Europe Archives - Page 444 of 509 - Inside World Football

Bulgarian giants CSKA Sofia fold as Stoichkov handed full control

Hristo Stoichkov

By Andrew Warshaw
June 24 – Bulgaria’s most successful club, CSKA Sofia, has declared itself bankrupt and will try to merge with another club to carry on competing in a different guise next season – or end up in the amateur ranks. The 31-time national champions have been struggling financially in recent years, along with many Bulgarian clubs, and were barred from the Champions League in 2008-09 after failing to meet UEFA’s licensing criteria.

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Court date set for Messi over €4.16m tax fraud case

Lionel Messi 2

By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – Lionel Messi, the world’s finest footballer and one of the richest and most iconic sportsmen on the planet, has been sensationally summoned to appear in court on September 17 over tax fraud allegations.

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Hearts broken as administrators hunt for funding

Hearts

By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – In the same month that Scottish football agreed on a ground-breaking strategy to preserve the future of lower-league clubs, one of its most iconic, Heart of Midlothian, has ironically been forced to go into administration and has been docked 15 points for the start of the season.

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Beşiktaş line up Vodafone as new stadium and shirt sponsor

Besiktas

By Mark Baber
June 20 – Beşiktaş has signed a preliminary agreement with Vodafone Türkiye for shirt sponsorship and naming rights to the team’s new stadium. The final agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly, is expected to be worth €20 million annually.

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Platini praises Israel and stands firm on their right to host

U21 Euros poster

By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – A relieved Michel Platini has heaped praise on Israel following the European Under-21 championships that ended with Spain beating Italy 4-2 to retain the title.

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Spanish club crisis: La Liga attendances down, RIP Salamanca

Sobaclieu.com

By Monica Villar
June 20 – The depth of the Spanish club football crisis become clearer this week with the LFP confirming a drop in attendances across the La Liga last season. Lower down the league Salamanca was liquidated and finally went out of business.

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Romania’s Cluj seeks investment partner for next push

cluj

By David Owen
June 20 – The majority owner of CFR Cluj-Napoca, the Romanian champions, is looking for a financial partner to help consolidate the club’s place among the European elite.

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Goalkeeper somehow plays on despite being shot in the head

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By Tom Parsons
June 19 – Dusko Krtalica, an amateur goalkeeper from Bosnia, was shot in the head by a stray bullet during a match — only to finish the contest by brushing off the pain as a routine knock he’d taken!

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Online bookies denounced for encouraging compulsive gambling

SportingChance 2

By Mark Baber
June 19 – Sporting Chance, the charity set up by former England and Arsenal defender Tony Adams to support players with addiction problems, says the majority of its referrals are now gambling-related and that on-line bookies are actively targeting players with their aggressive marketing techniques.

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Benzema and Ribery sex trial postponed in France

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June 19 – The trial of French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema over claims they paid for sex with an under-age call girl has been adjourned for procedural reasons until next year.

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Turkish clubs await their fate before deciding on new coaches

beşiktaş-fenerbahce-maçı-20-şubat

By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Besiktas have put their respective searches for a new head coach on hold pending the outcome of match-fixing hearings conducted by Uefa next week.

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Dutch court hands out spate of punishments after killing of linesman

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By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Six teenage footballers and one of their fathers have been found guilty by a Dutch court of beating an amateur linesman to death in an incident that shocked the nation and even prompted the intervention of Fifa President Sepp Blatter.

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Hearts crisis deepens with entire squad for sale

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By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – In the same week that Scottish football announced ground-breaking plans to preserve its future, crisis-torn SPL club Heart of Midlothian have been plunged into yet more turmoil with the threat of going out of business.

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CIES Survey values Messi at twice Ronaldo and Barça squad at €658m

ronaldo and messi

By Mark Baber
June 13 – The CIES Football Observatory has published the 2013 edition of its Annual Review analysing an eclectic mix of statistics, based on data from OPTAPro on the ‘Big 5’ leagues of Europe – the Premier League, Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A.

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Players Union and government seek common ground to expand football economy

Miguel Cardenal

By Gareth Messenger
June 13 – The headquarters of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) yesterday hosted the first visit of D. Miguel Cardenal Carro (pictured) since he became the secretary of state for sport.