Spain incurs UEFA scorn with backing for TPO slave-trading
July 3 – UEFA have taken a second swipe at the Spanish league – this time over third-party ownership (TPO).
Europe
Match-changing decisions put Women World Cup refs on the spot
By Andrew Warshaw
July 3 – The Women’s World Cup may have become an established part of the FIFA calendar since it was launched in 1991 and truly came of age when the Americans won on home soil eight years later.
Bastia fury over debt ‘lies’ as owner says club will stay in Ligue 1
By Mark Baber
July 2 – With France’s Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG) having declared that Corsican club Sporting Club de Bastia should be relegated to League 2 on financial grounds, irrespective of having finished 12th in the Ligue 1 last season, the club today reacted angrily to reports the sale of Ryad Boudebouz would be insufficient to see the decision reversed.
MasterCard renew with Champions League for further 3 years
By Mark Baber
July 2 – The UEFA sponsorship train continues to roll as MasterCard announced a three year extension of its high-profile and long-standing sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League.
Big score, but no problem? Paide put 31 past Raudteetoolised
July 2 – No-one is suggesting any shenanigans or rigging by Asian syndicates but yet another football scoreline in Estonia has raised eyebrows.
Where Blatter could be talk of the Toon
By Paul Nicholson
July 2 – If Sepp Blatter is looking for something to do when he finally hands in his FIFA presidential mandate we think we may have found just the activity in England’s Newcastle upon Tyne.
Romanian federation boss stands himself down amid corruption probe
By Mark Baber
July 2 – Gheorghe Chivorchian (pictured), the general secretary of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has suspended himself from his position after prosecutors charged him with abusing his position and forging documents when he was chairman of club side Poli Timisoara.
Infantino urges Spanish league to drop Winter 2022 legal challenge
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – Clearly aware that his president Michel Platini voted for Qatar to stage the 2022 World Cup on condition it was held in winter, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino has urged Spanish football officials to stop challenging the decision to switch the tournament from its traditional summer slot to November-December.
UEFA stick by Olympiakos despite match-fixing shame, for the moment
July 1 – Olympiakos are for the moment retaining their spot in the Champions League despite the Greek club’s owner Evangelos ‘Vangelis’ Marinakis being accused of running a racketeering and match-fixing ring.
UEFA tweaks FFP to allow clubs to invest new cash
By Andrew Warshaw
June 30 – UEFA’s tweaked financial fair play rules come into effect tomorrow with the organisation re-iterating the system has been a success despite the highly-publicised legal challenge from Belgium which threatens to undermine years’ of painstaking work to ensure clubs balance their books.
Serie B Catania faces drop as president admits buying matches
June 30 – Italian Serie B club Catania faces relegation after its president admitted fixing five games last season to avoid dropping out of the division.
De Keersmaecker re-elected in Belgium but clubs threaten sanctions
By Samindra Kunti
June 29 – Francois de Keersmaecker has been reelected as president of the Belgian Football Association, the KBVB, but the Pro League has already threatened to take financial reprisals after a contentious voting procedure and more accusations of mismanagement at the KBVB.
As UEFA top brass meet, will Platini take the FIFA challenge?
June 29 – UEFA’s new-look executive committee holds its first meeting today and tomorrow with financial fair play and the format for the 2016 Euro finals the top items on the agenda though discussions on a successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter seem certain to take place, whether formally or informally.
Spanish league takes on FIFA over €65m losses of a 2022 Winter World Cup
By Mark Baber
June 29 – The Spanish League (LFP) has filed an appeal regarding the playing dates for the 2022 World Cup, according to a spokesperson for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although a date for the hearing has yet to be set.
Duchatelet sells Standard Liege but keeps his foreign club stakes
By Samindra Kunti
June 26 – Charlton Athletic owner Roland Duchatelet has sold leading Belgian club Standard Liege to Italian Bruno Venanzi for an estimated €30 million. Duchatelet insists that this does not signal a retreat from football.