By Andrew Warshaw
July 9 – The extent of the rift within the Swiss camp following their exit from the World Cup has been widely exposed by an unprecedented outburst from their Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka in response to comments made by Swiss FA secretary general Alex Miescher.
July 9 – In the latest political row involving players at the World Cup, Croatia’s Domagoj Vida has avoided punishment from FIFA after being filmed proclaiming “glory to Ukraine” in the wake of his side’s quarterfinal victory over Russia.
By Paul Nicholson
July 6 – Italian football faces a sponsorship crisis following a government proposal to ban on all gambling advertising, including sponsorship or promotional deals with gambling companies.
July 6 – After describing Colombia’s World Cup loss to England as a “monumental theft” and being wrapped over the knuckles by FIFA, for whom he is a well-paid ambassador, Diego Maradona has apologised for the comments he made about the refereeing during the last-16 tie.
By Paul Nicholson
July 5 – Spain’s LaLiga is the latest football rights holder to condemn the on-going copyright theft by pirate satellite broadcaster BeoutQ that is transmitting sports content it does not own. Separately world tennis’s various governing bodies and major tournaments have combined to issue the strongest demands yet, calling for the “immediate closure” of the channel.
July 5 – A Swedish court has ordered an Arabic internet TV company to pay 210 million Swedish crowns in damages for distributing content including English Premier League soccer without permission.
July 2 – Imprisoned former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is to stand trial for alleged money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team.
June 26 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) is tendering out its sports federation rating and verification system SIRVS (SIGA Independent Rating and Verification System) that will launch in 2019.
With the World Cup in full flow and attracting global attention, the temptation by some businesses who lack the badge of ‘Official Sponsor’ to promote their global brand will be great. But, however tempting, the stakes for those businesses, so-called “ambush marketers”, are high. By Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
June 22- Lionel Messi is not having the happiest of times. On Thursday his Argentina were dismantled by Croatia 3-0 as the team’s talisman failed to muster any sort of resistance against the Europeans. On top of that abject performance new data from the Panama Papers has revealed more of his offshore secrets.
June 20 – The United World Cup 2026 bid might not be quite as united as its principals claim as US authorities pursue Mexican football legend and national team captain Rafael Márquez, 39, who in the past week has become only the third player ever to appear at five World Cups.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 19 – After all the talk and concerns about Russia’s record on racism being at the centre of attention at the World Cup, it is a visiting team’s fans who have tarnished the early stages of the tournament.
June 19 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has opened the application process for its Global Mentorship Programme for Aspiring Female Leaders.
By Samindra Kunti in St Petersburg
June 17 – Iranian women, who have been banned from attending football in the Islamic state since 1980, have protested at Iran’s World Cup opening game against Morocco, seizing the exposure the world’s biggest sporting event, the World Cup, offers.
June 15 – On the day Portugal opened their World Cup campaign in Russia against Spain, their superstar player Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted a suspended prison sentence to settle his tax fraud case, and agreed to pay £16.4 million to the Spanish tax authorities.