Blatter, FIFA Ex-Co Back Ethics Reforms; University Revokes Schmitt Doctorate

Blatter, FIFA Ex-Co Back Ethics Reforms

FIFA president Sepp Blatter backs calls for a major revamp of its governance structure made by anti-corruption adviser Mark Pieth, whose report published Friday said past allegations of corruption within football's governing body were "insufficiently investigated".

Breaking with convention, Blatter released some of the decisions made by the FIFA Ex-Co on his Twitter page ahead of Friday's press conference which coincided with the online publication of Pieth's report.

The move was clearly intended to steer reporting away from some of the stinging criticism levelled at FIFA in the 15-page report by the head of its Independent Governance Committee.

Pieth presented the recommendations of his 13-member panel to the FIFA Ex-Co on Friday morning.

"Historic day for FIFA’s reform process; two-chamber ethics committee approved. One chamber investigates and the other chamber acts as a judge," Blatter tweeted to his 234,094 followers.

"New Audit & Compliance Committee also well received – another milestone. Delighted that the Executive Committee has agreed to back me on this crucial reform," he added.

The reforms along with a series of other recommendations must now be approved by FIFA's 208 member assocations at the FIFA Congress in Budapest on May 25.

For more on the proposed reforms as well as Pieth's report, visit World Football INSIDER.

University Revokes Schmitt Doctorate

Semmelweis University votes to revoke Hungarian IOC member Pal Schmitt’s doctoral degree over plagiarism charges regarding his thesis.

The thesis, titled: "An analysis of the program of Modern Olympic Games" was found Thursday by the university to have "unusually large amounts of verbatim translation".

"The university condemns the violation of scientific norms and sanctions it according to the possibilities offered by law," Rector Tivadar Tulassay was quoted by AP.

Opposition groups claim this damages Schmitt's role as Hungarian president and have called for him to resign.

Schmitt denied wrongdoing in the past and appeared Friday on state television in Hungary to say that he will not resign but will complete a new dissertation to meet current academic requirements.

Australian Olympic Committee Warns of Fairness Concerns

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates reaffirmed his concerns for athletes to be "treated fairly" in Australian sport ahead of the London Olympics.

In a letter to all national federations, the AOC reminded them to be in accordance with International Federation rules.

"Athletes striving for selection at the London Games must be confident that the events are being conducted in a proper manner and they are being given every opportunity to realise their Olympic dream," Coates said in a statement.

"Thesports must be aware of what is at stake for the athletes and follow proper procedures and be fair and transparent at all times".

The statement said the AOC has "two areas of concern, weight-class and judged sports."

Coates recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with his Hungarian counterpart Zsolt Borkai in Sydney.

According to a statement, the MoU was signed "for mutual benefit of their Summer, Winter and Youth Olympians alike."

"There is a wealth of knowledge that can be sourced from the pool of sporting experts in Hungary and Australia. This will directly benefit athletes training for the Olympic Games of the future," Coates said.

"We are particularly looking forward to working with Hungary in sports such as canoe/kayak, fencing and water polo where they have proven themselves on the Olympic stage time and time again. In water polo for example, the Hungarian men’s team is on a remarkable streak, winning gold at every Games since the Sydney Olympics in 2000."

Men’s Curling Worlds

Spots at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics will be up for grabs at the 2012 World Men's Curling Championshipbeginning Saturday at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.

Groupplay runs through Thursday with the quirky Page playoff system governing next weekend’sfinal four.

Canada are the defending champions, but the Swiss men will have extra motivation to match last week’s success of their title-winning countrywomen.

African Triathlon Champs

Berths at London 2012 will go to the National Olympic Committees of the winners at this weekend’s 2012 African Triathlon Championships in Le Morne, Mauritius.

Reigning champs Richard Murray and Kate Roberts are the favorites to secure both quota places for their native South Africa, according to the International Triathlon Union.

Team Table Tennis WC

Quarterfinalists are set at the 2012 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund, Germany.

On the men’s side, the hosts join Japan, Sweden, Austria, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Singapore and reigning champs China.

Poland, South Korea, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, China and reigning champs Singapore are the eight left on the women’s side.

All quarterfinals are Friday with the semis and finals to follow Saturday and Sunday.

Gulf NOCs Meet

The National Olympic Committees of the Gulf Cooperation Council met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

A report in the Kuwait News Agency says the agenda included discussion of the Doha 2020 Olympic bid, statute changes to the GCC Games and creating a Gulf conference on sport and the environment.

Nawaf bin Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, led the meeting.

Ice Sledge Hockey WC

Korea will meet USA in Sunday’s final of the 2012 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship in Hamar, Norway.

The gold medal game will be streamed live here.

Ukrainian Athletes of 2011

Reigning modern pentathlon world champion Victoria Tereshuk is Ukraine's sportswoman of the year.

The bronze medalist from Beijing beat out countrywomen including Olympic champion fencer Olha Kharlan for the honor while world boxing champ Oleksandr Usyk won the men's award.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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