Franz Beckenbauer says deadlocked matches should continue to be decided with penalty-kick shootouts.
Beckenbauer, who is the former Bayern captain and the head of FIFA Task Force to improve football for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, says the shootouts “bring emotions into play and are a lot more attractive than the toss of a coin, for example.”
Beckenbauer’s comments were carried by German newspaper Bild on Saturday, a day after FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Beckenbauer’s panel of experts should find an alternative to shootouts.
Blatter told the FIFA Congress on Friday that football “loses its essence” when matches are settled by penalty kicks. He later clarified his view on Twitter, writing that he did not want to scrap shootouts but believed that matches should be decided “11 v 11.”
Beckham pay cut nearly 40 per cent
David Beckham is no longer Major League Soccer’s highest-paid player after his salary was cut nearly 40 per cent in his new contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The former England captain has a base salary of $3 million this year and guaranteed compensation of $4 million, according to figures released on Friday by the MLS Players Union. His previous base salary had been $5.5 million with total annual compensation of $6.5 million under a $32.5 million, five-year contract that expired after the 2011 season.
New York’s Thierry Henry became the league’s highest-paid player, with a base salary of $5 million and total compensation of $5.6 million.
Red Bulls teammate Rafa Marquez was second at $4.6 million total compensation, followed by Beckham and Galaxy teammates Robbie Keane ($2,9 million base, $3,4 million total) and Landon Donovan ($2.4 million).
Hertha’s appeal against relegation rejected
Hertha Berlin’s appeal against relegation from the Bundesliga has been rejected.
Berlin was relegated on aggregate when it played to a 2-2 draw this month against Fortuna Duesseldorf, whose fans invaded the pitch two minutes before the end of the match. The referee interrupted the match for 20 minutes before playing the last two minutes.
Berlin argued its players were too intimidated to continue but the football federation ruled against Berlin and said no rules were broken and that the referee was right to suspend and then resume the match.