Jerome Valcke is challenging his 10-year ban from any football-related activity with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a media release confirmed on Tuesday.
Valcke is appealing for CAS to have “the challenged decision set aside in order for the sanction imposed on him to be lifted definitively.”
The former FIFA general secretary, a right-hand man of the disgraced ex-president Sepp Blatter for eight years, was hit with a 12-year suspension on June 24, 2016, but had it reduced by two years 11 days later. The punishment relates to the sale of World Cup tickets for personal profit, travelling privately at FIFA’s expense, attempting to take a cut from television rights deals, and destruction of evidence condemning his corrupt behaviour.
Related – FIFA: Blatter, Valcke, Kattner awarded themselves $80M in 5 years
Valcke, 56, has protested his innocence since being under investigation following the infamous Baur au Lac hotel raid in Zurich, Switzerland in May 2015.
Blatter’s attempt to overturn his six-year ban was rejected by CAS in December.
FRISCO, Texas — With the scouting combine set to begin this week in Indianapolis, the Dallas Cowboys figure to draw a ton of interest — and not because they will have their luxury bus on hand crisscrossing the downtown streets day and night.
Just because the focus of the week-long event in Indianapolis will be on draft prospects doesn’t mean there won’t be more to talk about.
Here are some Cowboys-related topics sure to be discussed this week:
Tony Romo’s future should become a lot clearer in the upcoming weeks. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Last Saturday, Jerry Jones said a decision on Romo’s future has not been made and he hasn’t had recent discussions with the quarterback, but that doesn’t mean things can’t come together quickly. By now, Romo’s cap figure ($24.7 million) and cap savings if he is released ($5.1 million) are seared into the brains of every Cowboys fan. They should already know the difference between a June 1 cut and an outright release, which would save the Cowboys $14 million in cap space in 2017 but have him count $8.9 million against the cap in 2018.
If the Cowboys go the release route with Romo, it won’t happen until March 9 at the earliest. That’s the first day they can use the June 1 designation.
For those wondering about a potential trade, Jones has often said a player’s value is at his lowest around the draft, which could hamper a deal. While Romo’s base salaries from 2017 to 2019 are not guaranteed, the $14 million he’s due this year could make a deal difficult. Plus, Romo has a de facto trade veto because he can simply say he has no desire to go to Team X, which would tighten his market.
All of this is difficult, but not impossible.
What happens either on the Cowboys’ bus or in their hotel suite this week will go a long way in determining Romo’s future.
Teams have tended to wait on running backs in the draft, but Ezekiel Elliott’s success after being taken No. 4 overall could mean more backs go off the board earlier. Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports
How much will Prescott, Elliott preside over this combine?
The 2017 running back class is a strong one, with the likes of Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara considered first-rounders. Do any of them grade as well as Elliott did at every aspect of the position, from running to catching to blocking? The Cowboys took Elliott that high — which went against conventional wisdom that says a runner can be found anywhere — because he was a three-down back.
Prescott’s ability to prosper right away was surprising to many, if not himself, and his success could help in the evaluations of other quarterbacks from spread offenses such as DeShaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes and Davis Webb.
Framing their needs
Teams are allowed 60 official interviews of prospects at the combine and unlimited unofficial interviews. A year ago, the Cowboys spent time with all of the top quarterbacks, save for Carson Wentz, whom they worked with for a week at the Senior Bowl.
Quarterback will not be nearly the focus this year as it was last year. The focus this year figures to be on cornerback and pass-rushers, which is considered two of the deeper positions in the draft. The Cowboys use the combine to help the coaches get to know the prospects, better and they then use the information gathered in Indianapolis to formulate their top 30 draft visits.
The Cowboys do not window dress their draft visitors. If a player visits, there is a strong likelihood the Cowboys are serious about drafting him. Since 2004, the only first picks not to visit the Cowboys before the draft were DeMarcus Ware (2005) and Morris Claiborne (2012).
At No. 28 overall in the first round, the Cowboys will be at the mercy of the draft board when they pick, but they will land a player they covet.
Free agency talk
The shopping officially starts March 9, but teams can talk with free agents starting March 7, although they are not supposed to come to terms on a deal. The legal tampering period is a nice touch, but the real work in free agency is laid out mostly at the combine.
For the Cowboys, they will meet with the agents of their 18 unrestricted free agents and get a better feel for what is being offered and what they can afford. The chances of re-signing a player to a deal this close to free agency are difficult, but, like a potential Romo trade, not impossible. With so much cap room available to teams, players are normally better off waiting to see what’s on the open market.
If the Cowboys get anything done, however, it will be at their prices. They have displayed a discipline in free agency the last few years that they had not always shown.
SAN DIEGO — With a focus on drafting and developing the team’s core talent, Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco had little choice but to figure out a way to keep one of the best pass-rushers in the AFC West on his roster.
That’s why the Chargers franchising Melvin Ingram Monday was a no-brainer. With 18.5 sacks and no missed games over the past two seasons, Ingram has proven he can stay healthy and be a productive player.
Pass-rushers can produce at a relatively high level well into their mid-30s, so at 27 years old Ingram still has plenty of good years ahead.
Just as key as his 18.5 sacks have been to the Chargers, Melvin Ingram has played in every game for San Diego the past two seasons. Jake Roth/USA Today Sports
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley recently said Ingram will be a good fit in his system as a Leo defensive end, as the Chargers switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive alignment.
“With his production and his effort, he’s just been a highly productive player,” Bradley said. “I just think for him it’s the opportunity to rush more and be on the line of scrimmage more.
“He’ll have his times when he has to drop, but the percentage is going to change to where it’s going to lean more towards giving him the ability to rush.”
Beisides keeping Bosa and Ingram together, the Chargers did not have much choice because there’s no one on the roster that can replace Ingram’s production. The Chargers like the potential of young pass-rushers like Jeremiah Attaochu and Chris Landrum, but neither has shown that they can put up double-digit sacks over a full season like Ingram.
The Chargers also reap the benefit of all of the years they have put in developing Ingram into one of the more polished pass-rushers in the game.
Selected No. 18 overall in the 2012 draft, Ingram struggled to stay healthy his first three years in the league, which included ACL surgery on his left knee in 2013 and a hip issue in 2014.
However, after shedding 20 pounds and committing to a better nutrition plan during the 2015 offseason, Ingram finally began to play to his potential. And it appears the Chargers are in line to benefit, with Ingram’s best years in the NFL potentially ahead of him.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The parade of offensive linemen drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and headed out of town four years later, when the contracts have expired, is officially over.
The Chiefs started to sink money into their own offensive linemen last summer, when they signed left tackle Eric Fisher to an extension that will keep him in Kansas City for the long term.
It’s officially a trend now that the Chiefs are close to an agreement on a five-year extension worth about $41 million for right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and the Chiefs are close to an extension that signifies a shift in how the team is treating offensive linemen. AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
In the last three years, the Chiefs lost to free agency five offensive linemen they had drafted to free agency: Branden Albert, Jon Asamoah, Rodney Hudson, Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson.
When it came time for those players to get paid big money, they had to leave Kansas City to get it. Dorsey and the Chiefs kept Albert around for one season as the franchise player in 2013 before he left for a lucrative contract with the Miami Dolphins. They tried to re-sign Hudson in 2015 but were outbid by the Oakland Raiders.
They filled in mostly with draft picks playing on their rookie contracts or lower-priced veterans. What the Chiefs collectively paid their linemen in 2014 and 2015 was among the lowest in the league.
That’s changing now. Between Fisher, Schwartz and now Duvernay-Tardif, the Chiefs are no longer among the league’s lowest spenders for their linemen.
It’s also notable that the Chiefs signed Fisher and Duvernay-Tardif before they had to. Each had another season left on his contract when he agreed to an extension.
As a result, the Chiefs can have some much-needed offensive line continuity in 2017. Their starting lineup projects to be the same next season as it was the last. All five except for left guard Zach Fulton are signed at least through 2018 and one of last year’s draft picks, Parker Ehinger, could compete with Fulton for the starting job next season anyway.
Good times look to be ahead for the Chiefs’ offensive line. They suddenly have the money to throw themselves one heck of a party.
