November 2005 in Sports - 17 November 2005 (Thursday)

17 November 2005 (Thursday)

• Football:
  • The Bahrain Football Association announced an appeal was filed to FIFA over a disputed call by Colombian referee Oscar Julian Ruiz Acosta that disallowed a controversial goal by the Bahrain national side against the Trinidad and Tobago team in the second half of the second leg of their 2006 FIFA World Cup intercontinental qualifying playoff. Reuters via ESPN soccernet.com
  • The English Premier League settles its TV rights dispute with the Commission of the European Union. From the 2007–08 season, rights to live matches will be offered in six packages, and no one broadcaster will be allowed to buy all six. How this will affect the League's income compared to the £1 billion it currently receives for Sky's exclusive deal is unknown. (BBC)
  • German match-fixing scandal: Disgraced referee Robert Hoyzer, 26, is jailed for two years and five months after admitting fixing or trying to fix nine matches by judge Gerti Kramer. The prosecution had asked for a two-year suspended sentence for Hoyzer; however, Kramer said she was sending him up the river because his crimes were "adult acts" of serious weight. Another banished referee, Dominik Marks, who denied involvement, was also convicted and received a suspended sentence of eighteen months as the prosecution had asked for a two-year jail sentence. Croatian Ante Sapina, who led the betting ring involved, was jailed for two years and eleven months, while his brothers Filip and Milan Sapina received suspended sentences, Filip's suspended sentence is for 16 months, while Milan will have a one-year suspended sentence. According to the indictment, Sapina made €700,000 from one match, for which Hoyzer received €67,000 ($78,300 US) and a television set. Marks was accused of receiving €37,000 for his involvement in four matches. (BBC)

• Rugby Union: The International Rugby Board (IRB) decide that the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup will be held in New Zealand. At a meeting in Dublin the IRB delegates viewed presentations from the three bidding nations, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. South Africa dropped out after the first round of voting and New Zealand received a majority of votes in the second round. New Zealand previously co-hosted the inaugural 1987 Rugby Union World Cup. (NZPA)