA, Blatter said he would make another visit to Qatar before this year’s tournament starts in Brazil in June to press for progress in the gas-rich emirate’s treatment of migrant laborers.

Blatter’s board colleague, Theo Zwanziger, said FIFA has asked Qatari authorities for “honest reports” on the situation.

Labour unions and rights groups have campaigned to highlight unsafe conditions, unpaid salaries and contracts tying workers to their employer.

Blatter dismissed suggestions that aggressive actions by 2018 World Cup host Russia towards neighbouring Ukraine in the breakaway Crimea region could affect the tournament.

“The World Cup has been given and voted to Russia and we are going forward with our work,” said Blatter, who counts Russia’s sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, among his board colleagues.

FIFA and UEFA have also endorsed an agreement that Crimea region clubs Tavriya Simferopol and FC Sevastopol should complete the season in the Ukraine Premier League. Both clubs expressed interest in switching to the Russian league next season.

Issues affecting FIFA’s next three major tournament hosts have not damaged the governing body’s finances.

Buoyed by record income of $1.386 billion last year, FIFA reported that its reserves grew to $1.432 billion after making a $72 million profit.

FIFA’s financial results typically peak in a World Cup year, which will be reported next March, and are set to grow with more valuable TV rights and sponsorship deals starting next year.

MADRID — Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has recovered from a bruised thigh and is available for Sunday’s La Liga ‘Clasico’ (2000 GMT) at home to Barcelona, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.

Benzema took a knock in a collision with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in last weekend’s 1-0 La Liga win at Malaga and the France international missed Tuesday’s Champions League game against Schalke 04.

“Benzema has recovered well and he trained with the rest of the team today without any problems,” Ancelotti told a news conference.

“We had a small problem with Isco who arrived with a mild cold and had some treatment before training and then trained normally,” added the Italian. “So all the squad is in good condition.”

With 10 games left, Real have a three-point lead over second-placed city rivals Atletico Madrid, who play at bottom side Real Betis earlier on Sunday (1600).

Champions Barca are a point further back in third and defeat on Sunday would severely damage their chances of winning a fifth La Liga title in six years.

Ancelotti said he would be sticking with his preferred midfield of Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria at the Bernabeu, when Real will seek to extend their 31-match unbeaten run in all competitions stretching back to a 2-1 La Liga defeat at Barca in October.

Benzema will return at centre forward with Portugal captain and La Liga top scorer Ronaldo on the left and Wales winger Gareth Bale on the right.

“The centre of the pitch will be very important tomorrow,” Ancelotti said.

“Our midfielders are playing well for a while now and I am confident we can win in that zone of the pitch tomorrow.

“Our idea is to play a match that shows off our best qualities. An offensive football, attacking together and defending together.

“I think the difference will be in the collective work of each team and not in the individual qualities of the players.

“We are not thinking about a draw because we have a small advantage in that we are playing at home.”

Real and Barca will also meet in next month’s King’s Cup final and both are through to the last eight of the Champions League along with Atletico.

MUNICH — Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich have had a hand on the Bundesliga title for months and could make their status as champions official at Mainz 05 on Saturday. Holding a 23-point lead at the top of the table and with nine games left, another Bayern victory this weekend and no wins from Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 would seal the trophy for the Bavarians. Fifth-placed Mainz will be no pushovers, having lost just once in 11 games. They are also attempting to record their best Bundesliga points haul this season. Third-placed Schalke, on 47 points, will try to keep the title race going a little longer especially as they are at home to bottom club Eintracht Braunschweig on Saturday. Dortmund, in second spot on 48 points, are likely to be without defender Marcel Schmelzer at Hanover 96 on Saturday. Schmelzer was injured in the midweek 2-1 defeat by Zenit St. Petersburg that sent Juergen Klopp’s side through to the Champions League quarter-finals 5-4 on aggregate.

LONDON — "Arsene Who?"

That famous headline in a London newspaper welcomed the relatively unknown Arsene Wenger when he was appointed Arsenal manager in September 1996. 

Many players at the club had the same question on their lips when the Frenchman walked into the dressing room for the first time.

A little less than 18 years later, Wenger will take charge of his 1,000th game as Arsenal manager when his team plays at bitter rival Chelsea on Saturday. 

And despite the former Monaco coach’s inability to deliver a trophy since 2005, Wenger's achievements in north London and his influence on English football have been immense.

Not only has Wenger presided over glory days at the club — Arsenal won three Premier League and four FA Cup titles under Wenger, including the double in 1998 and 2002 — he also achieved sporting and financial stability at Arsenal.

The club's longest-serving manager is also widely credited for having radically changed the face of English football, bringing in new training methods and his famous broccoli diet while discouraging alcohol consumption. 

First regarded as something revolutionary, Wenger's attention to detail quickly became popular among his players.

"At first, we didn't really know who Arsene Wenger was," said former England and Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour. "But we trusted [vice chairman] David Dein at the time, him saying Arsene Wenger was going to push the club forward," Parlour added.

"And certainly after six weeks or so you could tell that he was a top-class manager. When Arsene Wenger first turned up, he took me to another level. 

"His training methods were always great, he was on that pitch every single day, which is so important as a coach. He had lots and lots of brains about football and what he wanted to achieve."

Wenger arrived at Highbury on the back of successes at Monaco and a stint in charge of Japanese club Grampus Eight to become Arsenal's first foreign manager following short-term tenures for Stewart Houston and Bruce Rioch.

Arsenal finished third that season but Wenger won over the fans' hearts the next term when he led his team to the Premier League title with two games to spare after trailing leaders Manchester United by 11 points at one stage. 

The Gunners then added the FA Cup to secure the double in Wenger's first full season in charge.

Over the years, the Frenchman built a squad capable of fighting for the title every season, with the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit added to a roster including David Seaman, Tony Adams and Dennis Bergkamp. But Wenger's real masterstroke was signing Thierry Henry.

The World Cup winner arrived in August 1999, after Wenger's side had been denied back-to-back titles by one point by Manchester United. 

After failing to score in his first eight games, Henry netted 26 goals that season and went on scoring 226 times in 369 appearances for Arsenal between 1999 and 2007, winning seven trophies in his time in north London.

"He changed the philosophy of the club," Henry said. "He won stuff as soon as he arrived and therefore he earned the trust of the fans and the respect of everyone."

Unlike his great rival Alex Ferguson, who retired last season after turning Manchester United into a European powerhouse, Wenger has not tasted Champions League success. 

Despite qualifying for the lucrative tournament for 16 consecutive seasons, Arsenal has never won Europe's biggest prize, losing to Barcelona in the 2006 final.

Wenger is now trying to end a trophy drought stretching back to the 2005 FA Cup. 

Over that period, the fans' patience has been tested but they never turned their backs to the Frenchman as he stayed truthful to his ideal of beautiful football while rebuilding the team and guaranteeing the club's financial health.

"I believe that when one day I look back, certainly I will be very proud of what I have done," Wenger recently said about those difficult times. 

"It was a trophyless period but certainly a much more difficult and sensitive period, and we needed much more commitment and strength than in the first part of my stay here. 

"I went for a challenge that I knew would be difficult because we had to fight with clubs who lose £150 million [$248 million] per year when we had to make £30 million [$50 million] per year."

Last year, Wenger told The Associated Press that he had tried to adopt a "socialist model" for Arsenal's wage bill. 

That philosophy is harder to sustain when the pressure for short-term success gets bigger and Wenger broke Arsenal's transfer record last summer to sign Mesut Ozil for 50 million euros ($66 million).

"I always say to the players, 'Forget the money'," Wenger said. 

"What is important is how well you play together, what you share together is much more important. The money is only a consequence of your experience," he added. 

"The real experience is the game."