Argentina shrugged off Lionel Messi’s controversial absence by thumping six goals past minnows Singapore in a one-sided friendly yesterday.  Messi’s pre-game departure — reportedly to prepare for his wedding — prompted grumbles among fans but Argentina were not short of firepower as six different players found the net. Defender Federico Fazio and Carlos Correa scored in the first half before Alejandro Gomez, Leandro Paredes, Lucas Alario and Angel di Maria poured on the goals in the second half. 
Argentina, who were also missing Gonzalo Higuain and Nicolas Otamendi, were in control in the outset but it took until the 24th minute before Fazio flicked in a header from a corner. Argentina grabbed their second five minutes later, with Sevilla striker Carlos Correa tapping in at the near post from a cross from Juventus’s Paulo Dybala. Argentina cut loose after the hour-mark, scoring their last four goals — while outclassed Singapore, 159th in the FIFA rankings, didn’t manage a shot on target all night. The absence of Messi had prompted anger with social media users demanding ticket refunds, while Singapore’s head coach called his withdrawal “unfortunate”.

CAS to hear Palestinian FA appeal over FIFA decision
The Palestinian Football Association has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport over a decision by world football’s governing body FIFA regarding the association’s rights to run football activities there. CAS said in a statement the appeal was against a decision taken during the FIFA Congress in May to not vote on a proposal by the PFA in which it sought the “recognition of its rights to run football activities in accordance with the FIFA statutes”.
FIFA instead chose to vote on an alternative proposal in which the FIFA Council was granted a time limit until the end of March 2018 to study and evaluate reports from the FIFA Monitoring Committee Israel-Palestine.
The dispute centres on six teams from lower divisions of the Israeli league who are based in settlements on the occupied West Bank and play their matches there. The PFA says this is contrary to FIFA statutes which state that a member country’s teams cannot play matches on the territory of another association without permission. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
The PFA has also complained that Israel hampers its activities, including limiting the movement of players between the West Bank and Gaza, and that it has barred some international travel. Israel has cited security concerns for its actions and the Israeli FA, which is a member of European football body UEFA, says it is not responsible for the actions of its government.

Top Indian team defects to Super League
One of the top teams in India’s I-League has moved to the rival Indian Super League, which will grow to a 10-strong competition this year, organisers said. Bengalaru FC, two-time I-League winners since their formation in 2013, will become one of two new ISL franchises when the new season starts in October.
Both Bengalaru and the other new team, Jamshedpur, are backed by major companies — the Jindal South West conglomerate and Tata Steel respectively. 
The ISL was launched in 2014 and has outstripped the 10-year-old I-League in broadcast ratings, prompting talk of a merger of the two competitions. However, All-India Football Federation president Praful Patel last month played down the prospects of a merger Italy’s Alessandro Del Piero and French Nicolas Anelka are among the veteran former stars to play in the ISL, whose city-based franchise format apes cricket’s hugely popular Indian Premier League.

South Korea urges talks on joint World Cup
South Korea’s football association yesterday said it wanted talks with China and Japan about a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup along with North Korea, an initiative aimed at easing tensions in the region. The South’s new President Moon Jae-In first proposed the ambitious idea to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino in a meeting Monday, although Korean officials acknowledge China is likely to be lukewarm.
South Korea and Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup but a four-way split is unheard of, let alone between two countries — the Koreas — who are technically still at war. KFA president Chung Mong-Gyu told reporters that the North — which does not have formal diplomatic ties with Japan or South Korea — would likely be keen to host if the other countries all agreed to participate. But China could be cool to the proposal as it apparently wants to host the world’s largest sporting event alone, Chung added. Chinese officials have said they want to host the World Cup at the earliest opportunity, which appears to be 2030.
Infantino said he respected Moon’s “vision”, and would discuss the proposal with China’s President Xi Jinping when he meets in Beijing today, the Blue House statement said. North Korea has often boycotted sporting events overseas, including the 1988 Seoul Olympics after Seoul rejected Pyongyang’s demand to host the Games jointly.

Australia bid for 2023 Women’s World Cup
Australia unveiled a government-backed bid yesterday to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, saying it would be an economic boon for the country and inspire a new generation footballers. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia’s history of successfully holding major sports events meant it was well-placed to host the football showpiece.
The government has pledged Aus$1mn in initial funding and will provide another Aus$4mn if Australia proves to have a reasonable chance of winning. The 2023 tournament would see 24 teams compete at venues across Australia over 52 matches. Canada held the last event in 2015 while France hosts the 2019 version.