Catalonia’s nationalist boo-boys land Barca with UEFA and government fines
July 29 – Spain’s anti-violence commission has fined Barcelona €66,000 after the Catalan club’s fans booed the national anthem before the Copa del Rey final in May.
Europe
Parma reboot in Serie D fuelled by pasta magnate Barilla
By Mark Baber
July 28 – Parma Calcio 1913, a new club backed by pasta maker Guido Barilla with ex-coach Nevio Scala (pictured) as president, has been given the go-ahead by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to compete in Italy’s Serie D following the bankruptcy of the old club.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd top Euro league of big spending fans
By Paul Nicholson
July 28 – English Premier League clubs on average generate almost twice as much revenue per seat than clubs in Spain. While Chelsea top the list of clubs making the most per seat from their fans at €78, compare this with Italian giants Inter Milan who make more than seven times less at €7 per seat.
CSKA fears ‘look-a-like’ as it begins long journey back to top tier
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 28 – Bulgaria’s richest man, Vasil Bozhkov (pictured), has registered a new company called ‘CSKA Sofia’, in the Bulgarian Commercial Register. Chairman of the company is Tsvetomir Naydenov, who owns bookmaker Efbet. Bozhkov and his son Anton are members of the Board.
Brussels court boots TPO, slave traders and ‘loan sharks’ into touch
By Andrew Warshaw
July 27 – UEFA and FIFA are celebrating a landmark victory in their joint fight to outlaw Third Party Ownership (TPO) after a Brussels court threw out a legal case against them launched to try and overturn the worldwide ban on the practise.
Romania’s FC Botosani unveils €18m stadium expansion
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 27 – Two years after the side secured a promotion to Romania’s top tier Liga I, FC Botosani unveiled the design of its new stadium which is estimated to cost about €18 million. Under the plan, the stadium will be fitted with a seating capacity of at least 11,000.
Roma’s gladiators sent back from the gates of Indonesia
July 27 – Five Roma players were refused entry into Indonesia for a pre-season game and forced to fly home.
Twente given lifeline as Eredvisie OKs debt plan and clears club to play
By Samindra Kunti
July 27 – FC Twente will start the new Eredivisie without a points deduction or any other sanctions after the Dutch FA KNVB approved the club’s new plan to further reduce its debts.
Who ate all the pies? Aberdeen battles novel avian problem
By David Owen
July 25 – Things have been going well on the field of play for Scottish club Aberdeen of late, a second place finish in the Scottish Premiership last season entitling them to a slot in the qualifying phase of the 2015-16 Europa League.
UEFA give Croatia Euro 2016 lifeline with soft sanction for swastika offence
July 24 – Croatia have been let off the hook and avoided being thrown out of Euro 2016 qualifying for racial discrimination, much to the relief of the entire country after the prime minister personally pleaded with UEFA president Michel Platini to show leniency.
Bulgarian clubs fined in match-fixing clampdown
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 23 – Bulgaria’s Marek Dupnitsa have been fined BGN 210,000 (€105,000) by the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) disciplinary committee for match-fixing. The steep fine, in Bulgarian terms, is a hard hit for the club which was relegated from the top flight last season.
French civil war as federation rules out Ligue 1 plan to cut relegation spots
By Mark Baber
July 23 – The plan of French League (LFP) president Frederic Thiriez (pictured) to protect investors in Ligue 1 clubs by reducing the number of relegation and promotion places between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to two up and two down hit a major obstacle today as the France Football Federation (FFF) annulled the move in its Executive Committee meeting.
Belgian court dismisses challenge to UEFA’s FFP
July 23 – UEFA is celebrating a landmark court ruling which it says justifies its policy of financial fair play. The European Court of Justice has dismissed a legal challenge to the system following a Belgian court’s request for a preliminary judgment.
Russians deny Spartak ‘monkey chants’, Frimpong says it is ‘beyond a joke’
July 23 – As Russian football prepares to portray itself in the best possible light at Saturday’s star-studded 2018 World Cup draw, its record on racism has again been questioned with FC Ufa midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong describing the rejection of allegations he made as “beyond a joke”.
Tax collector to re-auction CSKA logos after no buyers in first round
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 22 – The Bulgarian tax collector, the National Revenue Agency (NAP), has failed to find a buyer for the CSKA Sofia brand (it’s logos and trademarks) and has dropped the asking price by 20%, to BGN2,944,288 (€1,472,144). This is the second time it has lowered the price.