DOHA:The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani discussed Wednesday with FIFA president Sepp Blatter the preparations for the 2022 football World Cup which the Gulf state hosts.

Discussions covered various topics “especially those related to the preparations for the 2022 global showpiece and the progress of work” on projects related to the global tournament, QNA state news agency said.

The FIFA website said discussions also included reforms to labor conditions in the wealthy state which has come under international pressure to clamp down on violations of the rights of migrant workers, who are mostly Asians.

“Qatar takes its responsibility as hosts seriously,” said Blatter after the meeting, according to the FIFA website, adding that Qatar is committed to improve labor conditions.

“It was great to see his (emir’s) and Qatar’s commitment to use the 2022 FIFA World Cup to achieve positive social change and to promote the host country and region,” Blatter said.

Croatian to examine Man City racism claim

The Croatian FA will examine claims of racism against Manchester City teenager Seko Fofana during a friendly Under-21 match against HNK Rijeka on Tuesday, which was abandoned when City coach Patrick Vieira took his players off the pitch.

Fofana, a 19-year-old French midfielder, alleged he had been racially abused by Rijeka players after he was sent off toward the end of the first half of the match in Novigrad, western Croatia.

Vieira, the head of City’s Elite Development squad, came on the pitch, spoke to the referee and led his team off.

The match was abandoned with Rijeka 1-0 ahead.

“We are in the process of gathering information regarding the alleged incident and if there are any decisions to be made we’ll make it public on our website,” the Croatian FA (CFF) said in a statement on Thursday.

“CFF follows a strong ‘no racism’ policy so we take all accusations of racism very seriously. The fight against racism (and any sort of discrimination) is one of the key components of our president Davor Suker’s program and that is why we will have a good look into this matter.”

Rijeka strongly denied the claims on Wednesday when the coach of their youth team Ranko Buketa implied City walked off because their opponents were too strong for them.

Mexican Aguirre is Japan’s new coach

Japan has appointed Mexican Javier Aguirre as the new head coach of the national team.

The Japan Football Association made the appointment on Thursday, with the 55-year-old Aguirre replacing Alberto Zaccheroni, who coached the team to a disappointing group-stage exit at the World Cup.

Aguirre guided Mexico to the round of 16 at the World Cup in 2002 and 2010, and most recently was coach of Spanish club Espanyol last season, with the Barcelona club finishing 14th.

Aguirre’s first task will be to prepare Japan to defend its title at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia in January, and then qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

The length and financial terms of the contract have not been disclosed. Aguirre will come to Japan in the middle of August to formally conclude the deal.

His first game as Japan manager will be Sept. 5 in a friendly against Uruguay at Sapporo Dome, with another game against Venezuela at Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium set for Sept. 9.

Zaccheroni stepped down after Japan was eliminated from the World Cup following a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast, a 0-0 draw to 10-man Greece and a 4-1 thrashing by Colombia.

In five trips to the World Cup, Japan has only advanced to the knockout stage twice — when they co-hosted the tournament in 2002 and in 2010.

Singaporean given three-year jail

Singaporean businessman Eric Ding Si Yang was sentenced to three years in jail on Thursday after being found guilty of bribing three Lebanese soccer referees with prostitutes to fix a match.

Ding, 32, was found guilty last month of the offense prior to an AFC Cup fixture between Singaporean side Tampines Rovers and East Bengal of India in April 2013.

Local media said Ding’s defense counsel, Hamidul Haq, told the court his client planned to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.

Last year, FIFA referee Ali Sabbagh was sentenced to six months in a Singapore jail after admitting having sex with a woman hired by Ding.

Assistant referees Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb were each sentenced to three months in prison. All three were replaced for the fixture.

FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) handed Sabbagh a lifetime ban from officiating and banned him from entering any stadium in the world after the conviction, while Eid and Taleb were given 10-year global suspensions.

Suarez could make debut against Real

Luis Suarez could make his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid.

The Spanish league announced its schedule for the 2014-15 season Thursday, and the first “clasico” will take place shortly after the end of Suarez’s four-month ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup. Real Madrid hosts Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Oct. 26.

Barcelona will host Real Madrid at the Camp Nou on March 22.

The season opens Aug. 23 with Barcelona hosting Elche and Real Madrid hosting Cardoba. Defending champion Atletico Madrid will visit Rayo Vallecano.