Europe Archives - Page 423 of 509 - Inside World Football

Celtic row raises issues for UEFA as Green Brigade defend freedom of expression

Celtic banners vs Milan

By Paul Nicholson
November 29 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Celtic after fans unveiled banners depicting IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and Scottish warrior William Wallace at their Champions League game against Milan. But the Green Brigade fan group who were responsible for the banners have now escalated the issue raising questions about their rights to the freedom of political expression.

Archive

English court looms for match-fixing Singaporeans as investigation deepens

money and football

By Andrew Warshaw
November 29 – Two men have now been charged as part of the investigation into alleged match-fixing in English football as fresh details emerged amid claims that even World Cup games may have been rigged. Chann Sankaran, a 33-year-old Singapore national, and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, a 43-year-old with dual UK and Singapore nationality, have been remanded in custody and will appear in a Birmingham magistrates court.

Archive

Aussie security guru tells English it is time to heed the wake-up call

Chris Eaton 2

By Andrew Warshaw
November 28 – One of the world’s leading match-fixing investigators says it was “only a matter of time” before English football was targeted and says the latest case should serve as a wake-up call in the battle to bring down the criminal gangs and their ringleaders.

Archive

Match-fixing scandal rocks lower tier English leagues, 6 arrested so far

matchfixing

By Andrew Warshaw
November 28 – The endemic scourge of matchfixing, which has tarnished the reputation of leagues across the globe, has struck at the heart of English football, until now considered by many to be immune from what FIFA and crime-busters have long believed is the most serious danger to the sport.

Archive

Research finds gambling ads make up 4.1% of total ads on British TV

betting ads on tv

By David Owen
November 28 – The UK has witnessed an explosion of TV gambling adverts since a new law entered into force six years ago, new research has shown. In statistics that will come as little surprise to regular viewers of sport on British commercial television, the research found that the total number of gambling TV advertising spots rose from 152,000 in 2006, prior to the new law, to 537,000 in 2008 and 1.39 million in 2012.

Archive

Polish football association limits non-EU players to three per squad

Esktraklasa

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 27 – The Polish Football Association (PZPN) has decided that clubs playing in the Esktraklasa, the top tier of Poland’s football league, will be allowed to include a maximum of three players from outside of the European Union per squad at any time of the match. The regulation will come into force in the 2015-2016 season.

Archive

Blatter ‘sickened’ by Betis monkey chants, that ref failed to report

Paulao

By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – The latest publicised outbreak of racism in a major European league has prompted FIFA President Sepp Blatter to intervene by saying he was “sickened” by the reports.

Archive

Match Analysis launches game analysis system into European marketplace

Match Analysis Mambo Studio 5 1 with K2 Video and TrueView Visualizations

By Paul Nicholson
November 27 – The leading North American match analysis and statistical provider for football (soccer) is expanding into the European marketplace with its suite of game and performance analysis tools. Match Analysis, based in the San Francisco area, is targeting clubs and leagues in a bid to “change the culture” of strategic and technical analysis.

Archive

Bulgarian fan goes on hunger strike demanding life ban for suspended ref

stanislav todorov

By Andrew Warshaw
November 26 – In an extreme case of fanaticism, a CSKA Sofia fan in Bulgaria has gone on hunger strike demanding a life ban for a referee who has already been suspended for his poor officiating in a domestic game.

Archive

How Swansea had a hand in the Pope’s Latin surprise

FIFA Weekly - Latin

By David Owen
November 26 – Swansea’s footballing stature has been on the rise in recent times, courtesy of the stylish play that has carried Michael Laudrup’s men to the Premier League and a trophy – last season’s Capital One Cup. Now the Welsh city has added another unique feather to its footballing cap: it is the home of Wolfestone, the company entrusted with the job of translating the Pope’s copy of The FIFA Weekly into Latin.

Archive

UEFA concludes TV deals in UK for Club competitions, Euro 2016 also selling

TV cameraman

By Paul Nicholson
November 26 – The UK broadcast market continues to be fertile TV sales ground for the UEFA with TEAM marketing having concluded the final parts of licensing broadcast rights for the Champions League and Europa League in the UK for the 2016-18 cycle.

Archive

Clubs offered revenue protection through new player insurance product

player insurance

By Paul Nicholson
November 25 – A new insurance product launched today is providing Europe’s top clubs with the opportunity to insure their players against illness or injury that could affect the club’s performance on the field and hence its financial performance off it. A club could protect up to £100 million of revenue with the cover.

Archive

CFA votes in favour of next steps to Cypriot football’s reunification

Costakis Koutsokoumnis

By Andrew Warshaw
November 25 – Football re-unification between Greek and Turkish Cypriots has moved a further step closer with the official Cyprus Football Association (CFA) approving the historic arrangement signed by the two sides at FIFA headquarters earlier this month.

Archive

Private to public: City moves in to take control of Poland’s Slask Wroclaw

Slask Wroclaw

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 25 – The city of Wroclaw has acquired full control over local football club Slask Wroclaw. Slask currently plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of Poland’s professional football league and are currently the league champions.

Archive

Return to Soviet league meets old-style resistence, despite lure of prize money

Nikolai Tolstykh

By Andrew Warshaw
November 25 – One of Russian football’s leading officials has opposed the re-establishment of an old-style Soviet league featuring teams from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states. The idea of a breakaway plan for a multi-national league of up to 16 teams was first floated a year ago but Nikolai Tolstykh (pictured), head of the Russian Football Union, says the money would be better spent domestically, not least on youth football instead.