CHARLES SALE SPORTS AGENDA: FA chief and the heir to Mussolini

29 May 2009 00:08
FA chairman Lord Triesman, who has attracted controversy ever since arriving at Soho Square, was involved in another political incident at the Champions League final in Rome when he was seated next to Italy's former leader of the Fascist party. The FA were very surprised to find that Triesman had FA president Prince William on his right and Gianfranco Fini, the fascist sympathising heir to Benito Mussolini on his left in the front row of UEFA's VIP area in the Stadio Olimpico - especially as Fini had not been included in the original seating plan for the prime seats. But UEFA had received a last-minute request from the protocol office of the Italian Government requesting Fini be given as prominent a position as Italian PM Silvo Berlusconi at the match, due to Fini's senior political status as president of the Italian chamber of Deputies. The reshuffle resulted in the British ambassador in Rome, FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson and Manchester United chief executive David Gill all having to move. Triesman had no say in his new seating companion although as a former member of the Communist party he used to have equally extreme views from the opposing side of the political spectrum. A UEFA spokesman said: 'There was no intention to cause embarrassment, it was purely a protocol matter.' The hoo-ha follows the FA having to apologise for the London assembly's BNP representative Richard Barnbrook attending the 2018 World Cup bid launch. Portsmouth's new owner Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim has taken on a top sports PR consultant to ensure the UAE billionaire property developer stops making the outrageous comments that led to him being sidelined as the front man at Manchester City by the Abi Dhabi United Group. Paul Mace, former Leicester City communications chief (right), who has been a long-term adviser to Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill before setting up his own agency Mace Sport that looks after Stan Collymore and Robbie Savage, will be attempting to minimise enthusiastic publicist Sulaiman's claims about signing the world's best players. But hands-on boss Sulaiman will be making changes at Portsmouth when due diligence is completed. A high profile new manager can be expected with former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson a strong contender. Leicester owner Milan Mandaric (right) has made some baffling decisions in his time with his choice of advisers. None more so than his latest off-field decision to part company with communications chief Jon Sanders and replace him with grizzled veteran local newspaper football reporter Bill Anderson, the most unlikely spin-doctor you could possibly find. The serious breakdown in morale at BBC Sport over the inequalities surrounding the botched move to Manchester in 2011, where there is one rule for the rank and file and seemingly another for the executives, has been further eroded by speculation that tennis, rugby, and golf producer Paul Davies has been told he can stay living in the south without giving up his job. The Beeb are worried about losing too many of their talented people If they have to relocate north. World Cup’s flying start England will not secure their definitive place at the World Cup in South Africa until September at the earliest. But that hasn't stopped the official tour agents, who are selling tickets, flight and accommodation packages without the dreaded hospitality as a compulsory extra for the first time beginning their sales operation. BAC Sport, one of three agents for the UK, start their £25 registration process next week. Trips taking in two England group games will cost around £3,000. It may have been an anti-climax of a Champions League final, but ITV Sport will be worried by the peak audience for this flagship match dropping by a remarkable 4 million from the 14.6m who tuned into the climax of last year's penalty shoot-out between Chelsea and Manchester United. The 12.1m who watched the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany that had no English participation on BBC, also shows up ITV's 10.6m as a disappointing audience for such an attractive match-up although ITV's spokesman insisted they were 'delighted'. Sky's peak audience of 1.8m was down from 2m in 2008.

Source: Daily_Mail